Preliminary Investigation of a Mindfulness-Based Intervention for Social Anxiety Disorder That Integrates Compassion Meditation and Mindful Exposure.

A 12-week group mindfulness-based intervention tailored for social anxiety disorder (MBI-SAD) was tested against a waitlist control in a randomized trial with 39 participants. The intervention combined mindfulness, self-compassion training, and exposure exercises. 81% of participants attended at least 75% of sessions, indicating feasibility. Compared to the waitlist, MBI-SAD led to greater improvements in social anxiety symptom severity, depression, and social adjustment, and enhanced self-compassion and certain mindfulness facets. Gains were maintained at a 3-month follow-up. The authors suggest the intervention is promising and call for a comparison with cognitive-behavior therapy.

Study at a glance

Abstract

This study evaluated the feasibility and initial efficacy of a 12-week group mindfulness-based intervention tailored for persons with social anxiety disorder (MBI-SAD). The intervention includes elements of the standard mindfulness-based stress reduction program, explicit training in self-compassion aimed at cultivating a more accepting and kinder stance toward oneself, and use of exposure procedures to help participants practice responding mindfully to internal experiences evoked by feared social situations. Participants were randomly assigned to the MBI-SAD (n = 21) or a waitlist (WL) (n = 18) control group. Feasibility was assessed by the number of participants who completed at least 75% of the 12 weekly group sessions. Primary efficacy outcomes were clinician- and self-rated measures of social anxiety. Other outcomes included clinician ratings of illness severity and self-rated depression, social adjustment, mindfulness, and self-compassion. The MBI-SAD was acceptable and feasible, with 81% of participants attending at least 75% of sessions. The MBI-SAD fared better than WL in improving social anxiety symptom severity (p ≤ 0.0001), depression (p ≤ 0.05), and social adjustment (p ≤ 0.05). The intervention also enhanced self-compassion (p ≤ 0.05), and facets of mindfulness (observe and aware; p ≤ .05). MBI-SAD treatment gains were maintained at 3-month follow-up. These preliminary findings suggest that an MBI that integrates explicit training in self-compassion and mindful exposure is a feasible and promising intervention for social anxiety disorder. The next step is to compare the MBI-SAD to the gold standard of cognitive-behavior therapy to determine equivalence or noninferiority and to explore mediators and moderators of treatment outcome.