Journal of Traumatic Stress
July 25, 2013
David J. Kearney, Carol A. Malte, Carolyn Mcmanus et al.
232 citations
An open pilot trial of loving-kindness meditation for veterans with PTSD found that the practice was safe, acceptable, and associated with reduced symptoms. After a 12-week course, self-compassion increased with large effect sizes, and mindfulness increased with medium to large effect sizes. At 3-month follow-up, PTSD symptoms showed a large reduction (d = -0.89) and depression a medium reduction (d = -0.49). Enhanced self-compassion appeared to mediate these symptom reductions. Attendance was high, with 74% attending 9-12 classes. Further controlled study is needed to confirm whether the changes are due to the meditation itself rather than other influences.
Cognitive Behaviour Therapy
February 8, 2019
Simon B. Goldberg, Raymond P. Tucker, Preston Greene et al.
174 citations
Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) is effective for reducing current depressive symptoms in adults with major depressive disorder immediately after treatment, but its long-term benefits remain unclear. In a meta-analysis of 13 randomized clinical trials with 1,046 participants, MBCT outperformed non-specific control conditions at post-treatment (effect size d = 0.71), though this advantage was not statistically significant at an average follow-up of 5.70 months. MBCT showed no difference compared to other active therapies at either post-treatment or follow-up. Studies with higher methodological quality tended to show smaller effects, and publication bias appeared minimal.
PLoS ONE
October 31, 2017
Simon B. Goldberg, Raymond P. Tucker, Preston A. Greene et al.
134 citations
A systematic review of 142 randomized clinical trials of mindfulness-based interventions for clinical disorders, published between 2000 and 2016, found no statistically significant increases in six key methodological quality indicators over that period, though changes generally trended toward improvement. When analyses were restricted to studies from Europe and North America, a significant increase in reporting of intent-to-treat analyses emerged. Excluding one early high-quality study revealed improvements in sample size, treatment fidelity assessment, and intent-to-treat reporting. Overall, the findings indicate only modest adoption of recommended methodological improvements across the field.
Medical Care
November 13, 2014
David J. Kearney, Carolyn Mcmanus, Carol A. Malte et al.
64 citations
A 12-week course of loving-kindness meditation for veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder was associated with lasting improvements in positive emotions and personal resources. Unactivated pleasant emotions increased significantly, while both activated and unactivated unpleasant emotions decreased. At a 3-month follow-up, veterans showed gains in environmental mastery, personal growth, purpose in life, self-acceptance, and decentering. The findings suggest that loving-kindness meditation may help broaden positive emotions and build psychological resources in this population, warranting further investigation.
January 14, 2019
Simon B. Goldberg, Raymond P. Tucker, Preston A. Greene et al.
38 citations
Mindfulness-based interventions reduce disorder-specific symptoms more than no treatment, minimal treatment, non-specific active controls, and specific active controls at post-treatment, with effect sizes ranging from d = 0.23 to 0.55. At follow-up, they remain superior to no treatment, non-specific active controls, and specific active controls. Mindfulness conditions did not differ from evidence-based treatments at either time point. The most consistent evidence supports mindfulness for depression, pain conditions, smoking, and addictive disorders. These findings indicate mindfulness-based interventions are promising evidence-based treatments.
June 4, 2019
Simon B. Goldberg, Raymond P. Tucker, Preston A. Greene et al.
5 citations
Self-report measures of mindfulness show larger gains in mindfulness-based interventions compared to waitlist controls at post-treatment (effect size = 0.52) and follow-up (effect size = 0.52), though the follow-up effect became non-significant after adjusting for publication bias. Compared to other bona fide treatments, mindfulness measures showed larger gains only at post-treatment (effect size = 0.25), not at follow-up. All three conditions (mindfulness, bona fide, waitlist) showed larger improvements on clinical outcomes than on mindfulness measures, except waitlist at follow-up. These findings partially support that mindfulness self-report measures are uniquely responsive to interventions promoting mindfulness meditation practice.