Group mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) adapted for combat posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is feasible, acceptable, and associated with clinically meaningful reductions in PTSD symptom severity, particularly avoidance and numbing symptoms, and trauma-related cognitions such as self-blame. In an outpatient VA clinic, veterans with chronic PTSD who completed an 8-week MBCT group showed significant improvement on clinician-rated PTSD symptoms, whereas those in brief treatment-as-usual did not. Homework compliance was good, and drop-out rates were modest. The findings suggest MBCT as a brief adjunctive therapy for combat PTSD, but randomized controlled trials are needed to confirm efficacy.
Mindfulness training may help treat PTSD by strengthening connections between brain networks involved in self-focused thought and executive control. In combat veterans with PTSD, a mindfulness-based group therapy reduced symptoms (effect size d = 0.92), though not significantly more than an active control therapy (d = 0.46). Brain scans showed that mindfulness training increased resting-state functional connectivity between the default mode network and regions supporting attention and control, such as the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex. This increased connectivity correlated with improvements in avoidance and hyperarousal symptoms, suggesting a neural mechanism for how mindfulness helps regulate attention and reduce PTSD symptoms.