MBSR (Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction)
Acronym for Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction.
MBSR is an eight-week, secular clinical program developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn at the University of Massachusetts in 1979, combining mindfulness meditation, body scan practice, and gentle yoga. It was originally designed to help patients manage chronic pain and has since been studied for stress, anxiety, and general wellbeing.
MBSR is typically taught in a structured group format with weekly sessions, daily home practice, and a full-day retreat, and it served as the template for later clinical adaptations such as Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy. It remains one of the most widely researched mindfulness interventions in clinical settings.
Jon Kabat-Zinn founded the program in 1979 at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, originally to support patients with chronic pain and stress-related conditions who had not found relief through conventional treatment alone, deliberately using secular language rather than the Buddhist framework the practices were drawn from. The standard format is an eight-week course of weekly group sessions plus daily home practice, including the body scan, sitting meditation, and gentle mindful movement, and it has since become the most widely researched mindfulness program used in clinical settings.
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Related Terms
Mindfulness
Mindfulness is the practice of paying deliberate, non-judgmental attention to present-moment experience, whether the breath, bodily sensations, thoughts, or surroundings. Rooted in Buddhist contemplative practice, it has been adapted into secular clinical programs and is widely used for stress, anxiety, and general wellbeing.
MBCT (Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy)
MBCT is an eight-week clinical program combining mindfulness meditation with elements of cognitive therapy, developed specifically to prevent relapse in people with a history of recurrent depression. It teaches practitioners to relate differently to negative thought patterns rather than trying to eliminate them.