Effects of a 12-Week Mindfulness, Compassion, and Loving Kindness Program on Chronic Depression: A Pilot Within-Subjects Wait-List Controlled Trial.
Johannes Graser, Volkmar Höfling, Charlotte Weβlau, Adriana Mendes, Ulrich Stangier
Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy 2016 DOI: 10.1891/0889-8391.30.1.35 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Pilot study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 11 |
| Population | Patients suffering from chronic depression |
| Interventions | Mindfulness exercises from Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy Compassion exercises from Compassion Focused Therapy Loving Kindness Meditation |
| Duration | 12-week intervention, 3-month follow-up |
| Topics | Meditation Depression |
| Keywords | Chronic depression Compassion Group therapy |
| Key points | A 12-week group program combining mindfulness and compassion exercises significantly reduced depression severity in patients with chronic depression, with further improvement at 3-month follow-up. |
Abstract
In this pilot study, N = 11 patients suffering from chronic depression were treated in a 12-week group program consisting of basic mindfulness exercises from Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy and compassion exercises from Compassion Focused Therapy and Loving Kindness Meditation. In a 3-month waiting period prior to treatment, depression symptoms both in self-report and clinician rating did not change significantly. After treatment, depression severity was significantly reduced. After a 3-month follow-up, the symptoms further improved, with almost large effect sizes being observed in primary outcome measures.Changes in emotion regulation styles reflected by a significant increase in acceptance and significant decrease in suppression of emotions were observed at follow-up. Rumination about oneself was also significantly reduced at follow-up. Compassionate love and mindfulness were increased at follow-up, no effects were found on the Self-Compassion Scale and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. Given further confirming studies for this approach, it might improve treatment options for patients suffering from chronic depression.
Comparable studies
Other non-randomized and open-label trials on depression, most cited first.
Citations in the library
Cited by 9
- Compassion and Loving-Kindness Meditation: An Overview and Prospects for the Application in Clinical Samples Harvard Review of Psychiatry July 1, 2018
- Metta-Based Therapy for Chronic Depression: a Wait List Control Trial Mindfulness October 8, 2021
- Differential Effects of Mindful Breathing and Loving-Kindness Meditation Exercises on College Students' Mental Health June 18, 2018
- The Effect of Mindfulness-Based Psychoeducation Program on Mindfulness, Self-Compassion, and Forgiveness Tendencies of Patients with Bipolar Disorder: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Clinical Nursing Research August 4, 2026
- Altered neural reward activation predicts clinical depression improvement after a novel loving-kindness meditation: a multimodal neuroimaging study. Psychiatry Research Neuroimaging October 1, 2025
and 4 more in the library
Cites 13
- Open hearts build lives: Positive emotions, induced through loving-kindness meditation, build consequential personal resources. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology October 27, 2008
- Loving-kindness and compassion meditation: potential for psychological interventions. Clinical Psychology Review July 26, 2011
- Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy as a treatment for chronic depression: A preliminary study Behaviour Research and Therapy February 13, 2009
- Effect of kindness-based meditation on health and well-being: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology June 30, 2014
- The Mindful Brain and Emotion Regulation in Mood Disorders The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry February 1, 2012
and 8 more in the library