Journal of Anxiety Disorders
July 1, 2026
Paweł Holas, Jan Wardęszkiewicz, Malgorzata Grochowska et al.
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...
Behavior therapy
May 1, 2026
Yanjuan Li, Amy Hu, Yiran Ding et al.
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...
Mindfulness
May 1, 2026
Cláudia 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...
Journal of Counseling Psychology
July 14, 2025
Zhenzhen Wang, Mo Chen, Amy Hu et al.
2 citations
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...
BMC Psychiatry
April 1, 2025
Danielle Moskow Diamond, Joshua Curtiss, Joseph K. Carpenter et al.
4 citations
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...
Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics
2025
Yanjuan Li, Yi Zhang, Chun Wang et al.
13 citations
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...
Psychotherapy research : journal of the Society for Psychotherapy Research
November 17, 2024
Zhenzhen Wang, Xinyi Tang, Amy Hu et al.
5 citations
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...
Expert Review of Neurotherapeutics
August 1, 2024
Andreas Reis, Marlon Westhoff, Hicham Quintarelli et al.
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...
Journal of Mood and Anxiety Disorders
June 1, 2024
Danielle Moskow Diamond, David Rosenfield, Nikki Kaiser et al.
5 citations
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...
Verhaltenstherapie
April 1, 2024
Elisabeth A. Arens, Lucas Donnerstag, Stefan G Hofmann et al.
1 citation
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...
International journal of clinical and health psychology : IJCHP
2024
Yanjuan Li, Mengyao He, Zhenzhen Wang et al.
18 citations
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...
Frontiers in Psychiatry
2024
Alexandros Matsingos, Marcel Wilhelm, Laila Noor et al.
18 citations
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...
Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy
2024
Zhenzhen Wang, Kaerqika Shalihaer, Stefan G Hofmann et al.
10 citations
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...
International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology
July 5, 2023
Yanjuan Li, Ruilin Ju, Stefan G Hofmann et al.
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)....
Mindfulness
October 8, 2021
Ulrich Stangier, Artjom Frick, Isabel Thinnes et al.
11 citations
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...
Mindfulness
May 2, 2020
Christina Totzeck, Tobias Teismann, Stefan G Hofmann et al.
62 citations
Abstract Objectives Loving-kindness meditation (LKM) has been shown to improve wellbeing and positive emotions in clinical and non-clinical populations. The main goal of the present study was to examine whether LKM might be an effective intervention to promote positive mental health using the Positive Mental Health Scale (PMH) and to decrease depression, anxiety, and stress in university...
Clinical Psychology Review
November 11, 2019
Joseph K. Carpenter, Kristina Conroy, Angelina F Gómez et al.
Trait mindfulness appears to be related to lower levels of negative affective symptoms, but it remains uncertain which facets of mindfulness are most important in this relationship. Accordingly, the present meta-analysis examined studies reporting correlations between affective symptoms and trait mindfulness as assessed by the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire. A comprehensive search yielded...
Clinical Psychology in Europe
September 18, 2019
Simona Stefan, Stefan G Hofmann
24 citations
Loving kindness meditation and compassion meditation are traditional Buddhist practices that have recently been introduced and investigated in psychotherapy with promising results. Both meditation practices emphasize metta, a mental state of positive energy and kindness towards oneself and other beings, as opposed to the anger, hostility, or self-loathing that often accompany emotional...
Zeitschrift für Klinische Psychologie und Psychotherapie
July 1, 2018
Viola N. L. S. Schilling, W. Lutz, Stefan G Hofmann et al.
Zusammenfassung. Theoretischer Hintergrund: Chronische Depressionen gehen mit einer langwierigen Belastung einher und verursachen hohe Krankheitskosten. Ein möglicher Ansatz zur Behandlung könnte die Loving Kindness Meditation (LKM) sein. Methode: In dieser Pilot-Studie wurde ein LKM-Gruppenprogramm eingesetzt und bezüglich der Effektivität untersucht. N = 2207 Fälle aus Wartelistendaten wurden...
Cerebrum
2018
Joseph E LeDoux, Richard Brown, D. Pine et al.
Editor’s Note The study of subjective experience represents a significant challenge to cognitive scientists, but one that is beginning to be increasingly addressed. Subjectivity renders experience less amenable to traditional objective scientific measurements than other subject matter. Our authors believe that when seeking to understand the mind, subjectivity must ultimately be investigated and...
Psychiatric Clinics of North America
September 18, 2017
Stefan G Hofmann, Angelina F Gómez
Synopsis This article reviews the ways in which cognitive and behavioral treatments for depression and anxiety have been advanced by the application of mindfulness practices. Research on mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) has increased exponentially in the past decade. The most common include Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT). MBIs have...
Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine
2015
Stefan G Hofmann, Nicola Petrocchi, James Steinberg et al.
70 citations
Conventional treatments for mood disorders primarily focus on reducing negative affect, but little on enhancing positive affect. Loving-kindness meditation (LKM) is a traditional meditation practice directly oriented toward enhancing unconditional and positive emotional states of kindness towards oneself and others. We report here two independent and uncontrolled studies carried out at...
Clin Psychol Rev
July 26, 2011
Stefan G Hofmann, Paul Grossman, Devon E Hinton
945 citations
Mindfulness-based meditation interventions have become increasingly popular in contemporary psychology. Other closely related meditation practices include loving-kindness meditation (LKM) and compassion meditation (CM), exercises oriented toward enhancing unconditional, positive emotional states of kindness and compassion. This article provides a review of the background, the techniques, and...
Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology
April 1, 2010
Stefan G Hofmann, Alice T. Sawyer, Ashley A. Witt et al.
BACKGROUND Although mindfulness-based therapy has become a popular treatment, little is known about its efficacy. OBJECTIVES To conduct an effect size analysis of this popular intervention for anxiety and mood symptoms in clinical samples. DATA SOURCES A literature search was conducted using PubMed, PsycInfo, the Cochrane Library, and manual searches. REVIEW METHODS The search identified 39...
Danielle M Moskow, Joshua Curtiss, Joseph K. Carpenter et al.
preprint
Although many individuals who engage in mindfulness endorse less anxiety, others experience heightened anxiety when focusing on particular sensations. This study aimed to determine whether specific mindfulness items related to observing internally or externally differ in individuals with panic disorder (PD) or elevated anxiety sensitivity (AS). We examined a clinical sample of 1521 Japanese...