Cost and clinical effectiveness of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for the prevention of depressive relapse in a primary mental health service: a pre–post and follow-up study
Ryan Askey-Jones, Chris Gaskell, Olga Karagiorgou Johnstone
The Cognitive Behaviour Therapist 2025 DOI: 10.1017/s1754470x25100408 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational pre-post and follow-up study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 23 |
| Population | Patients attending a UK NHS primary care service who had experienced at least three depressive episodes |
| Intervention | Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) |
| Duration | 6-month follow-up |
| Measures | PHQ-9, GAD-7, WSAS, self-report measures of service utilisation and employment absence |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key findings | MBCT was associated with significant reductions in workplace absenteeism and health care usage and expenditure at the end of treatment, with improvements maintained at 6-month follow-up. Clinical measures of depression, anxiety, and functioning also improved and were maintained. The authors conclude MBCT is a potentially cost-effective and clinically effective relapse-prevention intervention for recurrent depression, consistent with NICE recommendations. |
Abstract
Abstract Depression is a highly common condition (World Health Organisation, 2022). Although many people demonstrate recovery there are marked levels of relapse. Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) is effective in preventing relapse. To date, the majority of studies do not primarily focus on the cost-effectiveness of MBCT within health care utilisation and workplace absenteeism. This study aims to explore the effectiveness of MBCT for prevention of depression relapse in patients attending a UK NHS primary care service. An observational (pre–post and follow-up) study of patients ( n =23) who experienced at least three depressive episodes were provided with MBCT. Cost-effectiveness was assessed using self-report measures of service utilisation and employment absence. These were assessed before MBCT, following, and 6 months post. Secondary outcomes assessing clinical effectiveness included measures of depression (PHQ-9), anxiety (GAD-7), and functional impairment (WSAS). There was a significant reduction in absenteeism at work and in health care usage and expenditure at the end of treatment. These improvements were continued during the follow-up period. Secondary outcomes indicated clinical improvements on depression, anxiety and functioning were maintained to follow-up. Key learning aims (1) MBCT is a potentially cost-effective intervention in reducing absenteeism and health care usage for clients with recurrent depression. (2) In line with previous observations, MBCT is a clinically effective intervention for relapse prevention in recurrent depression as recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). (3) Clinicians can consider the use of MBCT for clients with mild depression and recurrent depression within their services as recommended by NICE.
Comparable studies
Other non-randomized and open-label trials on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction in Relation to Quality of Life, Mood, Symptoms of Stress, and Immune Parameters in Breast and Prostate Cancer Outpatients Early-stage breast and prostate cancer patients | 2003 | Pre-post intervention study | n = 59 |
| Exploring self‐compassion and empathy in the context of mindfulness‐based stress reduction (MBSR) Community sample | 2010 | Pre-post intervention study | |
| Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Lowers Psychological Distress In Medical Students Second-year medical students | 2003 | Prospective nonrandomized cohort-controlled study | n = 302 |
| Intensive meditation training, immune cell telomerase activity, and psychological mediators. Retreat participants and matched controls | 2011 | Controlled trial with wait-list control group | n = 60 |
| The Effectiveness of Mindfulness Training for Children with ADHD and Mindful Parenting for their Parents Children aged 8-12 with ADHD and their parents | 2011 | Within-group waitlist controlled trial | n = 22 |
Citations in the library
Cites 9
- Mindfulness-Based and Mindfulness-Informed Interventions at the Workplace: A Systematic Review and Meta-Regression Analysis of RCTs. Mindfulness May 11, 2023
- Economic Evaluation Alongside a Randomized Controlled Trial of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy in Healthy Adults Psychology Research and Behavior Management July 1, 2023
- Clinical Effectiveness and Cost-Effectiveness of Supported Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy Self-help Compared With Supported Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Self-help for Adults Experiencing Depression: The Low-Intensity Guided Help Through Mindfulness (LIGHTMind) Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Psychiatry May 1, 2023
- Mindfulness‐based cognitive therapy for prevention and time to depressive relapse: Systematic review and network meta‐analysis Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica October 9, 2020
- Mindfulness-Based Programs in the Workplace: a Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials March 2, 2020
and 4 more in the library