Effects of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy on Body Awareness in Patients with Chronic Pain and Comorbid Depression
Marasha De Jong, Sara W. Lazar, Kiran Hug, Wolf Mehling, Britta K. Hölzel, Alexander T. Sack, Frenk Peeters, Heidi Ashih, David Mischoulon, Tim Gard
Frontiers in Psychology June 30, 2016 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00967 (opens in new tab) via OpenAlex
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractChronic pain and depression are linked to reduced body awareness. Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) increased certain aspects of body awareness—specifically self-regulation and not distracting from bodily sensations—more than treatment as usual in 31 patients with chronic pain and active depression. The improvement in depression severity was partly explained by the increased ability to not distract from bodily sensations. These results offer preliminary support for the idea that mindfulness interventions can enhance body awareness in this population and highlight its clinical importance.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Randomized controlled trial Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 31 |
| Population | Patients with chronic pain and comorbid active depression |
| Intervention | Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy Clinical psychology Depression economics Population Chronic pain |
| Citations | 200 |
| Key finding | MBCT increased self-regulation and not-distracting facets of body awareness more than treatment as usual, and the effect on depression was mediated by not-distracting. |
Abstract
Body awareness has been proposed as one of the major mechanisms of mindfulness interventions, and it has been shown that chronic pain and depression are associated with decreased levels of body awareness. We investigated the effect of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) on body awareness in patients with chronic pain and comorbid active depression compared to treatment as usual (TAU; N = 31). Body awareness was measured by a subset of the Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness (MAIA) scales deemed most relevant for the population. These included: Noticing, Not-Distracting, Attention Regulation, Emotional Awareness, and Self-Regulation. In addition, pain catastrophizing was measured by the Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS). These scales had adequate to high internal consistency in the current sample. Depression severity was measured by the Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology-Clinician rated (QIDS-C16). Increases in the MBCT group were significantly greater than in the TAU group on the "Self-Regulation" and "Not Distracting" scales. Furthermore, the positive effect of MBCT on depression severity was mediated by "Not Distracting." These findings provide preliminary evidence that a mindfulness-based intervention may increase facets of body awareness as assessed with the MAIA in a population of pain patients with depression. Furthermore, they are consistent with a long hypothesized mechanism for mindfulness and emphasize the clinical relevance of body awareness.