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Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy is Effective Regardless of Teacher Competence

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Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy is Effective Regardless of Teacher Competence

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

 “Over the past 15 years, the results of numerous randomized controlled trials have demonstrated that MBCT can be a powerful intervention for people who have experienced clinical depression three or more times. Evidence indicates MBCT may reduce the rate of relapse for individuals with recurrent depression by 50%. MBCT has also been applied to mood and anxiety concerns other than depression, with reported success.” – Good Therapy .org

 

Clinically diagnosed depression is the most common mental illness, affecting over 6% of the population. Major depression can be quite debilitating. It is also generally episodic, coming and going. Some people only have a single episode but most have multiple reoccurrences of depression.  Depression can be difficult to treat and usually treated with anti-depressive medication. But, of patients treated initially with antidepressant drugs only about a third attained remission of the depression. After repeated and varied treatments including antidepressant drugs, therapy, exercise etc. only about two thirds of patients attained remission. Also, many patients who achieve remission have relapses and recurrences of the depression. In addition, antidepressant drugs often have troubling side effects and can lose effectiveness over time.

 

Being depressed and not responding to treatment or relapsing is a terribly difficult situation. The patients are suffering and nothing appears to work to relieve their intense depression. Suicide becomes a real possibility. So, it is imperative that other treatments be identified. Mindfulness training is another alternative treatment for depression. It has been shown to be an effective treatment for depression and is also effective for the prevention of its recurrence. Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) was specifically developed to treat depression and can be effective even in the cases where drugs fail. MBCT is usually delivered by trained certified teachers but is fairly scripted and standardized. So, it is unclear what the importance of the level of teacher training and competence is.

 

In today’s Research News article “Teacher Competence in Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Depression and Its Relation to Treatment Outcome.” See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5506231/, Huijbers and colleagues examine the importance of the competence of the MBCT teacher in the effectiveness of MBCT for depression. They recruited patients who had had at least 3 episodes of depression, were in remission, taking antidepressants, and were engaged in a Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) program. MBCT was delivered in of 8 weekly sessions of 2.5 hours.

 

Patients were measured before and after MBCT training and 15 months later for rumination, self-compassion, mindfulness, cognitive reactivity, depressive symptoms, and depression relapse. The MBCT teachers were assessed for competence by two independent professional evaluators who rated a tape recorded MBCT session for “(1) coverage, pacing, and organization of session curriculum; (2) relational skills; (3) embodiment of mindfulness; (4) guiding mindfulness practices; (5) conveying course themes through interactive inquiry and didactic teaching; and (6) holding of group learning environment.” An overall competence rating was calculated as the sum of the 6 component competence scores.

 

They found that following treatment there were significant increases in patient self-compassion and mindfulness and significant decreases in rumination and cognitive reactivity. They also found that teacher competence did not significantly predict the number of sessions that the patients attended, and patient changes in self-compassion, mindfulness, rumination, and cognitive reactivity, or depression severity. In addition, the likelihood of relapse during the 15 month follow-up period was not significantly related to teacher competence. This was true for the overall competence and for each of the 6 competence domains.

 

These results are quite remarkable and suggest that the level of competence and expertise of the instructors in Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) does not affect the patient outcomes. These results are contrary to the recent findings that the level of teacher training with Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) programs is associated with the effectiveness of the program to reduce stress and improve well-being.

 

It’s difficult to reach firm conclusion from the negative results of the present study as the range of teacher competencies was restricted wherein only 2 teachers were characterized as beginner and 2 as advanced. The lack of effect of teacher competence may also be due to the fact that MBCT programs are highly standardized and scripted by the treatment protocol and that patients are supplied with prerecorded materials for home practice. Nevertheless, the results suggest that only modest teacher competence and training is sufficient, with a standardized program, to produce maximal results.

 

So, it appears that Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy is effective regardless of teacher competence.

 

“MBCT teaches people to pay attention to the present moment, rather than worrying about the past or the future, and to let go of the negative thoughts that can tip them over into depression. It also gives people a greater awareness of their own body, helping them to identify the signs of oncoming depression and ward off the episode before it starts.” – BeMindful

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts and on Twitter @MindfulResearch

 

Study Summary

 

Huijbers, M. J., Crane, R. S., Kuyken, W., Heijke, L., van den Hout, I., Donders, A. R. T., & Speckens, A. E. M. (2017). Teacher Competence in Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Depression and Its Relation to Treatment Outcome. Mindfulness, 8(4), 960–972. http://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-016-0672-z

 

Abstract

As mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) becomes an increasingly mainstream approach for recurrent depression, there is a growing need for practitioners who are able to teach MBCT. The requirements for being competent as a mindfulness-based teacher include personal meditation practice and at least a year of additional professional training. This study is the first to investigate the relationship between MBCT teacher competence and several key dimensions of MBCT treatment outcomes. Patients with recurrent depression in remission (N = 241) participated in a multi-centre trial of MBCT, provided by 15 teachers. Teacher competence was assessed using the Mindfulness-Based Interventions: Teaching Assessment Criteria (MBI:TAC) based on two to four randomly selected video-recorded sessions of each of the 15 teachers, evaluated by 16 trained assessors. Results showed that teacher competence was not significantly associated with adherence (number of MBCT sessions attended), possible mechanisms of change (rumination, cognitive reactivity, mindfulness, and self-compassion), or key outcomes (depressive symptoms at post treatment and depressive relapse/recurrence during the 15-month follow-up). Thus, findings from the current study indicate no robust effects of teacher competence, as measured by the MBI:TAC, on possible mediators and outcome variables in MBCT for recurrent depression. Possible explanations are the standardized delivery of MBCT, the strong emphasis on self-reliance within the MBCT learning process, the importance of participant-related factors, the difficulties in assessing teacher competence, the absence of main treatment effects in terms of reducing depressive symptoms, and the relatively small selection of videotapes. Further work is required to systematically investigate these explanations.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5506231/

Improve Fatigue and Multiple Sclerosis Psychological Symptoms with Mindfulness

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Improve Fatigue and Multiple Sclerosis Psychological Symptoms with Mindfulness

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“mindfulness may help people better respond to stress by fostering healthier coping strategies. For example, study participants who reported higher levels of mindfulness were less likely to rely on coping strategies, such as denial, disengagement and self-blame. They were also more likely to use more-positive strategies, such as information gathering, planning and seeking out social support. Mindfulness practice appears to be a safe, drug-free approach to coping with stress and anxiety, which may in turn help reduce your MS symptoms.” – Amit Sood

 

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a progressive demyelinating disease which attacks the coating on the neural axons which send messages throughout the body and nervous system. It affects about 2 million people worldwide and about 400,000 in the U.S. It is most commonly diagnosed in people between the ages of 20 and 50 years.  Unfortunately, there is no cure for multiple sclerosis. There are a number of approved medications that are used to treat MS but are designed to lessen frequency of relapses and slow the progression of the disease, but they don’t address individual symptoms.

