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Mindfulness-Based Interventions for Anxiety and Depression

Stefan G Hofmann, Angelina F Gómez

Psychiatric Clinics of North America September 18, 2017 DOI: 10.1016/j.psc.2017.08.008 (opens in new tab)

Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Review Peer reviewed
Population Treatment-seeking individuals with anxiety and depression
Topics Anxiety Depression Meditation
Key findings Mindfulness-based interventions effectively reduce anxiety and depression symptom severity, outperforming non-evidence-based treatments and active controls, and performing comparably to cognitive-behavioral therapy.

Abstract

Synopsis This article reviews the ways in which cognitive and behavioral treatments for depression and anxiety have been advanced by the application of mindfulness practices. Research on mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) has increased exponentially in the past decade. The most common include Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT). MBIs have demonstrated efficacy in reducing anxiety and depression symptom severity in a broad range of treatment-seeking individuals. MBIs consistently outperform non-evidence-based treatments and active control conditions, such as health education, relaxation training, and supportive psychotherapy. MBIs also perform comparably to cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). The treatment principles of MBIs for anxiety and depression are compatible with those of standard CBT.