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Behaviour Research and Therapy

ISSN 0005-7967, 1873-622X

48 papers in the library · 1,059 citations · publishing 1987-2026

Papers

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Toward precision mindfulness: Predicting mindfulness outcomes after Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction using interpretable machine learning

Behaviour Research and Therapy August 19, 2026 Luis Javier Herrera, Pablo Roca

Background: Mindfulness-based interventions are increasingly used to target transdiagnostic processes implicated in emotional distress, yet little is known about whether post-treatment mindfulness outcomes can be predicted from clinically interpretable participant profiles. This secondary analysis examined whether machine-learning models could predict post-intervention mindfulness following a...

Personalized prediction of response to three meditation practices: A randomized controlled trial

Behaviour Research and Therapy August 10, 2026 Otto Simonsson, Christian A. Webb, Mini Ruiz et al.

Despite decades of meditation research, there is a lack of preregistered and well-powered studies that investigate the effects of brief meditation practices on subjective wellbeing and use data-driven approaches to predict response to these interventions. Using representative samples of the US and UK adult populations with regards to age, sex, and ethnicity (N = 5049), we conducted a...

Clinical effectiveness of a group therapy combining cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia and imagery rehearsal therapy for nightmares in an operational stress injury clinic.

Behaviour Research and Therapy May 1, 2026 K. Dion, A. Nixon, Rebecca Robillard et al.

STUDY OBJECTIVES This study evaluated the effectiveness of a group intervention combining cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) and imagery rehearsal therapy (IRT) for nightmares, delivered to current and former military and law-enforcement personnel with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) at an outpatient operational stress injury clinic. This study further investigated the...

Can cognitive behavioral additions improve the efficacy of self-help mindfulness intervention for depression and anxiety ?: A randomized controlled trial.

Behaviour Research and Therapy March 15, 2026 Ying Huang, Z. Chong, Zenan Dou et al.

OBJECTIVES This study evaluated the comparative efficacy of a self-help mindfulness intervention (sMBI) and a combined mindfulness and cognitive behavioral therapy intervention (sMBI + CBT) in reducing symptoms of depression and anxiety. Additionally, it explored the mechanisms underlying these interventions. METHODS In this randomized controlled trial (RCT), 335 university students from...

Awareness as a key component of mindfulness reduces psychological stress in adolescents: Evidence from multi-method studies.

Behaviour Research and Therapy November 1, 2025 Yaoyao Zhang, Xin Liu, Huimin Wu et al.

The components of mindfulness include awareness and acceptance. However, the effects of awareness and acceptance on psychological stress in adolescents remain controversial, and the underlying cognitive processes less attention. Therefore, this study aimed to examine their independent effects, and the relevant cognitive processes. A cross-sectional survey study (Study 1, N = 3304, Mage = 15.53...

DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2025.104877 (opens in new tab) Full text (opens in new tab) Adolescents Awareness Conflict monitoring Psychological stress

ACTing with Mindfulness for Pain (AMP): A pilot randomized controlled trial of an integrated acceptance and commitment therapy and mindfulness meditation program.

Behaviour Research and Therapy September 1, 2025 M. Herbert, J. Fishbein, Mara Tynan et al.

Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) is an empirically-supported psychotherapy for chronic pain. Although mindfulness is a key component of ACT, most ACT protocols do not include formal mindfulness meditation practice as a principal treatment method, leaving open the question of whether formal practice may bolster ACT's effects. Addressing this gap, the present study assessed the feasibility...

A randomized-controlled trial comparing relative effects of mindfulness-based interoceptive exposure focus versus distraction on cold-pressor induced pain.

Behaviour Research and Therapy July 26, 2025 Corinna Baum, Vanessa Ditter, Janina Wurtz et al. 1 citation

Pain can positively be influenced by the control or direction of attention, e.g. attention diversion from or focusing on pain. The Mindfulness-based Interoceptive Exposure Task (MIET) is an easy to learn and simple to apply interoceptive desensitization method using a sensory focus strategy. This study investigates the distinct effects of sensory-focus and distraction on experimental pain...

Direct mapping of intervention to thought features: A Bayesian proof-of-concept study.

Behaviour Research and Therapy April 1, 2025 Nur Hani Zainal, Christian A. Webb, Lauren S. Hallion

Although uncontrollability is the core feature of perseverative thought that best accounts for its relationship to psychopathology, other features - for example, valence and content - have also been identified as potentially clinically relevant in their own right. We describe results from a proof-of-concept study that examined the extent to which major underlying features of worry could be used...

Induced ruminative and mindful self-focus in daily life across the menstrual cycle in women with and without premenstrual dysphoric disorder.