 

Although there is a progressive deterioration, MS is not fatal with MS patients having about the same life expectancy as the general population. Hence, most MS sufferers have to live with the disease for many years. So, quality of life becomes a major issue. Quality of life with MS is affected by fatigue, cognitive decrements, physical impairment, depression, and poor sleep quality. There is a thus a critical need for safe and effective methods to help relieve the symptoms of MS and improve quality of life. Mindfulness has been previously shown to improve depression, sleep quality, cognitive impairments, emotion regulation, and fatigue. It has also been shown to improve the symptoms of multiple sclerosis.

 

In today’s Research News article “Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy severely fatigued multiple sclerosis patients: A waiting list controlled study.” See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.medicaljournals.se/jrm/content/html/10.2340/16501977-2237, Hoogerwerf and colleagues recruited patients with multiple sclerosis and kept them on a waiting list for 10 weeks and then provided them with 10 weeks of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) in groups of 12. MBCT involves mindfulness training, containing sitting and walking meditation and body scan, and cognitive therapy to alter how the patient relates to the thought processes that often underlie and exacerbate psychological symptoms. They were measured at baseline after the 10-week waiting period, after treatment and 3 months later for fatigue, mindfulness, anxiety, depression, quality of life, sleeping problems, daily cognitive mistakes, catastrophizing, coping styles, and cognitive ability.

 

They found that during the 10-week waiting period symptoms generally did not significantly change, but after the MBCT training there were significant improvements in fatigue, mindfulness, anxiety, depression, daily cognitive mistakes, catastrophizing, and emotion focused coping styles. These improvements were sustained at the 3-month follow-up. Hence, MBCT training appeared to produce marked and lasting improvements in the psychological symptoms of multiple sclerosis. There is a need to repeat this study with a stronger randomized controlled clinical trial. The positive results make a compelling case for such a trial.

 

Mindfulness training has been shown to produce improvements in fatigue, emotion regulation, anxiety, depression, cognitive performance, coping strategies, worry and catastrophizing, and of course mindfulness. The present study confirms that these benefits also accrue to patients with multiple sclerosis and are maintained. This suggests that MBCT training or other mindfulness trainings may be helpful in relieving the symptoms of this life-long progressive neurological disease. This will hopefully allow them to cope better with their disease and generally make their lives better

 

So, improve fatigue and multiple sclerosis psychological symptoms with mindfulness.

 

“Studies in multiple sclerosis, these have shown that mindfulness can improve quality of life and help people cope better with their MS. The studies also found that it decreased stress, anxiety and depression.” – MS Trust

 

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts and on Twitter @MindfulResearch

 

Study Summary

 

Hoogerwerf AEW, Bol Y, Lobbestael J, Hupperts R, van Heugten CM. Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy severely fatigued multiple sclerosis patients: A waiting list controlled study. J Rehabil Med. 2017 Jun 8. doi: 10.2340/16501977-2237

 

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Fatigue is the most common symptom in multiple sclerosis. Evidence-based treatment options are scarce.

OBJECTIVE:

To study the feasibility and potential effectiveness of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy in severely fatigued multiple sclerosis patients.

METHODS:

Non-randomized pilot study with a wai-ting list control period including 59 multiple sclerosis patients with severe fatigue.

PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURE:

fatigue severity subscale of the Checklist Individual Strength-20. Secondary measures: Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Life Satisfaction Questionnaire, subscale sleep of the Symptom Checklist-90, Cognitive Failure Questionnaire, Fatigue Catastrophizing Scale, Coping Inventory of Stressful Situations, and Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire-Short Form. Measurements were taken before treatment (double baseline), after treatment, and at follow-up (3 months).

RESULTS:

Adherence rate was 71%. Eight out of 10 participants who completed the intervention were satisfied with the intervention. Significant time effects were found for 7 out of 11 outcome measures (p = 0.006 to < 0.001). The effect size was moderate for all outcome measures that were significant post-treatment and/or at follow-up (Ƞ² = 0.10-0.17). Improvements were maintained at follow-up. Of the completers, 46% showed a clinically relevant change regarding fatigue.

CONCLUSION:

Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy is feasible in severely fatigued multiple sclerosis patients and has positive results in the reduction of severe fatigue and several psychological factors.

https://www.medicaljournals.se/jrm/content/html/10.2340/16501977-2237

Improve Anxiety in Adolescents with Mindfulness

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Improve Anxiety in Adolescents with Mindfulness

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Mindfulness also helps us to get to know our real self which is never a bad thing! People suffering from social anxiety are often marred by an exaggerated perception of their shortcomings which leads them to believe that they are inadequate and that everybody must be noticing. Practicing mindfulness based cognitive therapy will help them to reestablish a more realistic self-image.” – Kyle MacDonald

 

Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the United States, affecting 40 million adults, or 18% of the population. Anxiety Disorders affects about 3.1% of the U.S. population. Severe anxiety affects about 6% of adolescents. Physically, anxiety sufferers will often show excessive fatigue, irritability, muscle tension or muscle aches, trembling, feeling twitchy, being easily startled, trouble sleeping, sweating, nausea, diarrhea or irritable bowel syndrome, and headaches.

 

Anxiety disorders in adults have generally been treated with drugs. It has been estimated that 11% of women in the U.S. are taking anti-anxiety medications. But, there are considerable side effects and these drugs are often abused. The drugs are also not appropriate for children and adolescents with developing nervous systems. So, there is a need to develop alternative treatments. Recently, it has been found that mindfulness training can be effective for anxiety disorders. Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) has been shown to be effective in treating anxiety in adults. Mindfulness training has also been shown to produce changes in the nervous system. It is not known, however, what changes in the nervous system underlie the effect of MBCT on anxiety.

