Behaviour Research and Therapy - The Consciousness Library

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...

DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2026.105140

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...

DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2026.105141

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...

DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2026.105076

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...

DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2026.105020

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 Full text 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, M. 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...

DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2025.104854

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...

DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2025.104824 Full text Mindfulness Distraction Interoceptive exposure Miet +2

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...

DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2025.104717 Full text

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 Full text 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 Full text 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...

DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2024.104494 Full text Addiction Opioid use disorder Compassion Love +1

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...

DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2024.104478 Full text Mbct-tif Mental health Mindfulness-based Rct +1

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...

DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2022.104066

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...

DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2021.103988

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...

DOI: 10.31234/osf.io/s98a6 Full text

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 Full text 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...

DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2017.10.005 Full text

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 Full text Mindfulness Borderline personality disorder Loving-kindness meditation Shame +1

Trajectories of Social Anxiety, Cognitive Reappraisal, and Mindfulness During an RCT of CBGT versus MBSR for Social Anxiety Disorder

Behaviour Research and Therapy June 3, 2017 P. Goldin, A. Morrison, Hooria Jazaieri et al.

Cognitive-Behavioral Group Therapy (CBGT) and Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) are efficacious in treating social anxiety disorder (SAD). It is not yet clear, however, whether they share similar trajectories of change and underlying mechanisms in the context of SAD. This randomized controlled study of 108 unmedicated adults with generalized SAD investigated the impact of CBGT vs. MBSR...

DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2017.06.001 Full text

Home practice in Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy and Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction: A systematic review and meta-analysis of participants' mindfulness practice and its association with outcomes

Behaviour Research and Therapy May 10, 2017 Christine E. Parsons, Catherine Crane, Liam J. Parsons et al. 553 citations

Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) and Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) emphasize the importance of mindfulness practice at home as an integral part of the program. However, the extent to which participants complete their assigned practice is not yet clear, nor is it clear whether this practice is associated with positive outcomes. For this systematic review and meta-analysis,...

DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2017.05.004

The effects of amount of home meditation practice in Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy on hazard of relapse to depression in the Staying Well after Depression Trial

Behaviour Research and Therapy December 1, 2014 Catherine Crane, Rebecca S. Crane, Catrin Eames et al.

Few empirical studies have explored the associations between formal and informal mindfulness home practice and outcome in Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT). In this study ninety-nine participants randomised to MBCT in a multi-centre randomised controlled trial completed self-reported ratings of home practice over 7 treatment weeks. Recurrence of Major Depression was assessed...

DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2014.08.015 Full text

Differential effects of mindful breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, and loving-kindness meditation on decentering and negative reactions to repetitive thoughts.

Behaviour Research and Therapy October 1, 2010 Greg Feldman, Jeff Greeson, Joanna Senville

Decentering has been proposed as a potential mechanism of mindfulness-based interventions but has received limited empirical examination to date in experimental studies comparing mindfulness meditation to active comparison conditions. In the present study, we compared the immediate effects of mindful breathing (MB) to two alternative stress-management techniques: progressive muscle relaxation...

DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2010.06.006 Full text

Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy as a treatment for chronic depression: A preliminary study

Behaviour Research and Therapy February 13, 2009 Thorsten Barnhofer, Catherine Crane, Emily Hargus et al. 398 citations

This pilot study investigated the effectiveness of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), a treatment combining mindfulness meditation and interventions taken from cognitive therapy, in patients suffering from chronic-recurrent depression. Currently symptomatic patients with at least three previous episodes of depression and a history of suicidal ideation were randomly allocated to receive...

DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2009.01.019 Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy Depression economics Clinical psychology Group psychotherapy +4

What is a dream?

Behaviour Research and Therapy 1987 Martin E. P. Seligman, Amy Yellen 71 citations

Dreaming is held to consist of three elements: periodic, unrelated visual bursts, emotional episodes, and the cognitive synthesis of the first two. The theory predicts that there are two kinds of visual imagery in dreams: one vivid, detailed, colorful, large and in the center of the visual field. The other less vivid, less detailed, less colorful, smaller, and in the periphery. These vivid...

DOI: 10.1016/0005-7967(87)90110-0

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