Mindfulness
February 22, 2016
Marta Alda, Marta Puebla-Guedea, Baltasar Rodero et al.
87 citations
Meditation experts had longer telomeres and fewer short telomeres than matched non-meditators. The psychological factor most strongly linked to telomere maintenance was the absence of experiential avoidance—the tendency to suppress or avoid negative emotions and thoughts—along with a sense of common humanity, as measured by the Self-Compassion Scale. These findings suggest that how meditators relate to their inner experience, rather than meditation itself, may be key to cellular aging.
Psychotherapy research : journal of the Society for Psychotherapy Research
November 1, 2024
Shannon Maloney, Jesus Montero-Marin, Willem Kuyken
17 citations
Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy-'Taking it Further' (MBCT-TiF) improved mental well-being more than ongoing mindfulness practice alone in 164 graduates of mindfulness-based programs. This improvement occurred through increases in mindfulness, self-compassion, and decentering—each independently mediated the effect. For depression, all three mediators also played a role, but only mindfulness and decentering mediated effects on psychological quality of life and anxiety. The findings suggest that MBCT-TiF works by enhancing these three psychological skills, though future research should test them together and alongside other potential mediators like equanimity.
BMJ mental health
August 24, 2024
Shannon Maloney, Merle Kock, Yasmijn Slaghekke et al.
16 citations
A systematic review of 27 randomized controlled trials found that mindfulness skills, decentering, and attitudes such as self-compassion are significant indirect pathways through which mindfulness-based programs improve mental health and well-being. Only four studies examined mechanisms within specific mindfulness practices. The evidence for alternative mechanisms like attention and awareness remains limited, especially regarding well-being outcomes, mental health promotion, and comparisons with active controls. The authors call for high-quality trials with powered multivariate mediation analyses to address these knowledge gaps and guide future interventions.
Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology
September 1, 2024
Barnaby D. Dunn, Laura Warbrick, Rachel Hayes et al.
10 citations
Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy with support to taper medication (MBCT-TS) increases positive affect more than continuing antidepressant medication alone, and this increase partly explains the reduced risk of relapse or recurrence in people with recurrent depression. In a randomized trial of 424 adults with three or more prior depressive episodes, MBCT-TS led to significantly greater positive affect at posttreatment compared with maintenance antidepressants. Across both treatments, higher positive affect at intake predicted a lower hazard of relapse over two years. Among participants who had not relapsed by posttreatment, a greater rise in positive affect mediated a reduced risk of subsequent relapse. The findings indicate that boosting positive affect is one mechanism through which MBCT-TS protects against relapse when discontinuing antidepressants.
Mindfulness
January 1, 2023
Shannon Maloney, Christina Surawy, Maryanne Martin et al.
9 citations
Four specific mindfulness practices from Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (body scan, mindful movement, breath and body, and befriending) produced similar state- and trait-level improvements in self-compassion, mindfulness, decentering, interoceptive awareness, and psychological quality of life among 160 adults from the general population. After a single session, state-level effects were observed across all candidate mechanisms and outcomes except decentering, with effect sizes ranging from 0.27 to 0.86. After two weeks of daily practice, trait-level improvements occurred in psychological quality of life and most mechanisms (effect sizes 0.26 to 0.64). No practice proved superior to any other. Changes in mindfulness, self-compassion, decentering, and body listening were linked to better psychological quality of life and more self-led practice.
PLoS One
July 17, 2024
Julieta Galante, Jesus Montero-Marin, Maris Vainre et al.
8 citations
A randomized controlled trial found that participants who completed an 8-week mindfulness-based program reported altered states of consciousness—including experiences of unity, transcendence of time and space, and feelings of bliss—that persisted up to a year later. Compared to a control group, those in the mindfulness program showed significantly higher scores on measures of altered states at both post-intervention and 12-month follow-up. The findings suggest that mindfulness training can produce enduring changes in subjective experience beyond the meditation session itself.
Trials
February 20, 2023
Javier García-campayo, Rinchen Hijar-Aguinaga, Yolanda López-del-hoyo et al.
6 citations
This protocol describes an exploratory randomized controlled trial designed to test whether four deconstructive meditative practices can improve well-being and promote self-deconstruction. The study will compare the effects of these practices, likely involving techniques that challenge the sense of self, against a control condition. Outcomes will include measures of well-being and self-deconstruction, with the aim of identifying which practices are most effective. The trial is exploratory, meaning it will generate preliminary data to inform future research. No results are reported as this is a study protocol.
The British journal of psychiatry : the journal of mental science
April 1, 2025
Jesus Montero-Marin, Verena Hinze, Shannon Maloney et al.
