PloS one
January 1, 2023
Marco Schlosser, Harriet Demnitz-King, Thorsten Barnhofer et al.
13 citations
Older adults with subjective cognitive decline (SCD) recruited from memory clinics are at higher risk for dementia and often have reduced well-being due to memory concerns and fear of dementia. A randomized trial compared an 8-week caring mindfulness-based approach for seniors (CMBAS) with a health self-management program (HSMP) in 147 participants. The mindfulness program showed a small advantage over HSMP in improving a sense of connection immediately after the intervention. However, overall psychological well-being, quality of life, and other composite measures did not increase in either group. The findings suggest that these brief non-pharmacological interventions had only limited effects on well-being in SCD.
The lancet. Psychiatry
June 1, 2025
Thorsten Barnhofer, Barnaby D Dunn, Clara Strauss et al.
9 citations
About half of patients with depression who complete the UK National Health Service Talking Therapies stepped care pathway still have symptoms. A randomized trial tested whether adding mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) via videoconference to treatment as usual improves outcomes for these patients. At 34 weeks, the MBCT group had significantly lower depression scores than the treatment-as-usual group (adjusted difference -2.49 points on the PHQ-9). The MBCT group also had slightly lower healthcare costs and higher quality-of-life scores, with a 99% chance of being cost-effective at the £20,000 per QALY threshold. No serious adverse events occurred. MBCT is an effective and scalable further-line treatment for depression that does not remit after psychological therapy.
Psychiatry research
November 1, 2024
Jonathan Hamilton, Thorsten Barnhofer
2 citations
Decentering skills, the core ability cultivated in mindfulness-based interventions, continue to increase over six months of practice and drive reductions in depressive symptoms. In a blended online and in-person program, 44 adults with persistent depression provided self-reports at three time points. Thirty-one participants completed the intervention, averaging 68.6% of assigned practices. Statistical modeling showed that changes in decentering preceded and predicted later symptom improvements, suggesting that longer practice periods help move patients closer to recovery or remission.
Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics
June 12, 2026
Thorsten Barnhofer, Maria Niemi, Johannes Michalak et al.
1 citation
For adults with difficult-to-treat depression—those who have not responded to prior treatments, have treatment-resistant depression, or have a chronic course—mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) is likely superior to usual care, reducing depressive symptoms by a standardized mean difference of -0.40 at post-treatment and -0.41 at medium-term follow-up. There was a 92% and 85% probability, respectively, that these benefits exceeded a minimal important difference. However, MBCT did not show clear superiority over other active psychosocial interventions, and no robust moderators of outcome were identified across baseline severity, chronicity, or comorbidity.