 

In today’s Research News article “Neural Function Before and After Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy in Anxious Adolescents at Risk for Developing Bipolar Disorder.” See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4876535/, Strawn and colleagues examine the effects of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) on the nervous systems of youth with high levels of anxiety. They recruited children and adolescents, aged 9 to 16 years, who were diagnosed with an anxiety disorder and who were at risk for developing bipolar disorder. They were treated with a 12-week program of MBCT. Before and after the treatment they were measured for anxiety, clinical symptoms, and mindfulness and also underwent functional Magnetic Resonance (f-MRI) brain scans while performing a continuous processing task with emotional and neutral distractors.

 

They found that following MBCT there was a significant increase in activity of the insula, lentiform nucleus, and thalamus, and anterior cingulate cortex with the presentation of emotional pictures. So, MBCT produces changes in the brains of children and adolescents similar to those seen in adults. They also found that the greater the reduction in anxiety resulting from MBCT the greater the decrease in activity of the insula and anterior cingulate cortex.

 

The insula and the anterior cingulate cortex have been shown to be involved in emotional processing and MBCT is aimed at altering the thought processes revolving around the interpretations of emotions. So, the changes in the functional activity of these structures following MBCT are commensurate with the changes in emotionality. Hence, MBCT appears to change the brains of children and adolescents with anxiety disorders to improve emotional processing.

 

It should be noted that this was a pilot study with a very small number of participants and no control group. So, the findings must be interpreted with caution. But the findings are sufficiently interesting to justify conducting a larger randomized clinical trial in the future.

 

“If you have unproductive worries, you can train yourself to experience those thoughts completely differently. ‘You might think ‘I’m late, I might lose my job if I don’t get there on time, and it will be a disaster!’ Mindfulness teaches you to recognize, ‘Oh, there’s that thought again. I’ve been here before. But it’s just that—a thought, and not a part of my core self,‘” – Elizabeth Hoge

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts and on Twitter @MindfulResearch

 

Study Summary

 

Strawn, J. R., Cotton, S., Luberto, C. M., Patino, L. R., Stahl, L. A., Weber, W. A., … DelBello, M. P. (2016). Neural Function Before and After Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy in Anxious Adolescents at Risk for Developing Bipolar Disorder. Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology, 26(4), 372–379. http://doi.org/10.1089/cap.2015.0054

 

Abstract

Objective: We sought to evaluate the neurophysiology of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for children (MBCT-C) in youth with generalized, social, and/or separation anxiety disorder who were at risk for developing bipolar disorder.

Methods: Nine youth (mean age: 13 ± 2 years) with a generalized, social, and/or separation anxiety disorder and a parent with bipolar disorder completed functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while performing a continuous processing task with emotional and neutral distractors (CPT-END) prior to and following 12 weeks of MBCT-C.

Results: MBCT-C was associated with increases in activation of the bilateral insula, lentiform nucleus, and thalamus, as well as the left anterior cingulate while viewing emotional stimuli during the CPT-END, and decreases in anxiety were correlated with change in activation in the bilateral insula and anterior cingulate during the viewing of emotional stimuli (p < 0.05, uncorrected; p < 0.005 corrected; cluster size, 37 voxels).

Conclusions: MBCT-C treatment in anxious youth with a familial history of bipolar disorder is associated with increased activation of brain structures that subserve interoception and the processing of internal stimuli—functions that are ostensibly improved by this treatment.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4876535/

Improve resilience in Spouses of Schizophrenia Patients with Mindfulness

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Improve resilience in Spouses of Schizophrenia Patients with Mindfulness

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Most of life’s stressors are subjective and with mindfulness (seeing things as they are in this present moment), we have the ability to respond with wisdom vs. react in a harmful way. When we see our thoughts and feelings clearly and can offer compassion for the hardship we are experiencing, we increase our resilience.” – Carley Hauck

 

Psychological well-being is sometimes thought of as a lack of mental illness. But, it is more than just a lack of something. It is a positive set of characteristics that lead to happy, well-adjusted life. These include the ability to be aware of and accept one’s strengths and weaknesses, to have goals that give meaning to life, to truly believe that your potential capabilities are going to be realized, to have close and valuable relations with others, the ability to effectively manage life issues especially daily issues, and the ability to follow personal principles even when opposed to society. But, stress can interfere with the individual’s ability to achieve these goals.  When highly stressed, resilience is required to cope with the stress and continue on the path to psychological well-being.

 

Schizophrenia is the most common form of psychosis, affecting about 1% of the population worldwide. In many cases it is so debilitating that institutionalization is required. But, the symptoms of psychoses often do not appear until early adulthood. So, many carry on relatively normal lives including marriage prior to the onset of debilitating symptoms. This can result in wives having to cope with the institutionalization of their husbands, having to live alone, replace lost income, and withstand the societal stigma of having a mentally ill spouse. The resultant stress can exacerbate an already difficult situation.

 

Mindfulness has been shown to increase resilience and reduce the psychological and physiological responses to stress. So, it is reasonable to infer that mindfulness training may help increase resilience in the wives of institutionalized individuals with schizophrenia. In today’s Research News article “The Efficacy of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy on Resilience among the Wives of Patients with Schizophrenia.” See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5449888/,  Solati recruited wives whose husbands were diagnosed with schizophrenia and institutionalized and randomly assigned them to a no-treatment control group or to receive and 8-week, once a week for 90 minutes, program of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT).  MBCT involves mindfulness training, containing sitting and walking meditation and body scan, and cognitive therapy to alter how the patient relates to the thought processes that often underlie difficult emotions. The women were measured before and after training for resilience.

 

They found that following the intervention the women who received Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) had a significant, 10%, increase in resilience in comparison to the control group. There is a need to conduct a randomized controlled trial with an active control condition to verify these findings. Nevertheless, mindfulness training appeared to improve resilience. This suggests that MBCT may assist wives whose husbands are diagnosed with schizophrenia and institutionalized to better cope with the resultant stress. This may better equip the women to withstand their difficulties and retain their own well-being.

 

So, improve resilience in spouses of schizophrenia patients with mindfulness.