4 citations
Mindfulness skills mediate the effect of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) on depressive symptoms over 24 months, and this mediation is stronger for people with more severe depression. Among 424 adults with recurrent depression, those with higher severity showed an expected 10-point reduction on the Beck Depression Inventory-II, compared to a 3.5-point reduction for those with lower severity. The findings suggest MBCT with antidepressant tapering support works through a unique mechanism—mindfulness skills—that differs from maintenance medication alone, supporting personalized treatment for recurrent depression.
Virtual Reality
September 5, 2025
Marta Modrego-Alarcón, Yolanda López del Hoyo, María Beltrán-ruiz et al.
3 citations
A pilot randomized controlled trial compared a standard mindfulness-based programme (MBP), the same programme enhanced with virtual reality (MBP+VR), and a relaxation control condition in 51 non-clinical adults. All three conditions significantly reduced psychological distress. MBP+VR was more acceptable than relaxation and equally acceptable as MBP alone. MBP+VR outperformed relaxation in reducing psychological distress with a large effect. MBP alone produced greater improvements in depressive symptoms, positive affect, and several facets of mindfulness and self-compassion. MBP+VR improved total mindfulness, the observing facet, and the self-compassion mindfulness subscale. Participants in MBP+VR also showed improvements in state mindfulness and emotional states across VR sessions, reporting an intermediate sense of presence. The authors conclude that further research is warranted.
April 8, 2023
Julieta Galante, Jesus Montero-Marin, Maris Vainre et al.
3 citations
preprint
An 8-week mindfulness-based programme (MBP) led to more intense experiences of unity and disembodiment in daily life compared with mental health support as usual alone. University of Cambridge students without severe mental illness who took the MBP reported stronger feelings of oneness and separation from the body. Meditation practice itself predicted reports of unity, blissful state, insightfulness, disembodiment, and changed meanings. The findings suggest causal links between mindfulness practice and specific altered states of consciousness, and practitioners should anticipate and manage these experiences appropriately.
Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology
June 1, 2025
Andreas Voldstad, Ananda Zeas-Sigüenza, Anton Skolzkov et al.
2 citations
Mindfulness interventions that train nonjudgmental attention to present-moment experience have a consistent but small effect on romantic relationship satisfaction. A meta-analysis of 28 randomized controlled trials with 6,097 participants found a significant medium effect initially, but this was driven by extreme outliers. After removing those outliers, the effect was small and consistent. Effects were moderated by intervention length, baseline satisfaction, and risk of bias. The certainty of the evidence is very low due to inconsistency, imprecision, risk of bias, and suspicion of publication bias. The findings point to the need for better program theory and rigorous methodology.
Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics
June 12, 2026
Thorsten Barnhofer, Maria Niemi, Johannes Michalak et al.
1 citation
For adults with difficult-to-treat depression—those who have not responded to prior treatments, have treatment-resistant depression, or have a chronic course—mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) is likely superior to usual care, reducing depressive symptoms by a standardized mean difference of -0.40 at post-treatment and -0.41 at medium-term follow-up. There was a 92% and 85% probability, respectively, that these benefits exceeded a minimal important difference. However, MBCT did not show clear superiority over other active psychosocial interventions, and no robust moderators of outcome were identified across baseline severity, chronicity, or comorbidity.
medRxiv
February 7, 2025
Jakub Vohryzek, Anne Maj van der Velden, Willem Kuyken et al.
1 citation
preprint
Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) alters brain network dynamics during depressive rumination in people with recurrent depression. In a randomized trial, 27 patients received MBCT plus treatment as usual, while 21 received treatment as usual alone. Using fMRI, researchers analyzed brain substates during an induced rumination state before and after treatment. MBCT changed the probability of a specific 'Salience-somatomotor' brain substate occurring during rumination, compared to the control group. These dynamic network changes were linked to reduced depressive symptoms after treatment and at three months follow-up, suggesting a candidate brain mechanism for how mindfulness training improves clinical outcomes.
Biological Psychiatry Global Open Science
May 14, 2026
Anne Maj van der Velden, Jakub Vohryzek, Paulina Clara Dagnino et al.
Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) alters brain network dynamics during depressive rumination in people with recurrent depression. In a randomized controlled trial with 48 participants, those who received MBCT plus treatment as usual showed changes in the occurrence frequency of a 'salience-somatomotor' brain state during rumination compared to those receiving treatment as usual alone. These neural changes were linked to reduced rumination after treatment and fewer depressive symptoms three months later. The findings suggest that MBCT may work by modifying how the brain's somatosensory and salience networks interact during rumination, offering clues about the brain mechanisms underlying treatment response.
JCPP Advances
October 7, 2025
Carolina Guzman Holst, Simona Skripkauskaite, Jack L. Andrews et al.
