Appliance of Heart Rate Variability Biofeedback in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: A Pilot Study

Mindfulness, defined as a fourfold process consisting of being present with aversive experiences, accepting their aversive content, focusing on the observing perspective, and creating a distinction between content of private experiences and behavior, is an essential part of the so-called third wave behavior therapies, such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). Besides being a behavioral intervention and an important theoretical construct, training mindfulness has been shown to change brain structures and neuronal functioning. In this article the effects and processes of an integrative approach in which heart rate variability (HRV) biofeedback combined with ACT is investigated. Seven clients who were referred to an outpatient facility filled out mindfulness questionnaires (Mindful Attention Awareness Scale) prior and after mindfulness-based HRV biofeedback. In addition mean weighted HRV scores were computed before, during, and after training. Finally, qualitative analyses were performed to investigat...