Pilot Study of a University Counseling Center Stress Management Program Employing Mindfulness and Compassion-Based Relaxation Training with Biofeedback

A pilot study was conducted with clients at a university student counseling center stress management and biofeedback clinic to determine whether mindfulness and compassion-based instruction in relaxation strategies, along with peripheral biofeedback, would reduce perceived stress, enhance perceived coping, and lead to improvement in symptoms of anxiety, depression, and academic distress. Results support that the inclusion of mindfulness and compassion-based biofeedback may enhance treatment efficacy for stress and its associated problems above and beyond that of mindfulness and compassion-based relaxation skills training provided in the absence of biofeedback.