JAMA Psychiatry
April 28, 2016
Willem Kuyken, Fiona C Warren, Rod S Taylor et al.
815 citations
For people with recurrent depression, mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) reduces the risk of depressive relapse within a 60-week follow-up period compared with usual care or other active treatments, including antidepressants. A meta-analysis of individual patient data from 9 randomized trials involving 1258 patients (mean age 47.1 years, 75% female) found that those receiving MBCT had a 31% lower risk of relapse versus no MBCT (hazard ratio 0.69), and a 21% lower risk versus other active treatments (hazard ratio 0.79). Sociodemographic and psychiatric variables did not significantly modify the treatment effect, but greater severity of depressive symptoms before treatment was associated with a larger benefit from MBCT.
Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry
October 22, 2018
Darren Dunning, Kirsty Griffiths, Willem Kuyken et al.
596 citations
A meta-analysis of 33 randomized controlled trials involving 3,666 children and adolescents found that mindfulness-based interventions produce small but significant improvements in mindfulness, executive functioning, attention, depression, anxiety/stress, and negative behaviors compared to control conditions. However, when only the 17 trials with active control groups (1,762 participants) were analyzed, significant benefits were limited to mindfulness, depression, and anxiety/stress, with effect sizes (Cohen's d) of 0.42, 0.47, and 0.18 respectively. The authors conclude that mindfulness interventions can improve youth mental health but note that larger definitive trials are needed to confirm these effects and understand how they work.
Behaviour Research and Therapy
May 10, 2017
Christine E. Parsons, Catherine Crane, Liam J. Parsons et al.
553 citations
Participants in Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) and Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) complete about 64% of their assigned home mindfulness practice, which amounts to roughly 30 minutes per day, six days per week over eight weeks. Across 43 studies involving 1,427 participants, this estimate varied widely. In 28 studies with 898 participants, there was a small but significant positive association between the amount of self-reported home practice and better intervention outcomes. The findings suggest that while participants do not fully complete assigned practice, the practice they do complete is linked to benefits.
Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology
December 3, 2013
J. Mark G. Williams, Catherine Crane, Thorsten Barnhofer et al.
418 citations
Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) plus treatment as usual (TAU) did not significantly reduce the risk of relapse to major depressive disorder over 12 months compared with cognitive psychological education (CPE) plus TAU or TAU alone among people with at least three previous episodes. The hazard ratio for MBCT versus CPE was 0.88, and for MBCT versus TAU was 0.69, both with confidence intervals crossing 1.0. However, severity of childhood trauma influenced relapse risk: each one-standard-deviation increase in trauma severity raised the hazard ratio to 1.26. Among participants with above-average childhood trauma, MBCT offered significant protection compared with TAU (hazard ratio 0.43) and a non-significant advantage over CPE. For those with below-average trauma, no differences between treatments appeared.
Behaviour Research and Therapy
February 13, 2009
Thorsten Barnhofer, Catherine Crane, Emily Hargus et al.
398 citations
Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), which combines mindfulness meditation with cognitive therapy techniques, reduced depressive symptoms from severe to mild in patients with chronic-recurrent depression who had at least three previous episodes and a history of suicidal ideation. In a pilot study, patients randomly assigned to MBCT plus treatment-as-usual showed a significant decrease in self-reported depression and in the number meeting full diagnostic criteria, while those receiving treatment-as-usual alone showed no significant change. The findings, though limited by a small sample size, provide preliminary evidence that MBCT can alleviate current symptoms in this difficult-to-treat population.
Journal of Clinical Psychology
December 9, 2005
J. Mark G. Williams, Danielle S. Duggan, Catherine Crane et al.
235 citations
Once suicidal thoughts emerge in depression, they tend to return whenever sad mood reappears, part of a suicidal mode of mind. This article reviews how mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) may prevent reactivation of that suicidal mode. MBCT combines mindfulness meditation with cognitive therapy, training participants to observe moment-by-moment experience with nonjudgmental acceptance. This helps people see thoughts as mental events rather than facts, a skill called metacognitive awareness. A case example illustrates how mindfulness skills develop and relate to cognitive processes fueling suicidal crises. Pilot work suggests MBCT is a promising intervention for those with past suicidal ideation; an ongoing controlled trial will provide further evidence.
Emotion
February 1, 2010
Emily Hargus, Catherine Crane, Thorsten Barnhofer et al.
213 citations
Depressed participants who had experienced suicidal crises described warning signs for their last crisis. Those randomly assigned to mindfulness-based cognitive therapy plus treatment as usual, compared with treatment as usual alone, showed significant improvements in meta-awareness and memory specificity after three months. Mindfulness training may help patients reflect on past crises in a detailed and decentered way, which could aid in preventing relapse.
Mindfulness
March 1, 2010
Thorsten Barnhofer, Tobias Chittka, Helen Nightingale et al.
99 citations
Both mindfulness breathing meditation and loving-kindness meditation shift brain activity toward greater left prefrontal activation, which is linked to approach motivation and positive emotion, in people with a history of depression. A 15-minute session of either meditation produced this change, and the effect depended on each person's tendency to brood. Those who ruminate a lot responded better to breathing meditation, while those low in brooding responded better to loving-kindness meditation. A comparison with a rest group showed the changes were not just due to time passing. The findings suggest both types of meditation can benefit previously depressed individuals, but the best choice may depend on the person's brooding tendency.
British Journal of Clinical Psychology
March 2, 2009
Silvia R. Hepburn, Catherine Crane, Thorsten Barnhofer et al.
74 citations
Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) may reduce thought suppression in people with a history of depression and suicidality, but effects depend on how thought suppression is measured. In a randomized controlled trial, 68 participants were assigned to MBCT or a waitlist control. MBCT did not reduce thought suppression on the White Bear Suppression Inventory, but it did significantly reduce self-reported attempts to suppress thoughts in the previous week. The findings provide preliminary evidence that MBCT for suicidality could lessen thought suppression, though different measures yield different results and further research is needed.
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.
Behaviour Research and Therapy
December 1, 2014
Catherine Crane, Rebecca S. Crane, Catrin Eames et al.
In people with recurrent major depression who received Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy, those who practiced formal mindfulness exercises at home on at least three days per week during the seven-week treatment were almost half as likely to relapse over the following year as those who practiced less often. The average daily duration of formal practice was also linked to better outcomes. These associations held even after accounting for how plausible participants found the treatment. No significant link was found between informal mindfulness practice and relapse risk, possibly because informal practice is harder to measure. The findings suggest that regular formal home practice enhances the protective effect of MBCT against depression relapse.
Mindfulness
December 1, 2010
Catherine Crane, Danka Jandric, Thorsten Barnhofer et al.
Conditional goal setting (CGS), the tendency to make happiness conditional on achieving lower-order goals, is linked to depression and lower dispositional mindfulness. In a pilot randomized trial of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) over 3–4 months, increases in dispositional mindfulness were associated with decreases in CGS, though this effect was not specific to the meditation-trained group. In 55 healthy participants, brief meditation—particularly loving kindness meditation—unexpectedly increased CGS, an effect limited to those low in goal re-engagement ability. Longer-term mindfulness gains may reduce CGS in depressed patients, but initial reactions to meditation can be counterintuitive, warranting further research.