Behaviour Research and Therapy December 1, 2024 Sibel Nayman, Isabelle Florence Schricker, Ioanna Franziska Grammatikos et al. 2 citations

Rumination and mindfulness are transdiagnostic risk and protective factors while their role in Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD) is unclear. Thus, we aimed to investigate the cycle-phase-specific effects of rumination and mindful self-focus on momentary mood and cognitions in women with and without PMDD. This study involved brief ambulatory inductions of ruminative and mindful self-focus...

DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2024.104630 (opens in new tab) Full text (opens in new tab) Mindfulness Ambulatory assessment Ambulatory induction Menstrual cycle +2

Initial evaluation of a personalized advantage index to determine which individuals may benefit from mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for suicide prevention.

Behaviour Research and Therapy December 1, 2024 Catherine E Myers, Chintan V Dave, Megan S Chesin et al.

Develop and evaluate a treatment matching algorithm to predict differential treatment response to Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for suicide prevention (MBCT-S) versus enhanced treatment-as-usual (eTAU). Analyses used data from Veterans at high-risk for suicide assigned to either MBCT-S (n = 71) or eTAU (n = 69) in a randomized clinical trial. Potential predictors (n = 55) included...

DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2024.104637 (opens in new tab) Full text (opens in new tab) Mindfulness Machine learning Precision medicine Suicide prevention +1

Mindfulness-induced self-transcendence promotes universal love with consequent effects on opioid misuse.

Behaviour Research and Therapy April 1, 2024 Eric L Garland, Thupten Jinpa 4 citations

In addition to its health benefits, mindfulness has been theorized in classical contemplative frameworks to elicit self-transcendent experiences as a means of promoting universal love and compassion. Increasing feelings of love may be especially clinically relevant for the treatment of opioid misuse, in that addictive use of opioids dysregulates neurobiological processes implicated in the...

Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy-Taking it Further (MBCT-TiF) compared to Ongoing Mindfulness Practice (OMP) in the promotion of well-being and mental health: A randomised controlled trial with graduates of MBCT and MBSR.

Behaviour Research and Therapy February 1, 2024 Shannon Maloney, Jesus Montero-Marin, Willem Kuyken

To evaluate the effectiveness and acceptability of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy-Taking it Further (MBCT-TiF), as an adapted programme for graduates of MBCT and Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR). MBCT-TiF sits within a global mental health approach, which aims to help shift a wider distribution of the population towards mental well-being and away from mental ill health using a...

Rates of attrition and engagement in randomized controlled trials of mindfulness apps: Systematic review and meta-analysis.

Behaviour Research and Therapy October 14, 2023 Jake Linardon

Randomized controlled trials (RCT) have established the efficacy of mindfulness apps for numerous mental health and behavioral outcomes. However, studies of this kind are characterized by significant problems with attrition and engagement, making it challenging to interpret these findings and realize the full potential of mindfulness app-based solutions. This systematic review and meta-analysis...

The effect of universal school-based mindfulness on anhedonia and emotional distress and its underlying mechanisms: A cluster randomised controlled trial via experience sampling in secondary schools

Behaviour Research and Therapy September 19, 2023 Liesbeth Bogaert, Katleen van der Gucht, Peter Kuppens et al. 30 citations

This cluster randomised controlled trial examined the effectiveness of universal school-based mindfulness training (MT; vs. passive control) to lower anhedonia and emotional distress among mid-adolescents (15–18 years). It further examined three potential mechanisms: dampening of positive emotions, non-acceptance/suppression of negative emotions, and perceived social pressure not to...

Experimental induction of peritraumatic dissociation: The role of negative affect and pain and their psychophysiological and neural correlates.

Behaviour Research and Therapy March 1, 2023 Sarah K. Danböck, L. K. Franke, Stephan F. Miedl et al.

While research has elucidated processes underlying dissociative symptoms in patients with posttraumatic stress disorder, little is known about the circumstances under which trauma-related dissociation initially arises. To experimentally investigate causes and concomitants of peritraumatic dissociation, we subjected sixty-nine healthy women to aversive-audiovisual and painful-electrical...

Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement reduces opioid craving, pain, and negative affect among chronic pain patients on long-term opioid therapy: An analysis of within- and between-person state effects.

Behaviour Research and Therapy February 28, 2022 Anna Parisi, Adam W. Hanley, E. Garland

Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement (MORE) is an integrative treatment that simultaneously addresses chronic pain and opioid misuse. MORE has been found to produce sustained reductions in opioid craving, pain, and negative affect-key risk mechanisms precipitating opioid misuse for patients on long-term opioid therapy (LTOT). However, less is known about MORE's impact on state measures of...

Attentional Control May Be Modifiable with Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy to Prevent Suicide

Behaviour Research and Therapy October 1, 2021 Megan S Chesin, John G Keilp, Anna Kline et al.

