Elsevier

Clinical Psychology Review

Volume 31, Issue 7, November 2011, Pages 1126-1132
Clinical Psychology Review

Loving-kindness and compassion meditation: Potential for psychological interventions

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2011.07.003Get rights and content

Abstract

Mindfulness-based meditation interventions have become increasingly popular in contemporary psychology. Other closely related meditation practices include loving-kindness meditation (LKM) and compassion meditation (CM), exercises oriented toward enhancing unconditional, positive emotional states of kindness and compassion. This article provides a review of the background, the techniques, and the empirical contemporary literature of LKM and CM. The literature suggests that LKM and CM are associated with an increase in positive affect and a decrease in negative affect. Preliminary findings from neuroendocrine studies indicate that CM may reduce stress-induced subjective distress and immune response. Neuroimaging studies suggest that LKM and CM may enhance activation of brain areas that are involved in emotional processing and empathy. Finally, preliminary intervention studies support application of these strategies in clinical populations. It is concluded that, when combined with empirically supported treatments, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy, LKM and CM may provide potentially useful strategies for targeting a variety of different psychological problems that involve interpersonal processes, such as depression, social anxiety, marital conflict, anger, and coping with the strains of long-term caregiving.

Highlights

► We review the literature on loving-kindness and compassion meditation. ► Neuroendocrine studies suggest that compassion meditation reduces subjective distress and immune response to stress. ► Neuroimaging studies suggest that both meditation practices enhance activation of emotion centers of the brain. ► Preliminary intervention studies support the application of these strategies in clinical populations. ► We conclude that these techniques are effective for treating social anxiety, marital conflict, anger, and strains of long-term caregiving.

Section snippets

Background

Loving-kindness, also known as metta (in Pali), is derived from Buddhism and refers to a mental state of unselfish and unconditional kindness to all beings. Similarly, compassion (karunaa) can be defined as an emotion that elicits “the heartfelt wish that sentient beings be free from suffering and the causes of suffering” (Hopkins, 2001). Compassion can be likened to the feeling a loving mother has toward alleviating the suffering of her child in distress but is aimed at all beings (The Dalai

Compassion and loving-kindness meditation techniques

Whereas other types of mindfulness meditation encourage nonjudgmental awareness of experiences in the present moment by focusing on bodily or other sensorial experience, affective states, thoughts, or images, CM focuses awareness upon alleviation of the suffering of all beings, and LKM upon loving and kind concern for their well-being. These exercises each can be practiced at any time and in different postures—e.g., while sitting or lying—and even while walking (Buddharakkhita, 1995, The Dalai

Effect on emotional response

A study by Hutcherson, Seppala, and Gross (2008) recruited 93 participants and randomized subjects to receive either an exercise adapted from LKM (n = 45) or an imagery condition (n = 48). Participants in the LKM condition were instructed to imagine two loved ones standing to either side of the participant and sending their love. After 4 min, subjects were told to open their eyes and redirect these feelings of love toward the photograph of a stranger with a neutral emotional expression, appearing in

Neuroendocrine effects

Two recent studies examined whether a Tibetan program of CM moderates the effect of stress on immune and neuroendocrine responses (Pace et al., 2009, Pace et al., 2010). The study by Pace et al. (2009) randomized healthy adults to 6 weeks of CM training (n = 33) or health discussions as a control condition (n = 28). Dependent measures included plasma cortisol, plasma concentration of interleukin-6, and subjective anxiety response to a social stress test that involves a social performance task. The

Neurobiological correlates

The perception-action model of empathy states that observing and imagining another person in a particular state activates a similar state in the observer (Preston & de Waal, 2002). Consistent with this view are neuroimaging studies suggesting that observing or imaging another person's emotional state activates parts of the neurocircuitry, especially the insula and the anterior cingulate cortex, which are involved in processing that same state in oneself (Lutz, Brefczynski-Lewis, et al., 2008,

Treatment studies

Very little data exist on LKM and CM as a clinical intervention method. A study by Gilbert and Procter (2006) developed a treatment method the authors called compassionate mind training. The treatment consists of 12 weekly 2-hour individual sessions. The therapy targeted self-criticism and shame to enhance self-compassion by encouraging clients to be self-soothing when they are feeling anxiety, anger, and disgust. The treatment incorporates techniques of monitoring and cognitive-behavioral

Discussion

Meditation practices, especially mindfulness meditation, have become a popular and novel enhancement to contemporary cognitive-behavioral treatments (for review, see Hofmann, 2011 and Hofmann, Asmundson, & Beck, in press). Encouraging patients to experience the present moment nonjudgmentally and openly can effectively counter the effects of psychological distress (Bishop et al., 2004, Kabat-Zinn, 2003). Mindfulness meditation has been shown to have psychological benefits among diverse

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    Author Note Dr. Hofmann is a paid consultant by Merck/Schering-Plough and supported by NIMH grant 1R01MH078308 for studies unrelated to the present investigation.

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