 

“The emotional soup that follows a stressful event can whip up negative stories about yourself or others that goes on and on, beyond being useful. Mindfulness reduces this rumination and, if practiced regularly, changes your brain so that you’re more resilient to future stressful events.” – Shamash Alidina

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts and on Twitter @MindfulResearch

 

Study Summary

 

Solati, K. (2017). The Efficacy of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy on Resilience among the Wives of Patients with Schizophrenia. Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research : JCDR, 11(4), VC01–VC03. http://doi.org/10.7860/JCDR/2017/23101.9514

 

Abstract

Introduction

The wives of patients with schizophrenia experience high levels of stress due to their spouses’ disease, which leads to certain problems and decreased adaptability and efficiency in them.

Aim

This study investigated the efficacy of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) on resilience in schizophrenia patients.

Materials and Methods

In this quasi-experimental study, 40 wives of patients with schizophrenia (20 assigned to experimental group and 20 to control group) whose husbands were kept in rehabilitation centers for mental disorders were enrolled according to convenience sampling. In the experimental group, the therapeutic protocol of MBCT was conducted. Accordingly, the patients were encouraged to process the experiences in a non-judgmental manner as they have been formed, and to change their relationship with and embrace challenging thoughts and feelings. Meanwhile, the control group underwent no intervention. The research instrument was Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale. Data were analysed by ANCOVA in SPSS 16.

Results

At post-test, mean resilience score of the experimental group (77.95±4.71) was much higher than that of the control group (71.75±5.81). There was a significant difference in the mean resilience score at post-test between the experimental and control groups (p<0.05).

Conclusion

Training MBCT strategies was effective on resilience in the wives of schizophrenia patients. Therefore, this approach can be incorporated into mental health-related interventions for the families of patients with psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5449888/

Remove Mental Sets to Improve Depression with Mindfulness

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Remove Mental Sets to Improve Depression with Mindfulness

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“This new evidence for mindfulness-based cognitive therapy … is very heartening. While MBCT is not a panacea, it does clearly offer those with a substantial history of depression a new approach to learning skills to stay well in the long-term.” – Willem Kuyken

 

Depression is the most common mental illness, affecting over 6% of the population. Major depression can be quite debilitating. It is also generally episodic, coming and going. Some people only have a single episode but most have multiple reoccurrences of depression. Depression can be difficult to treat and it’s usually treated with anti-depressive medication. But, of patients treated initially with drugs only about a third attained remission of the depression. After repeated and varied treatments including drugs, therapy, exercise etc. only about two thirds of patients attained remission. Additionally, drugs often have troubling side effects and can lose effectiveness over time. So, it is imperative that safe and effective treatments be identified that can be applied as stand-alone treatments or applied when the typical treatments fail and/or when side effects are unacceptable.

 

One of the characterizing features of depression is aberrant thought processes. The thinking of individuals with depression is often fraught with rumination, repeated reflection on troubling past events, and inability to suppress irrelevant thoughts or expectancies. These ruminative and irrelevant thoughts can produce an inaccurate and dark interpretation of reality. That these thought processes may be at the core of depression is evidenced by the fact that altering them with cognitive behavioral therapy is quite effective in relieving depression.

 

Mindfulness training is an alternative treatment for depression. It has been shown to be an effective treatment for depression and is also effective for the prevention of its recurrence. The combination of mindfulness training with cognitive behavioral therapy is a technique called Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT). It was specifically developed to treat depression. MBCT involves mindfulness training, containing sitting and walking meditation and body scan, and cognitive therapy to alter how the patient relates to the thought processes that often underlie and exacerbate depression. MBCT has been found to reduce depression alone or in combination with anti-depressive drugs and can even be effective even in the cases where drugs fail,.

 

In today’s Research News article “Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for depressed individuals improves suppression of irrelevant mental-sets,” see summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5357295/

Greenberg and colleagues investigate the thought processes of depressed individuals, the effects of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) on these thought processes and the relationship of the altered thought processes to the relief of depression. They recruited mildly to moderately depressed adults and randomly assigned them to either receive treatment as usual or 8-weeks of MBCT. They were measured before and after treatment for depression, rumination, and suppression of mental set. This latter measure involved measuring the ability of the participants to move from a rule used repeatedly to solve a simple comparison problem (mental set) to a new one. For example, they were asked to indicate if one to three objects varied in a characteristic, e.g. amount. After repeated trials in which amount was the relevant characteristic, without knowledge of the participants, it was changed to another characteristic smoothness. How long it took the participant to recognize the change to the new rule and begin responding to it was measured.

 

They found, as many previous studies, that Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) produced large and significant relief of depression. Importantly, they also found that MBCT resulted in faster recognition of and response to the changed rule. In other words the MBCT treated participants had improved suppression of mental set. In addition, they found that the greater the improvement in suppressing mental sets the greater the relief of depression. These results strongly suggest that altering thought processes produced by MBCT are at the root of its ability to relieve depression.

 

It has been long suspected that changes in thinking were important for treating depression. The results of the present study provide strong evidence that this is true. They also suggest that being able to move from a single method of thinking to more flexible thinking may be a key. Depressed individuals interpret events in a way that reinforces their depression. By improving their ability to interpret events in different, more realistic, ways, MBCT interrupts the cycle of thinking that maintains the depression and thereby relives the depression.

 

So, remove mental sets to improve depression with mindfulness.

 

“People at risk for depression are dealing with a lot of negative thoughts, feelings and beliefs about themselves and this can easily slide into a depressive relapse. MBCT helps them to recognize that’s happening, engage with it in a different way and respond to it with equanimity and compassion.” – Willem Kuyken

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts and on Twitter @MindfulResearch

 

Study Summary

Greenberg, J., Shapero, B. G., Mischoulon, D., & Lazar, S. W. (2017). Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for depressed individuals improves suppression of irrelevant mental-sets. European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience, 267(3), 277–282. http://doi.org/10.1007/s00406-016-0746-x

 

Abstract

An impaired ability to suppress currently irrelevant mental-sets is a key cognitive deficit in depression. Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) was specifically designed to help depressed individuals avoid getting caught in such irrelevant mental-sets. In the current study, a group assigned to MBCT plus treatment-as-usual (n = 22) exhibited significantly lower depression scores and greater improvements in irrelevant mental-set suppression compared to a wait-list plus treatment-as-usual (n = 18) group. Improvements in mental-set-suppression were associated with improvements in depression scores. Results provide the first evidence that MBCT can improve suppression of irrelevant mental-sets and that such improvements are associated with depressive alleviation.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5357295/

Improve Loneliness and Quality of Life with Women with HIV with Mindfulness

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Improve Loneliness and Quality of Life with Women with HIV with Mindfulness

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Mindfulness-Based Therapies had a long-term effect on stress and both a short- and long-term effect on depression in people living with an HIV infection.” – Yang Yang

 

More than 35 million people worldwide and 1.2 million people in the United States are living with HIV infection. In 1996, the advent of the protease inhibitor and the so-called cocktail changed the prognosis for HIV. Since this development, a 20-year-old individual, infected with HIV, can now expect to live on average to age 69. Hence, living with HIV is a long-term reality for a very large group of people.