Most adolescents (69%-80%) followed stable low-problem trajectories for depression risk, social-emotional-behavioural functioning, wellbeing, and anxiety over a one-year school-based mindfulness intervention trial. However, 11%-23% experienced stable high-problem trajectories, 2%-16% showed increasing problems, and 1%-5% showed decreasing problems. Receiving the mindfulness intervention did not affect which trajectory adolescents followed. Individual factors like executive functioning difficulties and baseline mental health risk, along with school climate, predicted trajectory membership, but these effects did not differ between intervention and control groups. The findings indicate that universal interventions may not address the diverse needs of all students.
Front Psychol
January 21, 2025
Javier García-campayo, Jesus Montero-Marin, Roberto Aristegui
Contemplative neuroscience, which studies meditation, yoga, and related practices, is gaining acceptance in Western psychology and psychiatry, fulfilling a vision of earlier pioneers. A special issue on this topic includes nine papers. One clinical study found that neither semantic nor sensory priming improved outcomes of a self-compassion meditation. Another found that online mindfulness reduced state paranoia in individuals with high positive schizotypy but not trait paranoia. EEG research on Tibetan meditators showed concentrative meditation produced more neural changes than analytical meditation. A study on mindfulness and daily stress found that, except for nonreacting, mindfulness was positively associated with perceived stress.
Behaviour Research and Therapy
February 1, 2024
Shannon Maloney, Jesus Montero-Marin, Willem Kuyken
An adapted mindfulness programme, Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy-Taking it Further (MBCT-TiF), helped graduates of MBCT or MBSR improve their mental well-being more than simply continuing their own mindfulness practice. In a randomized trial with 164 graduates, those assigned to MBCT-TiF showed significantly greater gains in well-being after the programme, with a large effect size. No serious adverse effects occurred. The findings suggest that MBCT-TiF can help people sustain and build on the mental health benefits gained from an introductory mindfulness course, supporting a broader public-health approach to mental well-being.
Scientific Reports
January 9, 2023
Guy William Fincham, Clara Strauss, Jesus Montero-Marin et al.
A meta-analysis of 12 randomized controlled trials with 785 adult participants found that breathwork interventions were associated with lower self-reported stress compared to control conditions, with a small-to-medium effect size. Breathwork also showed similar reductions in anxiety and depressive symptoms. The authors urge caution due to moderate risk of bias in most studies and call for more rigorous research to avoid overhyping the evidence.
Prevention Science
August 1, 2022
Kate Tudor, Shannon Maloney, Anam Raja et al.
Universal school-based mindfulness training can benefit young people, but it is unclear who benefits most, how it works, and how implementation affects outcomes. A scoping review of 31 studies found mixed evidence on moderators such as age or gender. Five studies showed that increased mindfulness skills and reduced cognitive reactivity and self-criticism after training predicted better outcomes later. Twenty-five studies examined implementation factors, but methodological shortcomings limit conclusions. The authors propose a conceptual model to guide future research and theory development.
Frontiers in Psychology
January 1, 2020
Jesus Montero-Marin, Marta Puebla-Guedea, Paola Herrera-Mercadal et al.
correction
A correction notice for a previously published article on Vipassana meditation, personality, positive psychology, retreat, and wellbeing. The notice states that the original article's DOI is 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01935 and provides a correction to that work. No findings, methods, or results are presented.
Frontiers in Psychology
January 1, 2019
Jesus Montero-Marin, Maria C Perez-Yus, Ausiàs Cebolla et al.
Focused attention (FA) meditation session length was associated with higher happiness and positive affect and lower depression, negative affect, and emotional overproduction. Compassion meditation (CM) session length was linked to greater positive affect, and CM practice frequency to higher happiness. Lifetime FA practice related to happiness, and lifetime open monitoring (OM) practice to lower emotional overproduction. Religious beliefs and prayer were less relevant than these meditation practices in explaining psychological adjustment. The findings suggest distinct meditation practices may differentially influence well-being through specific practice variables.
Frontiers in Psychology
January 1, 2016
Jesus Montero-Marin, Marta Puebla-Guedea, Paola Herrera-Mercadal et al.
A one-month Vipassana meditation retreat, involving 8-9 hours of daily practice, a vegetarian diet, and compulsory silence, increased non-attachment, mindfulness (observing), well-being (positive affect, balanced affect), and cooperativeness in experienced meditators compared to matched controls who did not attend the retreat. Decreases occurred in describing, negative views of others, reward dependence, and self-directedness. Non-attachment partly explained changes in decentering, acting with awareness, non-reactivity, negative affect, balanced affect, self-directedness, and life satisfaction, and moderated changes in describing and positive views of others. The retreat appears to improve psychological outcomes even in experienced meditators, with non-attachment potentially enabling further gains beyond non-intensive practice.