That description of meditation uses terms which cause a lot of confusion. Focusing on anything leads to problems. Dismissing thoughts leads to repression and unconscious expression of the thoughts. The way my teacher puts it is "rest in the experience of breathing." That means fostering awareness of every aspect of experience: the physical, the emotional and the mental.

As for "effective," if you practice with any hope for improving your life, you're likely to end up disappointed. That said, I do two hours of dzogchen meditation a day, one hour when I've just gotten up, and one just before bed. This allows me to be highly functional on five hours of sleep a night. (I've always gotten about five hours of sleep a night, but this allows me to function that way) and has opened up a world of new possibilities in emotional awareness and emotional regulation. It does force awareness of the pressing problems in life, which is uncomfortable, but better, in the long run, than ignorance.