 

People living with HIV infection experience a wide array of physical and psychological symptoms which decrease their perceived quality of life. The symptoms include muscle aches, anxiety, depression, weakness, fear/worries, difficulty with concentration, concerns regarding the need to interact with a complex healthcare system, stigma, loneliness, and the challenge to come to terms with a new identity as someone living with HIV. Hence, patients with HIV infection, even when controlled with drugs, have a reduction in their quality of life.  There is thus a need to find methods to improve the quality of life in people who are living with HIV infection.

 

Mindfulness has been shown to improve psychological and physical well-being in people suffering from a wide range of disorders including depression and anxiety. It has also been shown that mindfulness is associated with psychological well-being and lower depression in patients with HIV infection. Integrated Yoga is a contemplative practice is a mindfulness practice that includes postures, breathing practices, relaxation techniques, and meditation. It has been shown to reduce anxiety and depression in in patients with HIV infection. So, it would stand to reason that other mindfulness practices would be beneficial for people who are living with HIV infection.

 

In today’s Research News article “The effectiveness of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy on quality of life and loneliness of women with HIV.” See summary below or view the full text of the study at:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5319288/

Samhkaniyan and colleagues recruited women infected with HIV and randomly assigned them to a no-treatment control or to receive 8 weeks of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), administered once weekly for 2 hours. They were measured before and after the 8-week intervention for loneliness and quality of life, including body health, emotional care, community relationships, and environmental health.

 

They found that the Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) group had significant improvements in all measure in comparison to baseline and the control group, with significant improvements in loneliness, overall quality of life and each quality of life component, body health, emotional care, community relationships, and environmental health. Hence, MBCT appears to be an effective treatment for the psychological issues of loneliness and perceived quality of life in women diagnosed with HIV.

 

MBCT contains both mindfulness practice and also cognitive therapy that is designed to change faulty thought processes. Mindfulness training has been shown to relieve loneliness and lead to improvement in quality of life with a myriad of different conditions. Also, loneliness is an interpretation of the environmental conditions and the altered thinking produced by MBCT may well be responsible for the effect. A more mundane explanation is that the social contacts involved in receiving MBCT by themselves relieve loneliness and improve quality of life. A randomized controlled clinical trial with an active control group is needed to distinguish between these alternative explanations.

 

So, improve loneliness and quality of life with women with HIV with mindfulness.

 

“Given the stress-reduction benefits of mindfulness meditation training, there can be health protective effects not just in people with HIV but in folks who suffer from daily stress,” – David Creswell

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts and on Twitter @MindfulResearch

 

Study Summary

Samhkaniyan, E., Mahdavi, A., Mohamadpour, S., & Rahmani, S. (2015). The effectiveness of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy on quality of life and loneliness of women with HIV . Journal of Medicine and Life, 8(Spec Iss 4), 107–113.

 

Abstract

Objective: The present study investigated the performance of Mindfulness according to the Cognitive approach on the Quality of Life and Loneliness of women with HIV.

Methods: This research is a semi-experimental with pretest-posttest and check team, which was conducted in winter, 2014. In this research, 24 positive HIV women in Tehran were selected by volunteers sampling method and were stochastically related to either the control team (n = 12) or the MBCT groups (n = 12) and, the World Health Organization quality of life survey and the University of California Los Angeles loneliness scale were administrated as pretest. The MBCT team got eight sessions of mindfulness according to the cognitive theory and the check team got no intervention. At the end, the post-test was administrated to two groups and, covariance method was used for data analysis by SPSS-20 software.

Findings: The results of the present study indicated that there were clear variations among the test groups check group and MBCT (p < 0.001). Therefore, Mindfulness-based Cognitive theory increased the mean quality of life and decreased loneliness.

Conclusion: The findings indicated that the Mindfulness-based Cognitive therapy increased the quality of life and decreased loneliness in positive HIV women. Therefore, in order to modify the quality of life and loneliness in these cases, attention to these variables during clinical trials with the goal of an appropriate intervention, will be beneficial.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5319288/

 

Reduce Marital Conflict with Mindfulness and Emotion Regulation

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Reduce Marital Conflict with Mindfulness and Emotion Regulation

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Even in healthy relationships, conflict is inevitable—it’s how you cope with conflict that matters. Coping badly increases stress, and research has shown that too much stress in romantic relationships can put people at risk for mental and physical health problems. According to two new studies, cultivating non-judgmental, moment-to-moment awareness—or mindfulness—might help people feel less stress when conflict arises with their significant other.” – Emily Nauman

 

Relationships can be difficult as two individuals can and do frequently disagree or misunderstand one another. This is amplified in marriage where the couple interacts daily and frequently have to resolve difficult issues. These conflicts can produce strong emotions and it is important to be able to regulate these emotions in order to keep them from interfering with rational solutions to the conflict. The success of marriage can often depend upon how well the couple handles these conflicts. In fact, it has been asserted that the inability to resolve conflicts underlies the majority of divorces.

 

Mindfulness may be helpful in navigating marital disputes, as it has been shown to improve the emotion regulation. The great sage Thich Nhat Hahn stated that “If you love someone, the greatest gift you can give them is your presence.” This is a beautiful thought and suggests that we should be in the present moment and completely attentive to our loved ones when we are with them. When any two people interact paying real-time attention to the other is rare. This lack of “presence” can make it difficult to resolve conflict. To successfully negotiate disagreement, it is imperative that each individual truly hears the other perspective. Mindfulness is a prerequisite for deep listening and consequently to resolving conflict. Indeed, mindfulness has been shown to improve relationships. So, mindfulness training may improve couple’s ability to resolve conflict in marriage.

