Media release

From: The Lancet

The Lancet Psychiatry: Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy effective treatment for depression in people whose symptoms have not responded to previous therapy, trial finds

People with depression whose symptoms had not improved after receiving NHS talking therapy had significantly lower levels of depression symptoms after attending a Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) group course compared to patients who received treatment as usual, finds a study published in The Lancet Psychiatry journal.

In the UK National Health Service Talking Therapies programme (NHS TT) about 50% of patients with depression who come to the end of the care pathway still have depression [1].

In this study, over 200 patients who had receive NHS TT but still had depression were randomised to receive either eight weekly group-based MBCT sessions delivered by videoconferences, aimed to develop mindfulness skills and guide participants on how to respond more effectively to difficult emotions, or treatment as usual [2]. Six months after treatment, patients who had received MBCT had larger improvements in depression symptom scores compared to at the start of the trial than those who had received treatment as usual [2].

Another analysis as part of the study suggests that MBCT as an alternative to treatment as usual for this patient group would create considerable cost savings for the NHS.

Authors suggest that MBCT could now be offered to patients with depression in the UK whose symptoms have not improved following evidence-based therapies and call for efforts to make MBCT more widely available.