'To me, it's like a little box of tricks': Breaking the depressive interlock as a programme participant in mindfulness-based cognitive therapy.
Helen Murphy, Marika Lahtinen
Psychology and Psychotherapy Theory Research and Practice June 2015 DOI: 10.1111/papt.12041 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Qualitative study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 6 |
| Population | Individuals who had taken part in an 8-week MBCT programme |
| Intervention | Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) |
| Duration | 8-week MBCT programme |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy |
| Key findings | Participants reported that MBCT helped them differentiate between thought processes, tolerate uncomfortable thoughts, and choose how to respond to them, and that they recognised rumination as linked to depressive states and became more psychologically self-reliant and therapeutically independent. The authors argue these themes support the assertion that mindfulness meditation facilitates a different mode of meta-cognitive processing for handling depression-related cognitions. |
Abstract
Mindfulness meditation practices have become increasingly popular in clinical therapies, changing patterns of depressogenic thinking for individuals who experience consecutive episodes of depression. We were interested in finding out how mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) worked for programme participants by focussing on how meditative practices changed their relationships with their thoughts. Data for the study came from six semi-structured research interviews carried out with individuals who had taken part in an 8-week MBCT programme. We used interpretative phenomenological analysis to analyse the experiential accounts. We report on two superordinate themes - Engaging the Neutral Mind (with subordinate themes 'breaking the paralysis of worry' and 'choosing to think differently') and Experiencing the Neutral Mind (with subordinate themes of 'reflection on previous thinking styles' and 'becoming psychologically self-reliant'). Themes from the present study offer support to the assertion that mindfulness meditation helps facilitate a different mode of meta-cognitive processing with which to handle depression-related cognitions. Participants reported that they experienced an enhanced capacity to differentiate between their thought processes, experiencing an ability to tolerate some more uncomfortable thoughts, and experiencing a/more choice in how to respond to thoughts. Participants recognized that ruminating over negative thoughts was related to depressive states and experienced a shift in meta-cognitive processes that actively challenged depressogenic cognitions. Participants became more psychologically self-reliant and therapeutically independent following MBCT. Integrating mindfulness-based practices in therapy may be a mediating factor in sustaining psychological well-being and may help clients develop self-compassion. Future research looks to examining exit cases to understand elements of MBCT which are experienced as less successful by clients.
Comparable studies
Other qualitative studies on meditation, most cited first.
Citations in the library
Cited by 4
- Enhanced Resting-State Functional Connectivity With Decreased Amplitude of Low-Frequency Fluctuations of the Salience Network in Mindfulness Novices Frontiers in Human Neuroscience March 3, 2022
- Global Meditation Practices: A Literature Review. Holistic Nursing Practice
- A systematic review and meta-ethnographic synthesis of Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy for people with major depression. Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy August 15, 2022
- An ongoing process of reconnection: A qualitative exploration of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for adults in remission from depression. Psychology and Psychotherapy Theory Research and Practice March 2022
Cites 16
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and 11 more in the library