Background: Shame is a component that contributes to psychopathology yet few interventions target it directly. Psychedelic-assisted therapy has been investigated as an intervention targeting shame and its associated burden. As part of psychedelic efficacy is mediated by expectation effects the true effect a psychedelic intervention may provide is unknown. Here we examined whether a psychedelic...
Insomnia and anxiety frequently co-occur with treatment-resistant depression (TRD). This study examined short-term changes in depression, anxiety, and insomnia symptoms post-ketamine in TRD and their inter-relationships. Seventy-one patients with TRD were assessed at baseline and 24 h after intravenous ketamine (0.5 mg/kg). Depression, anxiety, and insomnia were measured using the...
Abstract Negative affect automatically triggering rumination is a core pathological mechanism underlying emotional distress. While mindfulness is hypothesized to buffer this process, few studies have dynamically tracked these effects during systematic interventions. The study employed a single‐arm daily diary design during an 8‐week mindfulness‐based intervention (MBI) to investigate whether...
Given the substantial burden of global emotional distress and the proven efficacy of mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs), identifying early mechanisms of MBIs is critical for optimizing treatment adherence and outcomes. This study employed behavioral measures to investigate experiential avoidance as an early mechanism in an online MBI. Eighty-one participants experiencing high emotional...
The intensity of altered states of consciousness (ASC) induced by a psychedelic represents a key mechanism underlying the therapeutic effects of psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT). However, growing evidence suggests that expectations may contribute significantly to therapeutic effects of PAT. The present study examined whether a psychedelic placebo could induce an ASC in a PAT- analogous...
Adjustment Disorder (AjD) is a common stress-related condition, yet evidence-based interventions remain scarce. Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) targets transdiagnostic mechanisms such as cognitive fusion and low self-compassion, which may be particularly relevant for AjD. This randomized controlled trial tested the efficacy of a brief, guided, asynchronous internet-delivered MBCT...
This study examined the role of perceived stress in intervention-related change during a mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) for emotional distress across two randomized controlled trials. In Study 1, 636 participants (Mage = 31.06, SDage = 9.54; 83.18% female) with high psychological distress were randomized to an MBI group (N = 318) or a Waitlist control group (N = 318), measuring perceived...
This study used a daily diary method to examine the temporal relationship between distress tolerance (DT), anxiety, and depression during a mindfulness-based intervention (MBI). A total of 83 participants with high emotional distress completed daily diaries of mindfulness, DT, anxiety and depression over one week before, during, and after the intervention. Linear mixed models showed significant...
MindfulnessMay 1, 2026Cláudia P. Pires, Julieta Azevedo, Raquel Guiomar et al.
Abstract Objectives Research on structured, manualized psychotherapeutic interventions for high test anxiety (TA) in adolescents remains limited, particularly those integrating acceptance, mindfulness, and compassion-based strategies. These psychological processes have been identified as protective factors for test anxiety, fostering adaptive emotional regulation and resilience. The AcAdeMiC...
To examine the mechanistic role of cognitive flexibility in mindfulness intervention for emotional distress (MIED), we conducted two randomized controlled trials. In Study 1, 607 participants experiencing high emotional distress were randomly assigned to either an MIED program group (N = 304) or a waitlist control group (N = 303). Levels of cognitive flexibility, anxiety, depression, and...
Many individuals who engage in mindfulness experience decreased anxiety. Yet some individuals, particularly those with panic disorder (PD) or elevated anxiety sensitivity (AS), note heightened anxiety when observing particular sensations. The Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ) is one of the most widely utilized mindfulness questionnaires. However, its Observe facet has shown...
Rapid symptom relief is crucial for individuals with emotional disorders. The current study aimed to determine whether facilitator-supported mindfulness-based self-help (MBSH) intervention as an adjunctive treatment could provide rapid improvement for individuals with emotional disorders. A practice-oriented randomized controlled trial was conducted on a sample of 302 patients with emotional...
