Feasibility of mindfulness-based therapy in patients recovering from a first psychotic episode: a pilot study.
Early Intervention in Psychiatry February 1, 2013 Renate Van der Valk, Susanna Van de Waerdt, Carin J Meijer et al.
Mindfulness-based therapy (MBT) for people recently recovering from a first episode of psychosis appears feasible and does not significantly worsen psychotic symptoms. In a small pilot study, 13 of 16 participants completed eight 1-hour sessions over four weeks. No significant increase in psychotic symptoms occurred, and no participants reported increased awareness of intrusive thoughts or hallucinations. Agoraphobic symptoms and psychoneuroticism decreased. However, one participant initially misunderstood instructions, leading to increased distress. The therapy did not raise mindfulness levels. The authors caution that instructions must be clearly understood and call for larger randomized trials.