Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy for Generalized Anxiety Disorder: A Preliminary Evaluation
Mark A. Craigie, Clare S. Rees, Ali Marsh, Paula Nathan
Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy October 1, 2008 DOI: 10.1017/s135246580800458x (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Uncontrolled pre-post design Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 23 |
| Population | Adults with a primary diagnosis of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) |
| Intervention | Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) |
| Duration | 9 weekly 2-hour group sessions, with post-treatment assessment and 6-week and 3-month follow-ups |
| Topics | Anxiety Meditation |
| Key points | MBCT significantly reduced pathological worry, stress, and other symptoms and improved quality of life at post-treatment, with gains maintained at follow-up; however, recovery rates based on standardized criteria were very small at post-treatment but improved by follow-up. |
Abstract
Abstract Mindfulness training has been proposed as a potentially important new approach for the treatment of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). However, to date only a few studies have investigated mindfulness training for GAD. The aim of this study was to further investigate symptom change and recovery in pathological worry after mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) using an uncontrolled pre-post design. Twenty-three adults with a primary diagnosis of GAD participated in the study. The MBCT program involved 9 weekly 2-hour group sessions, a post-treatment assessment session, and 6-week and 3-month follow-up sessions. Intent-to-treat analysis revealed significant improvements in pathological worry, stress, quality of life, and a number of other symptoms at post-treatment, which were maintained at follow-up. Attrition was also low, and MBCT was perceived as a credible and acceptable intervention. However, when applying standardized recovery criteria to pathological worry scores, the rate of recovery at post-treatment was very small, although improved at follow-up. Overall, the findings suggest MBCT is definitely worthy of further investigation as a treatment option for GAD, but falls well short of outcomes achieved by past research. Possible reasons for the poor rate of recovery, implications, and limitations are briefly outlined.
Comparable studies
Other non-randomized and open-label trials on anxiety, most cited first.
Citations in the library
Cited by 26
- Prospects for a clinical science of mindfulness-based intervention. American Psychologist October 1, 2015
- Mindfulness‐Based Cognitive Therapy for Nonremitted Patients with Bipolar Disorder CNS Neuroscience & Therapeutics April 2, 2011
- Anger regulation in traumatized Cambodian refugees: the perspectives of Buddhist monks. Culture, Medicine, and Psychiatry September 1, 2011
- Feasibility study of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for anxiety disorders in a Japanese setting BMC research notes September 6, 2018
- Hvad er gode forudsætninger for at undervise i mindfulness? Psyke & Logos February 21, 2017
and 21 more in the library
Cites 8
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