Prevention of relapse/recurrence in major depression by mindfulness-based cognitive therapy.

TLDR

The study evaluated mindfulness‑based cognitive therapy (MBCT) as a group intervention to help recovered recurrently depressed patients disengage from dysphoria‑activated depressogenic thinking that may lead to relapse. Recovered recurrently depressed patients (n = 145) were randomized to treatment as usual or to MBCT, and relapse/recurrence of major depression was monitored over 60 weeks. MBCT significantly lowered relapse risk in patients with three or more prior episodes, but not in those with only two, indicating it is a promising cost‑efficient strategy for preventing relapse in recurrently depressed patients.

Abstract

This study evaluated mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT), a group intervention designed to train recovered recurrently depressed patients to disengage from dysphoria-activated depressogenic thinking that may mediate relapse/recurrence. Recovered recurrently depressed patients (n = 145) were randomized to continue with treatment as usual or, in addition, to receive MBCT. Relapse/recurrence to major depression was assessed over a 60-week study period. For patients with 3 or more previous episodes of depression (77% of the sample), MBCT significantly reduced risk of relapse/recurrence. For patients with only 2 previous episodes, MBCT did not reduce relapse/recurrence. MBCT offers a promising cost-efficient psychological approach to preventing relapse/recurrence in recovered recurrently depressed patients.