Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) plus treatment as usual (TAU) did not significantly reduce the risk of relapse to major depressive disorder over 12 months compared with cognitive psychological education (CPE) plus TAU or TAU alone among people with at least three previous episodes. The hazard ratio for MBCT versus CPE was 0.88, and for MBCT versus TAU was 0.69, both with confidence intervals crossing 1.0. However, severity of childhood trauma influenced relapse risk: each one-standard-deviation increase in trauma severity raised the hazard ratio to 1.26. Among participants with above-average childhood trauma, MBCT offered significant protection compared with TAU (hazard ratio 0.43) and a non-significant advantage over CPE. For those with below-average trauma, no differences between treatments appeared.
An online mindfulness course lasting about 6 weeks significantly reduced perceived stress in a sample of 100 self-referred adults (average age 48, 74% women). The reduction in stress was seen immediately after the course and remained stable at a 1-month follow-up. The size of the effect was similar to that of in-person mindfulness programs. People who started with higher stress levels reported doing more mindfulness practice, and more practice was linked to greater stress reduction. These results suggest that online mindfulness courses could broaden access to stress-reducing therapies.
An online mindfulness course, completed at a self-directed pace over at least 4 weeks, significantly reduced perceived stress, anxiety, and depression in 273 self-referred adults. Improvements were seen immediately after the course and continued to increase at a 1-month follow-up, with effect sizes comparable to those of face-to-face mindfulness programs and cognitive behavioral therapy. The amount of meditation practice reported did affect outcomes when controlling for baseline severity. The study lacked a control group, so future research is needed to confirm the findings for different populations.