 

In today’s Research News article “Comparing the effectiveness of mindfulness and emotion regulation training in reduction of marital conflicts.” See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5327703/

Molajafar and colleagues investigated the effectiveness of mindfulness training and emotion regulation training in assisting couples in dealing with marital conflict. They recruited couples who were referred for treatment due to marital problems and divided them into a mindfulness training (Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy, MBCT), an emotion regulation training, and a no-treatment control condition. Both treatments were delivered in 8 weekly 90-minute sessions. Before and after the 8-week treatment period all three groups were measured for marital conflicts including the reduction of the couple’s cooperation, reduction of sexual relationships, increase of emotional reactions, increase of asking for children’s support, increase of personal relationships with their own relatives, reduction of personal relationships with the partners’ relatives and friends and separation of financial issues.

 

They found that in comparison to the no-treatment control both treatments produced a significant decrease in marital conflicts, but the emotion regulation treatment was significantly superior to the mindfulness training in reducing marital conflict. These results suggest that emotion regulation is the most important skill needed to effectively manage marital conflict. Mindfulness training is also effective but may be so as a result of improving emotion regulation. These are interesting and potentially important findings that treatment for marital problems should focus on emotion regulation. It remains for future research to study whether emotion regulation training and mindfulness training may have additive effects such that the two in combination have a greater impact on the couple’s ability to resolve conflict than either alone.

 

The ubiquitous nature of marital conflicts and the high rate of marital failure and divorce suggests that there is a great need for discovering methods to help couples effectively navigate conflicts. Effective emotion regulation ability appears to be crucial. It involves fully experiencing emotions but reacting to them in a productive and adaptive way. The results of this study suggest that mindfulness and emotion regulation training may be an effective way to do this.

 

So, reduce marital conflict with mindfulness and emotion regulation.

 

“Many marriages run into problems because each partner wrongly believes the following:
“if only my husband (wife) were more (less)…, then I would be happy.”  Or, simply put, “fix him (her)”.  Recognizing and giving up this false belief is one of the most important steps you can take towards improving your marriage.” – Suzanne Burger

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts and on Twitter @MindfulResearch

 

Study Summary

Molajafar, H., Mousavi, S., Lotfi, R., Seyedeh Madineh Ghasemnejad, & Falah, M. (2015). Comparing the effectiveness of mindfulness and emotion regulation training in reduction of marital conflicts. Journal of Medicine and Life, 8(Spec Iss 2), 111–116.

 

Abstract

Introduction:this study aimed to compare the effectiveness of mindfulness and emotion regulation training in the reduction of marital conflicts.

Methodology:the present evaluation was a quasi-experimental study with a pretest-posttest design and a control group. The population consisted of all clients who referred to Moein Counseling Center in Alborz province (Spring 2014) due to marital problems. Using the simple random sampling method, 45 married people were selected as the sample and divided into two experimental groups (15 participants in each) and a control group (15 participants). Mindfulness training sessions were held for the first experimental group and emotion regulation training sessions were held for the second experimental group while, the participants in the control group did not receive any training. The Marital Conflicts Questionnaire was used for data collection and the obtained data were analyzed through descriptive statistics and analysis of covariance.

Results: the results confirmed the main hypothesis of this study regarding the effectiveness of mindfulness and emotion regulation training in reduction of marital conflicts (p<0.001, F=43.41).

Discussion and conclusion: there was a significant difference between mindfulness training and emotion regulation training in the reduction of marital conflicts; thus, compared to the mindfulness training, emotion regulation training can be considered a more effective treatment of marital conflicts.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5327703/

 

Help Improve Psychological Problems Associated with Psoriasis with Mindfulness

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Help Improve Psychological Problems Associated with Psoriasis with Mindfulness

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“There’s evidence that being mindful slows down the body’s inflammatory response and perhaps this is why it can be beneficial in psoriasis.” – Jo Jenkins

 

Psoriasis is a chronic skin condition where cells build up on the skin surface. This produces raised patches of skin with silver scales. It is a widespread disorder affecting about 3% of the world’s population and about 2 percent of the U.S. population. Psoriasis causes itchiness and irritation and may be painful. In severe cases, it can spread over large areas of the body. It increases the risk of other disorders such as psoriatic arthritis, diabetes, cardiovascular and kidney disease, and other autoimmune diseases. Psoriasis is an autoimmune disorder where the body’s immune system overreacts and attacks the body’s own tissue, in the case of psoriasis, it’s the skin.

 

Due to the negative self-image that skin diseases like psoriasis can produce, it often results in psychological problems, including anxiety, depression, social isolation, and negative ways of viewing the self, known as maladaptive schemas. These can become severe especially depression and possible suicide. It obviously markedly reduces the patient’s quality of life. There is no cure for psoriasis, but treatment can ease symptoms. But, there has not yet been developed an effective therapy targeted at the psychological symptoms of psoriasis patients. One potential treatment is to engage in therapy to change these schemas. Another potential approach is mindfulness training. It is potentially an effective treatment as psoriasis is an autoimmune disorder and mindfulness has been shown to improve the immune system and reduce the inflammatory response.

 

In today’s Research News article “Effects of the Schema Therapy and Mindfulness on the Maladaptive Schemas Hold by the Psoriasis Patients with the Psychopathology Symptoms.” See summary below or view the full text of the study at:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5309440/

Gojani and colleagues compare mindfulness training with therapy for maladaptive schemas with no treatment for patients suffering with psoriasis. They recruited a convenience sample of psoriasis patients and assigned them to one of three groups; mindfulness training, schema therapy, or no treatment. Mindfulness training was based upon Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT). Treatment occurred for 8 weeks with one 90-minute session per week and assigned homework. Before and again after treatment they measured physical health, anxiety, depression, social function, and schemas.

 

They found that both treatments resulted in large and significant improvements in general health, anxiety, depression, and social function. In addition, both groups significantly reduced maladaptive schemas, including the defeated schema, dependence/incompetence schema, devotion schema; stubbornly criteria schema, merit schema, restraint/inadequate self-discipline schema. Hence, both mindfulness training and schema therapy improved the psychological issues associated with psoriasis and improved general health. It may seem surprising that mindfulness training was as effective in reducing maladaptive schemas as a therapy directly targeting these schemas. But, the mindfulness training was based upon Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT).which is targeted to change maladaptive thought processes. So, it would be attacking the underlying mental processes underlying maladaptive schemas. Mindfulness training also reduces rumination and worry which exacerbate the psychological symptoms. In addition, mindfulness training has been shown to reduce anxiety and depression, and improve social function.

