May 15, 2025 03:01 AM
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1083696
INTRO: Mindfulness-based therapy can offer significant relief for individuals who are still depressed after receiving treatment, according to a new clinical trial.
Researchers hope their findings, published in Lancet Psychiatry, could provide a new treatment pathway for people with depression who have not benefitted from previous treatment. The study was led by a researcher from the University of Surrey, sponsored by the Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, and funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).
Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) differs from other psychological therapies by using intensive training in mindfulness meditation to help people develop skills to respond more adaptively to negative mood and stress, in addition to Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) principles which seek to change negative thought patterns.
The new study found that MBCT significantly improved depression symptoms compared to continued treatment as usual. The average effect was in the small-to-moderate range and comparable to treatment with antidepressants. Crucially, the study also concludes that providing MBCT as an alternative to usual treatment was cost-effective, at less than £100 per person, and could save the National Health Service (NHS) money by changing the way people use services.
The UK NHS Talking Therapies programme is the world’s largest and most advanced publicly funded psychological therapies service, treating around 670,000 people each year, of which almost half have depression as their primary complaint. About 50 per cent of those individuals still have some degree of depression when their care ends. This rate is comparable to the wider picture in the treatment of depression, which for many patients is a recurring condition.
Among them is Mary Ryan, a patient adviser and co-author who has worked with the research team from the start. The retired GP and palliative care doctor has experienced many episodes of severe depression throughout her adult life, and was first in contact with mental health services when she was 17 years old. She said: “For most people with severe depression, it’s more than a condition – it’s a recurring part of their life story. Up to now, people have often been told that they’ve reached the end of the road for psychological treatment, that there are no other options for them. The findings of this trial are hugely important because we’re telling this group of people that they still matter – that there’s something else we can try that may work for them.” (MORE - details, no ads)
INTRO: Mindfulness-based therapy can offer significant relief for individuals who are still depressed after receiving treatment, according to a new clinical trial.
Researchers hope their findings, published in Lancet Psychiatry, could provide a new treatment pathway for people with depression who have not benefitted from previous treatment. The study was led by a researcher from the University of Surrey, sponsored by the Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, and funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).
Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) differs from other psychological therapies by using intensive training in mindfulness meditation to help people develop skills to respond more adaptively to negative mood and stress, in addition to Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) principles which seek to change negative thought patterns.
The new study found that MBCT significantly improved depression symptoms compared to continued treatment as usual. The average effect was in the small-to-moderate range and comparable to treatment with antidepressants. Crucially, the study also concludes that providing MBCT as an alternative to usual treatment was cost-effective, at less than £100 per person, and could save the National Health Service (NHS) money by changing the way people use services.
The UK NHS Talking Therapies programme is the world’s largest and most advanced publicly funded psychological therapies service, treating around 670,000 people each year, of which almost half have depression as their primary complaint. About 50 per cent of those individuals still have some degree of depression when their care ends. This rate is comparable to the wider picture in the treatment of depression, which for many patients is a recurring condition.
Among them is Mary Ryan, a patient adviser and co-author who has worked with the research team from the start. The retired GP and palliative care doctor has experienced many episodes of severe depression throughout her adult life, and was first in contact with mental health services when she was 17 years old. She said: “For most people with severe depression, it’s more than a condition – it’s a recurring part of their life story. Up to now, people have often been told that they’ve reached the end of the road for psychological treatment, that there are no other options for them. The findings of this trial are hugely important because we’re telling this group of people that they still matter – that there’s something else we can try that may work for them.” (MORE - details, no ads)