The Lancet Public Health
December 18, 2017
Julieta Galante, Géraldine Dufour, Maris Vainre et al.
508 citations
University students who completed an 8-week mindfulness course (Mindfulness Skills for Students) plus usual mental health support reported less psychological distress during exams than those receiving usual support alone. In a randomized trial of 616 students at the University of Cambridge, mean distress scores were 0.87 in the mindfulness group versus 1.11 in the control group, a moderate effect. 37% of mindfulness participants had distress above a clinical threshold compared to 57% of controls. On average, six students needed to be offered the course to prevent one from experiencing clinical distress levels. No adverse reactions related to self-harm or suicidality occurred. The findings suggest mindfulness training can be an effective component of a broader student mental health strategy.
Nature. Mental health
July 10, 2023
Julieta Galante, Claire Friedrich, Napaporn Aeamla-Or et al.
102 citations
Mindfulness-based programmes reduce psychological distress (anxiety and depression) in community adults who volunteer to participate, with a small to moderate effect size. The analysis of 13 randomized controlled trials with 2,371 participants from 8 countries found a standardized mean difference of -0.32, with high confidence in the result. The effect was not clearly influenced by participants' baseline distress level, gender, age, education, or dispositional mindfulness. More research is needed to understand why outcomes vary between individuals.
Nature. Mental health
July 10, 2023
Julieta Galante, Claire Friedrich, Napaporn Aeamla-Or et al.
102 citations
Mindfulness-based programmes reduce psychological distress (anxiety and depression) in community adults who volunteer to participate, with a small to moderate effect size. The analysis of 13 randomized controlled trials with 2,371 participants from 8 countries found a standardized mean difference of -0.32, with high confidence in the result. The effect was not clearly influenced by participants' baseline distress level, gender, age, education, or dispositional mindfulness. More research is needed to understand why outcomes vary between individuals.
Psychological Medicine
March 18, 2020
Diego Quattrone, Laura Ferraro, Giada Tripoli et al.
89 citations
Daily use of high-potency cannabis is associated with more positive symptoms and fewer negative symptoms in first-episode psychosis patients. Among 901 patients and 1,235 controls across six European countries, those who used high-potency cannabis daily had the highest scores on positive symptoms, while negative symptoms were more common in patients who never used cannabis. Psychotic experiences in controls were linked to current cannabis use but not to lifetime use. Depressive symptoms showed no differences related to cannabis use in either group.
Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health
September 10, 2020
Julieta Galante, Jan Stochl, Géraldine Dufour et al.
69 citations
Providing an 8-week mindfulness course to university students improved self-reported psychological distress and mental well-being for up to a year compared to usual mental health support, with larger effects during stressful periods. No differences were detected in use of counseling services or workload management, and no adverse effects related to self-harm or suicidality were found. The findings suggest mindfulness training increases resilience to stress, though loss to follow-up was a limitation.
BMJ Open
November 1, 2016
Julieta Galante, Géraldine Dufour, Alice Benton et al.
46 citations
A pragmatic randomized controlled trial will test whether an 8-week mindfulness course, offered preventatively to University of Cambridge students free from active crises or severe mental illness, reduces psychological distress during exams and improves resilience to stress for at least one year, compared to usual mental health provision. At least 550 students will be randomly assigned to the course or to standard care. Psychological distress will be measured at baseline, after the intervention, during exams, and at one-year follow-up. The trial will also assess use of mental health services, exam performance, well-being, altruism, and coping. Results will be published in peer-reviewed journals.
PLoS One
July 17, 2024
Julieta Galante, Jesus Montero-Marin, Maris Vainre et al.
8 citations
A randomized controlled trial found that participants who completed an 8-week mindfulness-based program reported altered states of consciousness—including experiences of unity, transcendence of time and space, and feelings of bliss—that persisted up to a year later. Compared to a control group, those in the mindfulness program showed significantly higher scores on measures of altered states at both post-intervention and 12-month follow-up. The findings suggest that mindfulness training can produce enduring changes in subjective experience beyond the meditation session itself.
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
December 15, 2017
Tom B. Mole, Julieta Galante, Iona C. Walker et al.
6 citations
A smartphone app called The MindfulBreather uses built-in gyroscope and touchscreen sensors to provide real-time feedback on breath-awareness during meditation, without requiring external hardware. The app guides users to place the phone on their abdomen and tap at the peak of inhalation; the gyroscope detects breathing-related tilts and generates waveforms. Tapping patterns are analyzed to determine psychobiological synchronization. The app then provides pleasant sounds for correctly timed breaths and records mindful breaths. The paper outlines the technological concept only; future studies will evaluate efficacy, validity, and reliability.
April 8, 2023
Julieta Galante, Jesús Montero‐marín, Maris Vainre et al.
3 citations
preprint
An 8-week mindfulness-based programme (MBP) led to more intense experiences of unity and disembodiment in daily life compared with mental health support as usual alone. University of Cambridge students without severe mental illness who took the MBP reported stronger feelings of oneness and separation from the body. Meditation practice itself predicted reports of unity, blissful state, insightfulness, disembodiment, and changed meanings. The findings suggest causal links between mindfulness practice and specific altered states of consciousness, and practitioners should anticipate and manage these experiences appropriately.
Syst Rev
August 6, 2024
Claire Friedrich, Toni Fairbairn, Graham Denton et al.
This paper describes a process of public involvement in a meta-analysis that combines both aggregate and individual participant data to examine mindfulness-based programs for mental health promotion. The involvement includes contributions from people with lived experience and members of the public in shaping the research questions, interpreting findings, and disseminating results. The work highlights how such collaboration can enhance the relevance and applicability of evidence synthesis in mental health.