Investigating change in the ability to decentre and depressive symptomatology over the course of a six-month mindfulness-based intervention in patients with persistent depression.
Jonathan Hamilton, Thorsten Barnhofer
Psychiatry Research November 1, 2024 DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2024.116153 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cohort Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 44 |
| Population | Adults with persistent depression |
| Intervention | Mindfulness-based intervention |
| Duration | 6-month intervention |
| Topics | Depression Meditation |
| Keywords | Blended intervention Online |
| Citations | 2 |
| Key findings | Earlier increases in decentering skills predicted later reductions in depressive symptoms over a 6-month blended mindfulness-based intervention. |
Abstract
Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) for depression use regular mindfulness practice as a means of helping patients build skills that allow them to respond more adaptively to negative mood. Although effects of practice are assumed to accumulate over time, little is known about the trajectories of change in skills and symptoms beyond the duration of standard eight-week interventions. Forty-four patients with persistent depression were recruited to participate in a 6-month blended MBI and provided self-reports of depressive symptomatology and their ability to decenter, the core skill cultivated in MBIs, at baseline, mid-intervention and after the end of the intervention. Trajectories of change were analysed using latent change score modelling. Thirty-one participants (70 %) completed the intervention having engaged in 68.6 % of practices on average. Trajectories of change in decentering and depression were best described by a combination of a constant change component and a limiting factor indicating decreasing rates with higher previous gains. Bivariate analyses showed significant lagged change to change coupling linking earlier changes in decentering with later changes in symptoms. The findings suggest that decentering skills increase throughout longer periods of practice and drive changes in symptoms to move patients closer to recovery or remission.
Comparable studies
Other observational and cohort studies on depression, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Metacognitive awareness and prevention of relapse in depression: Empirical evidence. Residually depressed patients and nondepressed controls; recovered depressed patients | 2002 | Observational cohort with intervention components | |
| Psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression: fMRI-measured brain mechanisms. Patients with treatment-resistant depression | 2017 | Observational cohort | n = 19 |
| Antidepressant effects of a single dose of ayahuasca in patients with recurrent depression: a preliminary report Patients with a depressive disorder | 2015 | Observational study | |
| Concomitant BDNF and sleep slow wave changes indicate ketamine-induced plasticity in major depressive disorder Patients with treatment-resistant major depressive disorder | 2012 | Observational cohort | n = 30 |
| Altered peripheral immune profiles in treatment-resistant depression: response to ketamine and prediction of treatment outcome Healthy controls and actively depressed patients with treatment-resistant depression... | 2017 | Observational cohort | n = 59 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 2
- Psychedelic-assisted therapy for death acceptance in terminal illness: A scoping review Journal of Psychedelic Studies April 15, 2026
- Acceptability, Practicality and Preliminary Indications of Efficacy of a Blended Individual Mindfulness Intervention for Patients with Persistent Depression Mindfulness July 1, 2025
Cites 13
- Long-term meditators self-induce high-amplitude gamma synchrony during mental practice Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences November 8, 2004
- Treatment-specific changes in decentering following mindfulness-based cognitive therapy versus antidepressant medication or placebo for prevention of depressive relapse. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology March 12, 2012
- Reduced age-associated brain changes in expert meditators: a multimodal neuroimaging pilot study Scientific Reports August 25, 2017
- Long-Term and Meditation-Specific Modulations of Brain Connectivity Revealed Through Multivariate Pattern Analysis Brain Topography March 28, 2023
- Mediators of change in online mindfulness-based cognitive therapy: A secondary analysis of a randomized trial of mindful mood balance. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology July 17, 2023
and 8 more in the library