Objective: To test whether Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy to Prevent Suicide (MBCT-S) is associated with improvement in attentional control, an objective marker of suicide attempt. Method: In the context of a randomized clinical trial targeting suicide risk in Veterans, computerized Stroop and emotion Stroop (E-Stroop) tasks were administered 3 times over 6-months follow-up to 135 high...

Autobiographical memory style and clinical outcomes following mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT): An individual patient data meta-analysis

Behaviour Research and Therapy May 25, 2021 Caitlin Hitchcock, Christina Haag, Alicia J. Smith et al. preprint

The ability to retrieve specific, single-incident autobiographical memories has been consistently posited as a predictor of recurrent depression. Elucidating the role of autobiographical memory specificity in patient-response to depressive treatments may improve treatment efficacy and facilitate use of science-driven interventions. We used recent methodological advances in individual patient...

Moment-by-Moment in Women's Recovery (MMWR): Mindfulness-based intervention effects on residential substance use disorder treatment retention in a randomized controlled trial.

Behaviour Research and Therapy July 7, 2019 David S Black, Hortensia Amaro

In this study we test the efficacy of Moment-by-Moment in Women's Recovery (MMWR), a mindfulness-based intervention adapted to support women with substance use disorder (SUD) while in residential treatment. We use a parallel-group randomized controlled trial with a time-matched psychoeducation control to test MMWR effects on residential treatment retention. We used clinical staff-determined...

Effects of mindfulness and psychoeducation on working memory in adult ADHD: A randomised, controlled fMRI study.

Behaviour Research and Therapy July 1, 2018 Katharina Bachmann, Alexandra P. Lam, Peter Sörös et al.

Adult attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a serious mental disorder associated with impaired neurocognitive performance related to working memory function. Recent clinical trials have suggested that mindfulness is a promising intervention in adults with ADHD. We performed a randomised controlled clinical trial to investigate working memory (WM) with an n-back task in adults with...

Effects of brief mindfulness and loving-kindness meditation inductions on emotional and behavioral responses to social rejection among individuals with high borderline personality traits.

Behaviour Research and Therapy 2018 Shian-Ling Keng, Hui Han Tan

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is characterized by an enduring pattern of instability across affective, behavioral, cognitive, and interpersonal domains. Individuals with BPD are known to be particularly vulnerable to experiences of social rejection, but little work has examined strategies that may moderate their reactivity to social rejection. Using a laboratory experimental approach,...

DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2017.11.005 (opens in new tab) Full text (opens in new tab) Mindfulness Borderline personality disorder Loving-kindness meditation Social rejection

Brief training in mindfulness meditation reduces symptoms in patients with a chronic or recurrent lifetime history of depression: A randomized controlled study.

Behaviour Research and Therapy December 1, 2017 Emilia Winnebeck, Maria Fißler, M. Gärtner et al.

BACKGROUND Training in mindfulness has been introduced to the treatment of depression as a means of relapse prevention. However, given its buffering effects on maladaptive responses to negative mood, mindfulness training would be expected to be particularly helpful in those who are currently suffering from symptoms. This study investigated whether a brief and targeted mindfulness-based...

Effects of brief mindful breathing and loving-kindness meditation on shame and social problem solving abilities among individuals with high borderline personality traits.

Behaviour Research and Therapy October 1, 2017 Shian-Ling Keng, Jun Xian Tan

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a severe mental condition characterized by a range of cognitive and behavioral vulnerabilities, including chronic shame and deficits in social problem solving (SPS) abilities. Little research however, has examined strategies that may alleviate shame and SPS deficits among individuals with BPD traits. Using a laboratory experimental approach, the present...

DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2017.07.004 (opens in new tab) Full text (opens in new tab) Mindfulness Borderline personality disorder Loving-kindness meditation Shame +1

Dismantling Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy: Creation and validation of 8-week focused attention and open monitoring interventions within a 3-armed randomized controlled trial.

Behaviour Research and Therapy September 28, 2017 Willoughby B. Britton, Jake H. Davis, Eric B Loucks et al.

Background: While mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) employ two distinct practices, focused attention (FA) and open monitoring (OM), the integrated delivery of these practices in MBIs precludes understanding of their practice-specific effects or mechanisms of action. The purpose of this study is to isolate hypothesized active ingredients and practice-specific mechanistic target engagement...

Efficacy of imagery rescripting and imaginal exposure for nightmares: A randomized wait-list controlled trial.

Behaviour Research and Therapy June 16, 2017 Anna E Kunze, Arnoud Arntz, Nexhmedin Morina et al.

Nightmares can be effectively treated with cognitive-behavioral therapies. Though it remains elusive which therapeutic elements are responsible for the beneficial effects on nightmare symptoms, imagery rescripting (IR) and imaginal exposure (IE) are commonly identified as active treatment components of nightmare therapies. With this randomized controlled trial, we compared IR and IE as...

DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2017.06.005 (opens in new tab) Humans Treatment outcome Dreams Implosive therapy +10