Practitioner-supported mindfulness-based cognitive therapy aids depression

Practitioner-supported, mindfulness-based cognitive therapy self-help (MBCT-SH) is superior to standard recommended treatment for mild-to-moderate depression, according to a study published online March 22 in JAMA Psychiatry.

Clara Strauss, Ph.D., D.Clin.Psy., from Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust in Falmer, England, and colleagues examined whether MBCT-SH is superior to practitioner-supported cognitive behavioral therapy self-help (CBT-SH) at reducing depressive symptom severity at 16 weeks among 410 patients with mild-to-moderate depression. Copies of either an MBCT-SH or CBT-SH workbook were given to the participants, and they were also offered six support sessions with a trained practitioner.

The researchers found that at 16 weeks postrandomization, practitioner-supported MBCT-SH led to significantly greater reductions in depression symptom severity versus practitioner-supported CBT-SH (between-group difference of −1.5 Patient Health Questionnaire points). The probability of MBCT-SH being cost-effective exceeded 95 percent versus CBT-SH. Three serious adverse events were reported, but deemed not study-related.

"In conclusion, this study found that a novel intervention, practitioner-supported MBCT-SH, was clinically superior in targeting depressive symptom severity at postintervention and cost-effective compared with the criterion standard of practitioner-supported CBT-SH for adults experiencing mild-to-moderate depression," the authors write. "If study findings are translated into routine practice, this would see many more people recovering from depression while costing health services less money."