Mindfulness Meditation Research Program

Dr. Jean Kristeller has been practicing and studying mindfulness meditation for over 20 years. She has published several articles and chapters on meditation and is currently writing a book on meditation to be published by Guilford press. Dr. Kristeller and her colleagues have received two NIH grants to study the effects of mindfulness meditation on eating dysregulation. Her research has been discussed in Newsweek magazine and is also described in the following article from the Terre Haute Tribune Star. Dr. Kristeller has recently received a $1.8 million grant form the National institutes of Health to continue her studies of mindfulness meditation in the treatment of binge eating disorder: Grant to Study Mindfulness Meditation and Binge Eating.

Publications on Meditation:

Kristeller, J., & Johnson, T. J. (in press). Cultivating Loving-Kindness: A Two-Stage Model for the Effects of Meditation on Compassion, Altruism and Spirituality, Zygon: Journal of Religion & Science.

Kristeller, J.L., Hallett, B. (1999). Effects of a Meditation-Based Intervention in the Treatment of Binge Eating. Journal of Health Psychology. 4(3), 357-363.

Marlatt, G.A., & Kristeller, J.L. (1999). Mindfulness and meditation. In W. R. Miller (Ed.). Integrating Spirituality in Treatment. (pp. 67-84). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Kabat-Zinn, J., Massion, A, Kristeller, J. et al. (1992). Effectiveness of a meditation-based stress reduction intervention in the treatment of anxiety disorders. American Journal of Psychiatry. 149(7), 936-943.

Cuthbert, B, Kristeller, JL, Simons, R & Lang, PJ (1981). Strategies of arousal control: Biofeedback, meditation, and motivation. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 110, 518-546.

Kristeller, JL (1980). Heart rate slowing: Biofeedback vs. medita­tion. In DJ Osborne, MM Gruneberg, & JR Eiser (Eds.) Research in Psychology and Medicine. Vol. 1 (pp. 183-190). London: Academic Press.

Kristeller, JL. (1977). Meditation and biofeedback in the regulation of internal states. In Swami Ajaya. Meditational Therapy. Himalayan Institute. Glenview, IL.

Past Grants on Meditation:

“Meditation-based Treatment for Binge Eating Disorder”. (R21).
Principal Investigator: Jean Kristeller, Ph.D.
Co-PI: Ruth Quillian, Ph.D. Duke University.
Co-Investigators: Virgil Sheets, Ph.D., Michele Boyer, Ph.D.
Agency: NIH – NCCAM.
Period: Sept. 28, 2001 to June, 2004
Description: A multi-site (with Duke University) randomized clinical trial comparing a mindfulness-meditation based intervention to a psycho-educational and a waiting list control for binge eating in the obese.

“Contemplation and Meditation: Developing the Wisdom of the Mind and the Body.”
Contemplative Practice Teaching Fellowship awarded to Jean Kristeller, Ph.D.
Agency: Center for Contemplative Mind in Society/Fetzer Institute. Contemplative Practice Teaching Fellowship.
Period: 1999-2000.