Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy in the Treatment of Late-Life Anxiety and Depression —a Pilot Study
Canadian Geriatrics Journal February 21, 2026 Mathilde Labbé, Katerina Nikolitch, Romeo Penheiro et al.
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Soham Rej
19 papers in the library · 113 citations · publishing 2016-2026
Papers
Meditative absorption shifts brain dynamics toward criticality
arXiv (Cornell University) November 26, 2025 Jonas Mago, Josh Brahinsky, Mark Miller et al.
Criticality describes a regime between order and chaos that supports flexible yet stable information processing. Here we examine whether neural dynamics can be volitionally shifted toward criticality through the self-regulation of attention. We examined ten experienced practitioners of meditation during a 10-day retreat, comparing refined states of meditative absorption, called the jhanas, to...
The Music for Subanesthetic Infusions of Ketamine randomised clinical trial: ketamine as a psychedelic treatment for highly refractory depression
The British Journal of Psychiatry June 18, 2025 Kyle T. Greenway, Nicolas Garel, Lê-Anh Dinh-Williams et al. 8 citations
Background Ketamine exerts potent but transient antidepressant effects in treatment-resistant depression (TRD). Combinations of ketamine and psychotherapy have attracted interest, but no trial has investigated a psychedelic model of ketamine–psychotherapy for TRD to our knowledge. Aims This secondary analysis of a randomised clinical trial (RCT) explores the therapeutic effects and experiential...
Longitudinal experiences of Canadians receiving compassionate access to psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy.
Scientific Reports July 17, 2024 Sara de la Salle, Hannes Kettner, Julien Thibault Lévesque et al. 21 citations
Recent clinical trials have found that the serotonergic psychedelic psilocybin effectively alleviates anxiodepressive symptoms in patients with life-threatening illnesses when given in a supportive environment. These outcomes prompted Canada to establish legal pathways for therapeutic access to psilocybin, coupled with psychological support. Despite over one-hundred Canadians receiving...
Examining the acceptability and feasibility of the Compassionate Mindful Resilience (CMR) programme in adults living with chronic kidney disease: the COSMIC study findings.
BMC nephrology January 31, 2024 Anna Wilson, Claire Carswell, Clare Mckeaveney et al. 4 citations
Individuals with chronic kidney disease experience difficult physical and psychological symptoms, that impact quality of life, and are at increased risk of anxiety and depression. Access to specialist psychological support is limited. This study aimed to support a new service development project, in collaboration with Kidney Care UK, to implement the Compassionate Mindful Resilience (CMR)...
Experiences of People with Kidney Disease Following the Implementation of the Compassionate Mindful Resilience Programme: Qualitative Findings from the COSMIC Study.
Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) November 8, 2023 Anna Wilson, Clare Mckeaveney, Claire Carswell et al. 5 citations
Kidney disease is a progressive, debilitating condition. Patients experience challenging physical and psychological symptoms and are at increased risk of anxiety, depression, and poor mental wellbeing. Access to specialist psychological or social support is limited, with inadequate provision of psychosocial support available across UK renal units. The COSMIC study (examining the acceptability...
Intravenous ketamine for benzodiazepine deprescription and withdrawal management in treatment-resistant depression: a preliminary report.
Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology November 1, 2023 Nicolas Garel, Kyle T. Greenway, Lê-Anh Dinh-Williams et al. 10 citations
We present the first evidence that sub-anesthetic ketamine infusions for treatment resistant depression (TRD) may facilitate deprescription of long-term benzodiazepine/z-drugs (BZDRs). Long-term BZDR prescriptions are potentially harmful yet common, partly because of challenging withdrawal symptoms. Few pharmacological interventions have evidence for facilitating BZDR discontinuation, and none...
Virtually-Delivered Emotion Focused Mindfulness Therapy (EFMT) Group vs. Wait-List Control for Late-Life Anxiety: A Randomized Controlled Trial.
The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry October 1, 2023 Stacey Hatch, Marcia Finlayson, Soham Rej et al. 5 citations
The worldwide annual prevalence of anxiety in older adults is estimated to be between 6% and 10%. Emotion Focused Mindfulness Therapy (EFMT) is a mindfulness-based group intervention that has been demonstrated to reduce symptoms of anxiety in community dwelling adults. No study has yet assessed EFMT for older adults with late-life anxiety. The aim of this study was to determine the feasibility...
The Montreal model: an integrative biomedical-psychedelic approach to ketamine for severe treatment-resistant depression
Frontiers in Psychiatry September 19, 2023 Nicolas Garel, Jessica Drury, Julien Thibault Lévesque et al. 32 citations
Background Subanesthetic ketamine has accumulated meta-analytic evidence for rapid antidepressant effects in treatment-resistant depression (TRD), resulting in both excitement and debate. Many unanswered questions surround ketamine’s mechanisms of action and its integration into real-world psychiatric care, resulting in diverse utilizations that variously resemble electroconvulsive therapy,...
Ketamine for depression: a potential role in requests for Medical Aid in Dying?
