Metacognitive awareness and prevention of relapse in depression: Empirical evidence.
Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology January 1, 2002 John D. Teasdale, Richard G. Moore, Hazel Hayhurst et al. 966 citations
Metacognitive awareness—experiencing negative thoughts and feelings as passing mental events rather than as reflections of the self—may protect against depression relapse. In a vulnerable group of residually depressed patients, reduced accessibility of this metacognitive set was linked to greater relapse risk. Cognitive therapy (CT) and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) both reduced relapse by increasing metacognitive awareness, not by altering belief in thought content. CT increased accessibility of metacognitive sets in residually depressed patients, and MBCT did so in recovered depressed patients. These therapies may work by changing how people relate to their thoughts.