Ledesma & Kumano, 2008). 1 One of these reviews focused on MBT for stress reduction in cancer patients (Ledesma & Kumano, 2008), whereas another study examined the efficacy of mindfulness for treating distress associated with general physical or psychosomatic problems, such as chronic pain, coronary artery disease, and fibromyalgia (Grossman et al., 2004). The results of these reviews were encouraging, suggesting that MBSR is moderately effective for reducing distress associated with physical or psychosomatic illnesses. However, both reviews were based on a small number of studies with relatively small sample sizes per study. The two reviews that specifically examined the effects of MBT on mood and anxiety symptoms came to divergent conclusions (Baer, 2003; Toneatto & Nguyen, 2007). Whereas Baer (2003) interpreted the literature as suggesting that MBT may be helpful in treating anxiety and mood disorders, Toneatto and Nguyen (2007) concluded that MBT has no reliable effect for these problems.