 

These are encouraging results that could lead to a therapeutic program to effectively treat the difficult psychological issues that are produced by psoriasis. Of course, more extensive randomized controlled clinical trails are needed to unequivocally establish the effectiveness of mindfulness training for these issues. But, such a development could greatly reduce the suffering of these patients.

 

So, help improve psychological problems associated with psoriasis with mindfulness.

 

“mindfulness meditation makes psoriasis treatment work better and more quickly.” Allie Toren

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts and on Twitter @MindfulResearch

 

Study Summary

Gojani, P. J., Masjedi, M., Khaleghipour, S., & Behzadi, E. (2017). Effects of the Schema Therapy and Mindfulness on the Maladaptive Schemas Hold by the Psoriasis Patients with the Psychopathology Symptoms. Advanced Biomedical Research, 6, 4. http://doi.org/10.4103/2277-9175.190988

 

Abstract

Background:

This study aimed to compare the effects of the schema along with mindfulness-based therapies in the psoriasis patients.

Materials and Methods:

This semi-experimental study with post- and pre-tests was conducted on the psoriasis patients in the Dermatology Clinic of the Isfahan Alzahra Hospital, Iran using the convenience sampling in 2014. The patients had a low general health score. The experimental groups included two treatment groups of schema-based (n = 8) and mindfulness (n = 8). Both groups received eight 90-min sessions therapy once a week; they were compared with 8 patients in the control group. To evaluate the psoriasis patients’ maladaptive schema, Young schema questionnaire was used. Data were analyzed through the covariance analysis test.

Results:

There was a significant difference between the schema-based therapy and mindfulness groups with the control group. There was also a significant difference between the schema-based therapy groups consisting of the defeated schema, dependence/incompetence schema, devotion schema, stubbornly criteria schema, merit schema, restraint/inadequate self-discipline schema, and the control group. Moreover, a significant difference existed between the maladaptive schema of mindfulness therapy group and the controls. There was a significant difference concerning the improvement of the psychopathologic symptoms between the mindfulness therapy group and the control group.

Conclusions:

This study showed similar effects of both the schema and mindfulness-based therapies on the maladaptive schemas in improving the psoriasis patients with the psychopathologic symptoms.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5309440/

 

Reduce Obsessions with Mindfulness

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Reduce Obsessions with Mindfulness

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“mindfulness may be very beneficial for those of us who struggle with obsessive impulses, not just because it makes us more aware of them, but also because it enables our brains to deal with them better, in the same way that exercising makes our muscles stronger and more able to deal with stresses and strains.” – Mindfulness Project

 

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) sufferer have repetitive anxiety producing intrusive thoughts (obsessions) that result in repetitive behaviors to reduce the anxiety (compulsions). In a typical example of OCD, the individual is concerned about germs and is unable to control the anxiety that these thoughts produce. Their solution is to engage in ritualized behaviors, such as repetitive cleaning or hand washing that for a short time relieves the anxiety. The obsessions and compulsions can become so frequent that they become a dominant theme in their lives. Hence OCD drastically reduces the quality of life and happiness of the sufferer and those around them. At any point in time about 1% of the U.S. population suffers from OCD and about 2% of the population, 3.3 million people, are affected at some time in their life. Hence, the problem is widespread and there is a need for effective treatments.

 

OCD is often treated with drugs, but these are not always effective and relapse is common. In addition, the drugs can produce significant side effects. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) has been shown to be effective in overcoming the symptoms of OCD. However, in many cases obsessions occur without overt compulsive behaviors and it is not known if CBT is effective for this subgroup. Mindfulness training has also been shown to be effective in treating OCD. So, the combination of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) with mindfulness training Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) may be especially effective.

 

In today’s Research News article “Efficacy of mindfulness-integrated cognitive behavior therapy in patients with predominant obsessions.” See summary below or view the full text of the study at:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5270259/

Kumar and colleagues examined the effectiveness of combined mindfulness training and CBT on patients suffering from OCD with obsessive thoughts only. They recruited OCD patients diagnosed with obsessions only and treated them with Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) tailored specifically for obsessions. It was delivered in 12-16 weeks of once a week, 90-minute sessions. The participants were also assigned homework. They were measured before treatment, mid-treatment, after treatment, and at 3-month follow-up on measures of obsessions, obsessive-compulsive severity, insight, global severity of illness, depression, anxiety, socio-occupational functioning, and quality of life.

 

They found that at the completion of treatment and at the 3-month follow-up there were significant reductions in obsessions, severity of illness, disability, depression, and anxiety and a significant improvement in the quality of life. Two thirds of the patients achieved clinical remissions. Hence, the MBCT treatment effectively improved the symptoms of OCD sufferers with only obsessions to a clinically significant extent. This was, however, an open label trial without a control group. As such, the conclusions must be tempered with the understanding that a number of alternative interpretations, including placebo effects, attentional effects, experimenter bias, etc. are also viable explanations.

 

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is targeted at altering aberrant thought processes which is the nature of obsessions. So, its effectiveness would seem predictable. By including mindfulness training, however, the effectiveness may be potentiated by adding increased non-judgmental awareness of the present moment. So, the patients are more aware of their thoughts and feelings in real time and also recognize the defective thought processes leading to them. This makes them better able to counteract and overcome obsessions.

 

So, reduce obsessions with mindfulness.

 

“Obsessive thinking is a tenacious addiction, a way of running from our restlessness and fears. Yet, like all false refuges, it responds to mindful awareness—to an interested and caring attention. We can listen to the energies behind our obsessive thinking, respond to what needs attention, and spend less and less time removed from the presence that nurtures our lives.” – Tara Brach

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts and on Twitter @MindfulResearch

 

Study Summary

Kumar, A., Sharma, M. P., Narayanaswamy, J. C., Kandavel, T., & Janardhan Reddy, Y. C. (2016). Efficacy of mindfulness-integrated cognitive behavior therapy in patients with predominant obsessions. Indian Journal of Psychiatry, 58(4), 366–371. http://doi.org/10.4103/0019-5545.196723

 

Abstract

Background:

Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) involving exposure and response prevention is the gold standard psychotherapeutic intervention for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). However, applying traditional CBT techniques to treat patients with predominant obsessions (POs) without covert compulsions is fraught with problems because of inaccessibility of mental compulsions. In this context, we examined the efficacy of mindfulness-integrated CBT (MICBT) in patients with POs without prominent overt compulsions.

