Journal of Mood and Anxiety Disorders
June 1, 2024
Danielle Moskow Diamond, David Rosenfield, Nikki Kaiser et al.
5 citations
In generalized anxiety disorder, different treatments improve distinct aspects of mindfulness. A clinical trial randomly assigned 226 individuals with GAD to 12 weeks of Kundalini Yoga, cognitive behavioral therapy, or stress education. The Non-judge, Act with Awareness, and Non-react facets of mindfulness increased significantly during treatment, while the Observe and Describe facets did not. Improvement in Acting with Awareness was significantly greater for Kundalini Yoga than for cognitive behavioral therapy. These findings suggest that behavioral treatments can influence specific mindfulness components differently.
Journal of Affective Disorders
September 1, 2025
Elizabeth A Hoge, Mihriye Mete, Amanda W Baker et al.
3 citations
For adults with anxiety disorders, Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) delivered via videoconference was comparably effective to in-person MBSR, but MBSR-VC did not meet the threshold for non-inferiority compared to the antidepressant escitalopram (ESC) delivered by videoconference. In a randomized controlled trial with 202 participants, MBSR-VC and ESC-VC showed similar average improvement on the Clinical Global Impression of Severity scale (1.39 vs 1.51 points), but non-inferiority was not supported. In-person treatments had a greater impact on social anxiety than their video versions. ESC-VC received higher satisfaction ratings and had a greater effect on panic symptoms than MBSR-VC. Remotely delivered MBSR is a viable option for anxiety disorders, though social anxiety may benefit more from in-person care.
Psychedelic medicine (New Rochelle, N.Y.)
June 1, 2023
Noah D Gold, Samantha K. Podrebarac, Lindsay A White et al.
3 citations
Over 50 million Americans serve as unpaid caregivers for chronically ill loved ones, a role that can foster personal growth but also leads to caregiver distress—a mix of physiological, psychological, interpersonal, and spiritual impairments affecting 30-70% of caregivers. Existing treatments do not fully address all these components. Psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy (PAP) has shown promise in clinical trials for conditions overlapping with caregiver distress, such as anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation, and inflammation, while enhancing empathy, connectedness, and reducing existential distress. Although no studies have yet tested PAP for caregiver distress, this narrative review argues it could comprehensively treat all biopsychosocial-spiritual dimensions of the condition, outlining safety, psychedelic selection, and therapeutic structure for future research.
Journal of Psychiatric Research
June 1, 2026
Amanda W Baker, Samantha R Philip, Caroline H Armstrong et al.
An 8-week course of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and the medication escitalopram both improved self-compassion in 198 adults with anxiety disorders, but MBSR was not generally superior to escitalopram. Two subscales showed differences: MBSR improved Common Humanity over time while escitalopram did not, and MBSR produced greater improvement in Mindfulness from baseline to post-treatment. All domains of self-compassion improved across both groups. The findings suggest that MBSR may offer specific benefits for enhancing mindfulness and common humanity, supporting its use when improving self-relational capacities is a treatment priority.
Frontiers in Psychology
February 11, 2020
Elizabeth A Hoge, Hannah E. Reese, Isabelle A. Oliva et al.
Mindfulness-based interventions are effective for many psychological conditions, but how they work is not well understood. This study examined whether changes in negative interpretation bias—measured by a homophone task—explain the link between mindfulness and anxiety in adults with Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Forty-two participants completed measures before and after Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction. Contrary to expectations, no indirect relationship was found between baseline mindfulness and anxiety through negative interpretation bias. Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction did reduce negative interpretation bias from before to after treatment, but changes in mindfulness did not relate to changes in anxiety through changes in interpretation bias. Overall, the results offer minimal support for the proposed pathway.
Brain, behavior, and immunity
August 1, 2013
Elizabeth A Hoge, Maxine M Chen, Esther Orr et al.
People who practice Loving-Kindness Meditation (LKM), a Buddhist-derived technique focusing on unselfish kindness toward all, tended to have longer telomeres—a cellular marker linked to slower aging—than non-meditators. In women, the difference was statistically significant even after accounting for body mass index and past depression. The study compared 15 LKM practitioners with 22 controls and found no significant differences in age, gender, race, education, or trauma exposure, though controls had higher BMI and lower rates of past depression. The results suggest LKM practice might influence telomere length, particularly in women, though the small sample size limits certainty.