To investigate the role of decentering as a mediator of the effect of mindfulness/mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) on emotional distress, we conducted cross-sectional and longitudinal designs. In Study 1, a total of 998 participants with high emotional distress were included. Mindfulness, decentering, anxiety, and depression were measured at baseline. In Study 2, 688 participants with high...
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a prevalent mental health issue characterized by intrusive thoughts (obsessions) and repetitive behaviors (compulsions) that can cause significant life impairment. Despite cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) being the most effective treatment, some individuals experience insufficient symptom reduction or relapse. This special report explores the potential...
When patients seek professional help for mental disorders, they often do so because of troubling subjective affective experiences. While these subjective states are at the center of the patient's symptomatology, scientific tools for studying them and their cognitive antecedents are limited. Here, we explore the use of concepts and analytic tools from the science of consciousness, a field of...
Improving mindfulness is an important treatment target for generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). However, less is known about how different treatments impact specific aspects of mindfulness. In a clinical trial (Simon et al., 2021), 226 individuals with GAD were randomized to 12 weeks of Kundalini Yoga (KY), cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) or stress education (SE). To examine whether specific...
In the course of the Covid-19 pandemic, it has become clear what relevance non-contact psychotherapeutic online interventions in mental health care could possibly have in the future. The present pilot study aims to test whether a Metta-based group program is also an acceptable and feasible treatment when conducted as video-based intervention. Metta meditations aim at showing unconditional...
Ketamine and esketamine offer a novel approach in the pharmacological treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD). This meta-analysis aimed to investigate the placebo response in double-blind, randomized controlled studies (RCTs) on patients with MDD receiving ketamine or esketamine. For this systematic review and meta-analysis Medline (PubMed), Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials...
We aimed to investigate whether distress tolerance mediated the effects of mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) on anxiety and depression with two randomized controlled studies. In Study 1, 374 participants with at least moderate emotional distress were randomized to an intervention group (N = 174) and a waitlist control group (N = 173). Mindfulness, distress tolerance, anxiety, and depression...
This study aimed to investigate whether attentional control serves as a mediator for mindfulness-based interventions for emotional distress, utilizing a randomized waitlist (WL)-controlled design. A total of 498 participants with high emotional distress was recruited online and randomly assigned to a 49-day online Mindfulness Intervention for Emotional Distress (MIED) group (N = 249) or a WL...
Background Both trait and state mindfulness are associated with less depression and anxiety, but the mechanisms remain unknown. Distress tolerance, an important transdiagnostic factor of emotional disorders, may mediate the relationship between mindfulness and depression/anxiety. Method Study 1 examined the mediation model at the between-person level in a large cross-sectional sample (n = 905)....
Background/objective: Human consciousness is arguably unique, and its features are hard to explain. Continuous and discrete accounts of consciousness are commonly viewed as incompatible, but both have limitations. Continuous accounts cannot readily account for what appears to be unique about human consciousness; discrete accounts have a hard time explaining how human consciousness could have...
The mechanisms underlying the subjective experiences of mental disorders remain poorly understood. This is partly due to long-standing over-emphasis on behavioral and physiological symptoms and a de-emphasis of the patient's subjective experiences when searching for treatments. Here, we provide a new perspective on the subjective experience of mental disorders based on findings in neuroscience...
The benefits of mindfulness-based interventions to alleviate anxiety and depression have been supported by many studies. Given the effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions on anxiety and depression, the underlying mechanisms need to be explored. Using a randomized waitlist-controlled design, this study investigated whether anxiety sensitivity was a potential mechanism for the impact of...
Objectives: Current treatments for chronic depression have focused on reducing interpersonal problems and negative affect, but paid little attention to promoting prosocial motivation and positive affect. Following this treatment focus, the objective of the present study was to examine whether the combination of metta (Loving Kindness) group meditation and subsequent tailored individual therapy...