Materials and Methods:

Twenty-seven patients with Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition diagnosis of OCD were recruited from the specialty OCD clinic and the behavior therapy services of a tertiary care psychiatric hospital over 14 months. Patients had few or no overt compulsions and were free of medication or on a stable medication regimen for at least 2 months prior to baseline assessment. All patients received 12–16 sessions of MICBT on an outpatient basis. An independent rater (psychiatrist) administered the Yale–Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (YBOCS) and the Clinical Global Impression Scale at baseline, mid- and post-treatment, and at 3-month follow-up.

Results:

Of the 27 patients, 18 (67%) achieved remission (55% reduction in the YBOCS severity score) at 3-month follow-up. The average mean percentage reduction of obsessive severity at postintervention and 3-month follow-up was 56 (standard deviation [SD] = 23) and 63 (SD = 21), respectively.

Conclusions:

Our study demonstrates that MICBT is efficacious in treating patients with POs without prominent overt compulsions. The results of this open-label study are encouraging and suggest that a larger randomized controlled trial examining the effects of MICBT may now be warranted.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5270259/

 

Relieve Social Anxiety with Mindfulness

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Relieve Social Anxiety with Mindfulness

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Mindfulness is shown in research to use neural pathways in the brain that cause the nervous system to calm. Using mindfulness, we can begin to notice what happens in the body when anxiety is present and develop strategies to empower clients to “signal safety” to their nervous system. Over time, clients feel empowered to slow down their response to triggers, manage their body’s fear response (fight-or-flight) and increase their ability to tolerate discomfort.“ – Jeena Cho

 

It is almost a common human phenomenon that being in a social situation can be stressful and anxiety producing. This is particularly true when asked to perform in a social context such as giving a speech. Most people can deal with the anxiety and can become quite comfortable. But many do not cope well with the anxiety or the level of anxiety is overwhelming, causing the individual to withdraw. Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) is characterized by a persistent, intense, and chronic fear of being watched and judged by others and feeling embarrassed or humiliated by their actions. This fear may be so severe that it interferes with work, school, and other activities and may negatively affect the person’s ability to form relationships. SAD is the most common form of anxiety disorder occurring in about 7% of the U.S. population.

 

Anxiety disorders have generally been treated with drugs. It has been estimated that 11% of women in the U.S. are taking anti-anxiety medications. But, there are considerable side effects and these drugs are often abused. Although, psychological therapy can be effective it is costly and only available to a small numbers of sufferers. So, there is a need to develop alternative treatments. Recently, it has been found that mindfulness training can be effective for anxiety disorders including Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD). There is a need, however, to investigate the effectiveness of different therapeutic techniques for anxiety disorders.

 

Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) was developed to treat depression but has been found to also be effective for other mood disorders. MBCT involves mindfulness training, containing sitting and walking meditation and body scan, and cognitive therapy to alter how the patient relates to the thought processes that often underlie and exacerbate mood disorders. In today’s Research News article “The Effectiveness of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy on Iranian Female Adolescents Suffering From Social Anxiety.” See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5292141/

Ebrahiminejad and colleagues examine the ability of (MBCT) to relieve Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD).

 

They recruited High School students with SAD and randomly assigned them to receive either and 8-week, 1.5 hours once a week, MBCT program or a no-treatment control condition. The students were measured before and after treatment for Social Anxiety and self-esteem. MBCT sessions were held in a group format with 15 students per group. They found that following the MBCT program the students had a significant, 21%, improvement in Social Anxiety and a significant three-fold improvement in self-esteem, while the control groups showed no improvement in either measure. Hence, the results of this pilot study suggest that Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) is effective in treating Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) in adolescents.

 

Anxiety is a fear of what might happen in the future. Mindfulness training by focusing the individual on the present moment, would tend to counteract anxiety. In addition, the cognitive therapy component of the MBCT program is targeted on changing the thought processes that lead to the anticipation of pending negative consequences. Hence, MBCT both alters the aberrant thinking and the focus on the future, resulting in marked improvement in anxiety disorders.

 

These are potentially important results as SAD is such a common disorder that interferes with the social development of adolescents. It should be pointed out that the control condition received no treatment whatsoever. So, the conclusions must be tempered with the understanding that a number of confounding factors, such as placebo effects, experimenter bias, attentional effects, etc., could be responsible for the outcomes. But, this pilot study demonstrates significant effects and suggests that a randomized controlled clinical trial be conducted that includes an active control condition.

 

“mindfulness meditation training made people with social anxiety disorder feel less anxious and less depressed and improved their self-views.” – Mindful

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts and on Twitter @MindfulResearch

 

Study Summary

Ebrahiminejad, S., Poursharifi, H., Bakhshiour Roodsari, A., Zeinodini, Z., & Noorbakhsh, S. (2016). The Effectiveness of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy on Iranian Female Adolescents Suffering From Social Anxiety. Iranian Red Crescent Medical Journal, 18(11), e25116. http://doi.org/10.5812/ircmj.25116

 

Abstract

Background

Social anxiety is one of the most common psychological disorders that exists among children and adolescents, and it has profound effects on their psychological states and academic achievements.

Objectives

The aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) on diminishing social anxiety disorder symptoms and improving the self-esteem of female adolescents suffering from social anxiety.

Patients and Methods

Semi-experimental research was conducted on 30 female students diagnosed with social anxiety. From the population of female students who were studying in Tehran’s high schools in the academic year of 2013 – 2014, 30 students fulfilling the DSM-5 criteria were selected using the convenience sampling method and were randomly assigned to control and experimental groups. The experimental group received eight sessions of MBCT treatment. The control group received no treatment. All participants completed the social phobia inventory (SPIN) and Rosenberg self-esteem scale (RSES) twice as pre- and post-treatment tests.

Results

The results from the experimental group indicated a statistically reliable difference between the mean scores from SPIN (t (11) = 5.246, P = 0.000) and RSES (t (11) = -2.326, P = 0.040) pre-treatment and post-treatment. On the other hand, the results of the control group failed to reveal a statistically reliable difference between the mean scores from SPIN (t (12) = 1.089, P = 0.297) and RSES pre-treatment and post-treatment (t (12) = 1.089, P = 0.000).

Conclusions

The results indicate that MBCT is effective on both the improvement of self-esteem and the decrease of social anxiety. The results are in accordance with prior studies performed on adolescents.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5292141/