Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry
October 22, 2018
Darren Dunning, Kirsty Griffiths, Willem Kuyken et al.
596 citations
A meta-analysis of 33 randomized controlled trials involving 3,666 children and adolescents found that mindfulness-based interventions produce small but significant improvements in mindfulness, executive functioning, attention, depression, anxiety/stress, and negative behaviors compared to control conditions. However, when only the 17 trials with active control groups (1,762 participants) were analyzed, significant benefits were limited to mindfulness, depression, and anxiety/stress, with effect sizes (Cohen's d) of 0.42, 0.47, and 0.18 respectively. The authors conclude that mindfulness interventions can improve youth mental health but note that larger definitive trials are needed to confirm these effects and understand how they work.
Journal of consulting and clinical psychology
September 1, 2024
Barnaby D Dunn, Laura Warbrick, Rachel Hayes et al.
10 citations
Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy with support to taper medication (MBCT-TS) increases positive affect more than continuing antidepressant medication alone, and this increase partly explains the reduced risk of relapse or recurrence in people with recurrent depression. In a randomized trial of 424 adults with three or more prior depressive episodes, MBCT-TS led to significantly greater positive affect at posttreatment compared with maintenance antidepressants. Across both treatments, higher positive affect at intake predicted a lower hazard of relapse over two years. Among participants who had not relapsed by posttreatment, a greater rise in positive affect mediated a reduced risk of subsequent relapse. The findings indicate that boosting positive affect is one mechanism through which MBCT-TS protects against relapse when discontinuing antidepressants.
The British journal of psychiatry : the journal of mental science
April 1, 2025
Jesus Montero-Marin, Verena Hinze, Shannon Maloney et al.
4 citations
Mindfulness skills mediate the effect of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) on depressive symptoms over 24 months, and this mediation is stronger for people with more severe depression. Among 424 adults with recurrent depression, those with higher severity showed an expected 10-point reduction on the Beck Depression Inventory-II, compared to a 3.5-point reduction for those with lower severity. The findings suggest MBCT with antidepressant tapering support works through a unique mechanism—mindfulness skills—that differs from maintenance medication alone, supporting personalized treatment for recurrent depression.
Stress and health : journal of the International Society for the Investigation of Stress
December 1, 2025
Maris Vainre, Tim Dalgleish, Tia Bendriss-Otiko et al.
2 citations
Mindfulness-based programmes (MBPs) modestly improve task performance—the quantity and quality of completed assigned work—immediately after the intervention compared with doing nothing, but not compared with other active activities. The meta-analysis of 99 studies with 16,054 participants also found benefits for adaptive and contextual performance, and effects may persist for months. However, confidence in these results is very low due to limitations in the evidence. Employers and universities subsidize MBPs to boost work performance despite previously unclear evidence.
BMJ mental health
February 28, 2024
Maris Vainre, Tim Dalgleish, Peter Watson et al.
1 citation
A randomized trial tested whether a 4-week, self-guided, online mindfulness-based programme could improve work performance compared with a light physical exercise programme among 241 employees from eight employers. Both interventions were highly acceptable, and most participants started the course. The mindfulness programme offered negligible benefits for work performance at both post-intervention and 12-week follow-up. Both interventions improved mental health outcomes, but differences between them were small. The trial was feasible, but results provide little support for a later-phase trial comparing the two approaches, suggesting mindfulness programmes are unlikely to improve work performance beyond light physical exercise.
BJPsych Open
June 1, 2025
Anna Borissova, Allan H. Young, Mitul A. Mehta et al.
In interviews with seven people who had previously received ketamine for treatment-resistant depression, participants were motivated by hope for symptom improvement and a desire to support depression research. They described feeling more open and involved after ketamine and thought it could enhance therapy sessions. They suggested clearer communication that mood changes may not last, providing audiovisual materials to prepare for the infusion experience, and offering check-ins between sessions plus a final session for referrals and support. These insights informed a planned feasibility randomized controlled trial comparing intravenous ketamine plus behavioral activation (n=20) against midazolam plus behavioral activation (n=20) for major depressive disorder with anhedonia.