Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) appears feasible for patients with both chronic noncancer pain and opioid use disorder (OUD), though data are limited. This qualitative study explored the process of change during MBCT in this specific population. Participants reported that the intervention helped them relate differently to pain and cravings, suggesting MBCT may be a promising treatment for this dual-diagnosis group.
Negative self-referential processing is well-studied in unipolar depression but less in bipolar disorder (BD). In 49 patients with BD from a randomized trial of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT), those receiving MBCT plus treatment as usual (TAU, n=23) showed a reduction in negative self-referential memory bias over time compared with TAU alone (n=26). At baseline, all three measures of self-referential processing—positive and negative attributions and negative memory bias—were linked to depressive symptoms. The findings are preliminary and suggest that reducing negative self-referential memory bias may help prevent and treat depressive symptoms in BD through MBCT.