Psychotherapy and psychosomatics
January 1, 2025
Yanjuan Li, Yi Zhang, Chun Wang et al.
13 citations
Adding facilitator-supported mindfulness-based self-help (MBSH) to usual treatment leads to faster and greater reductions in anxiety and depression for people with emotional disorders. In a randomized trial with 302 patients from four centers, those who received MBSH plus usual care showed significantly more improvement in symptoms, mindfulness, physical symptoms, stress, sleep, and inner peace immediately after the program compared to those receiving usual care alone. Some benefits, including reduced depression and stress and increased mindfulness, appeared as early as three to five weeks and were maintained three months later. The approach is a scalable and effective addition to clinical practice.
Psychotherapy and psychosomatics
January 1, 2025
Jojo Yan Yan Kwok, Lily Man Lee Chan, Charis Ann Lai et al.
13 citations
In people with Parkinson's disease, 8 weeks of either meditation or yoga, compared to usual care, led to significant reductions in anxiety, motor symptoms, and chronic inflammation (measured by interleukin-6 levels), and improved health-related quality of life and the ability to describe experiences. Only meditation significantly reduced depressive symptoms and sustained the improvements in motor symptoms and quality of life at 6 months. The study involved 159 participants with mild to moderate Parkinson's disease who were randomly assigned to meditation, yoga, or a control group.
Psychotherapy and psychosomatics
January 1, 2025
Louise Sharpe, Madelyne A Bisby, Rachel E Menzies et al.
7 citations
For people with rheumatoid arthritis, online mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) and cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) both reduced pain interference more than a waitlist control, with comparable improvements in depression. MBSR was better than CBT for fear of progression after treatment and for functional ability at 6-month follow-up, while CBT alone reduced pain severity at 6-month follow-up. A history of recurrent depression did not affect how well either treatment worked. The effect sizes matched those of face-to-face interventions, confirming both online treatments are effective for rheumatoid arthritis.
Psychotherapy and psychosomatics
June 19, 2026
Judith Rohde, Tyler M Moore, Kathryn Walker et al.
A systematic review and individual participant data meta-analysis of 12 studies (533 participants) found that higher baseline PTSD severity was the most robust predictor of symptom reduction after combined ketamine and psychotherapy. More psychotherapy sessions, more ketamine sessions, and shorter treatment duration were also associated with greater improvement, but these findings are tentative because most studies were of poor quality. The analysis showed that for each additional psychotherapy session, PTSD symptoms improved by an average of 1.03 points on the PCL-5, and for each additional ketamine session, improvement was 1.15 points. The results require confirmation in well-designed prospective trials.
Psychotherapy and psychosomatics
May 27, 2026
Lea J Mertens, Felix Betzler, Manuela Brand et al.
A single 25 mg dose of psilocybin, or two such doses given six weeks apart, combined with psychotherapy produced a stable and clinically meaningful reduction in depression symptoms for up to twelve months in people with treatment-resistant depression. The average improvement on the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression was about 7.9 points at six months and 7.7 points at twelve months, with no significant difference between dosing groups. Restarting standard antidepressant medication during follow-up was strongly linked to higher depression scores. This naturalistic follow-up of a phase 2b trial is the largest and most complete long-term assessment of psilocybin for depression to date.