Loneliness, Mindfulness and Hope: Empowering Rehabilitation Processes

The loneliness of individuals participating in rehabilitation programs may interfere with the success of these programs and limit their outcomes. The goals of this article are to explore the potential impact of two interventional approaches aimed to decrease the detrimental impacts of emotional and social withdrawal: mindfulness and the hope theory. The comparison of these intervention approaches and the focused survey of outcomes’ research pinpointed attention on their complementary value. The nonjudgmental focus of the mindfulness approach on the present ‘here and now’, combined with the hopeful focus on future expectations in terms of goals and pathways, may reduce the loneliness experience and empower the individuals’ effort during rehabilitation practices. This joint impact will be examined in future research of rehabilitation planning. World Health Organization (WHO) defines rehabilitation as a set of interventions designed to optimize functioning, to promote life quality and to reduce the disability impact in individuals with health concerns during their interactions with their environment [1].