Candidate Targets for Resilience Training to Reduce Transdiagnostic Risk for Mental Illness.
Daphne J Holt, Rachel Sussman, Daniel Johnson, Louis Vinke, Taryn Berman, Jordan Zimmerman, Lauren Utter, Anne Burke, Nicole R DeTore
Schizophrenia Bulletin June 17, 2025 DOI: 10.1093/schbul/sbaf072 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Open trial Randomized Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 103 |
| Population | Non-help-seeking young adults with mild-to-moderate psychotic experiences and/or symptoms of depression |
| Intervention | Resilience Training (RT) |
| Duration | 4-session intervention |
| Topics | Depression Meditation |
| Keywords | Emotion reactivity FMRI Functional connectivity Hippocampus Prefrontal cortex Prevention Psychotic experiences Stress sensitivity Stress management Emotion regulation Resilience program Neurobiology Brain imaging Brain connectivity Neural mechanisms Mental health interventions Psychological treatment Well-being program Symptom improvement |
| Citations | 1 |
| Key findings | Acquisition of resilience training skills led to reductions in psychopathology fully mediated by decreased emotion reactivity, with associated increases in hippocampal-dorsolateral prefrontal cortex connectivity. |
Abstract
Stress sensitivity may represent an important target for resilience-promoting, preventive interventions. Resilience Training (RT) is a 4-session, group-based behavioral intervention, focusing on mindfulness-based skills, that leads to reductions in psychopathology. To investigate the mechanisms of RT, the current study tested whether acquiring the skills taught in RT leads to decreases in psychopathology via reductions in one manifestation of stress sensitivity, emotion reactivity, and associated changes in hippocampal-frontal connectivity. An open trial of RT was conducted in 103 non-help-seeking young adults with mild-to-moderate psychotic experiences (PEs) and/or symptoms of depression. Transdiagnostic symptoms, emotion reactivity, and mindfulness-related skills were measured, and, in a subset of participants (n = 41), resting-state, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data were collected, before and after completion of RT. Replicating and extending findings of prior studies of RT, significant increases in mindfulness-related RT skills and significant decreases in transdiagnostic symptoms and emotion reactivity, as well as changes in hippocampal-frontal functional connectivity, were observed following RT (all P < .02). Mediation analyses revealed that associations between the acquisition of the RT skills and decreases in symptoms (P < .006) were fully mediated by the decrease in emotion reactivity, which was also correlated with a significant pre-to-post increase in hippocampal-dorsolateral prefrontal cortex connectivity (P = .032). RT may lead to improvements in mental health by increasing the capacity to manage day-to-day stress. Future randomized controlled trials with extended follow-up can determine whether such improvements decrease the likelihood of developing disabling mental illnesses in transdiagnostically at-risk individuals.
Comparable studies
Other non-randomized and open-label trials on depression, most cited first.
Citations in the library
Cites 21
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- Brief mindfulness training for negative affectivity: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology June 25, 2018
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and 16 more in the library