Supporting antidepressant discontinuation using mindfulness plus monitoring versus monitoring alone: A cluster randomized trial in general practice.
PLoS One January 1, 2023 Marloes J Huijbers, Carolien Wentink, Peter L B J Lucassen et al.
Adding Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) to supported protocolized discontinuation (SPD) did not significantly help patients stop antidepressant medication (ADM) more than SPD alone. In a cluster-randomized trial across 36 Dutch primary care practices, 44% of patients offered MBCT plus SPD discontinued ADM within six months, compared to 33% offered SPD alone—a difference that was not statistically significant. Only 27% of those assigned to MBCT completed the program. Participation was low overall: of about 3000 invited patients, 119 started the interventions and 92 completed all assessments. No serious adverse events occurred.