International Clinical Psychopharmacology September 1, 2023 Nicolas Garel, Michka Nazon, Kamran Naghi et al. 7 citations
Medical Aid in Dying (MAiD) is the act of a healthcare provider ending a patient's life, at their request, due to unbearable suffering from a grievous and incurable disease. Access to MAiD has expanded in the last decade and, more recently, it has been made available for psychiatric illnesses in a few countries. Recent studies have found that such psychiatric requests are rapidly increasing and...
Tri-process model of interpersonal mindfulness: theoretical framework and study protocol
Frontiers in Psychology April 26, 2023 Bassam Khoury, Viktoriya Manova, Lena Adel et al.
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, over 14% of the US population practice mindfulness meditation. The effects of mindfulness training on physical and mental health have been consistently documented, but its effects on interpersonal relationships are not yet fully understood or investigated. Interpersonal relationships play a crucial role in the wellbeing of individuals...
Effects of virtual reality guided meditation in older adults: the protocol of a pilot randomized controlled trial.
Frontiers in Psychology 2023 Karin Cinalioglu, Paola Lavín, Magnus Bein et al. 21 citations
Virtual reality (VR) based meditation has been shown to help increase relaxation and decrease anxiety and depression in younger adults. However, this has not been studied in Randomized Controlled Trials (RCT) in the older adult population. The aim of this RCT is to assess the feasibility and acceptability of a VR-guided meditation intervention for community-dwelling older adults and its effect...
The effectiveness of mindfulness-based meditation treatments for late life anxiety: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials
Aging & Mental Health July 31, 2022 Stacey Hatch, Jodie Webber, Soham Rej et al.
Abstract Objective Older adults are interested in mindfulness-based interventions with a meditation component for late life anxiety. This review examined the effectiveness of existing mindfulness-based interventions with a meditation component. Methods This systematic review was registered with the Joanna Briggs Institute on 2021-05-17, was guided by Joanna Briggs Institute methodology and...
Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy vs. a health enhancement program for the treatment of late-life depression: Study protocol for a multi-site randomized controlled trial.
Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience 2022 Magnus Bein, Myriam Lesage, Elena Dikaios et al.
Late-life depression (LLD) affects up to 18% of older adults and has been linked to elevated dementia risk. Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) holds promise for treating symptoms of depression and ameliorating cognitive deficits in older adults. While preliminary findings are promising, a definitive RCT investigating its effects on late life depression and cognition have not yet been...
Kundalini Yoga Intervention Increases Hippocampal Volume in Older Adults: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.
International Journal of Yoga 2022 Marim Ibrahim, Joseph Therriault, Vasavan P Nair et al.
Among a rapidly aging population, there is increased need for neuroprotective interventions promoting healthy neurological aging. Mind-body interventions, such as Kundalini yoga, are actively being explored as accessible means to encourage healthy aging. However, little remains known about the neurobiological effects of Kundalini yoga. This pilot randomized-controlled trial (RCT) examined the...
Video-delivered emotion-focused mindfulness therapy for late- life anxiety: study protocol for a feasibility randomized controlled trial.
Pilot and Feasibility Studies September 3, 2021 Stacey Hatch, Dorothy Kessler, Marcia Finlayson et al.
The worldwide prevalence of anxiety in older adults is estimated at between 6 and 10%. In Canada, adults 65 and older experience anxiety at a rate of 6.4%, affecting more than 300,000 people. Anxiety in older adults has been linked to difficulties retaining new information and engaging in instrumental daily activities of living. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, novel methods of delivering therapy...
Effects of Sahaj Samadhi meditation on heart rate variability and depressive symptoms in patients with late-life depression – RETRACTION
British Journal of Psychiatry May 25, 2021 Emily Ionson, Jayneel Limbachia, Soham Rej et al.
We, the Editors of BJPsych, have retracted the following article: Effects of Sahaj Samadhi meditation on heart rate variability and depressive symptoms in patients with late-life depression, Ionson, E., Limbachia, J., Rej, S., Puka, K., Newman, R. I., Wetmore, S., Burhan, A. M. and Vasudev, A, The British Journal of Psychiatry (2019), Cambridge University Press, 214(4), pp. 218–224. DOI:...
Continuation Sessions of Mindfulness‐Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT‐C) vs. Treatment as Usual in Late‐Life Depression and Anxiety: An Open‐Label Extension Study
International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry June 11, 2020 Elena Dikaios, Sophia Escobar, Marouane Nassim et al.
Mindfulness‐based cognitive therapy (MBCT) is a novel treatment for depression. Our published randomized controlled trial shows that MBCT improves symptoms of late‐life depression (LLD) and anxiety (LLA). We now examine whether continuation sessions of MBCT (MBCT‐C) can prevent LLD/LLA symptom recurrence.
Tolerability and suitability of brief group mindfulness-oriented interventions in psychiatric inpatients: a pilot study.
International journal of psychiatry in clinical practice September 1, 2016 Katerina Nikolitch, Vincent Laliberté, Ching Yu et al.
Mindfulness-oriented therapies have a positive impact on patients' overall well-being and alleviate many psychiatric conditions. However, little is known about their use in people with severe mental illness. We aimed to identify which clinical and sociodemographic factors are associated with suitability/tolerability of a brief group mindfulness-oriented therapy. This retrospective study...