Mindfulness-Based Therapy ‘As Effective As Medication’ For Depression Sufferers

Mindfulness could be as effective as medication for long-term depression sufferers, a new UK study has found.

The trial, published in The Lancet medical journal, involved 424 individuals at risk of relapsing from the mental illness.

They were randomly assigned either mindfulness-based cognitive therapy or anti-depressants, with the 212 individuals who tried the therapy given eight lots of two-hour group sessions, daily home practice and the option of four follow-up sessions.

The therapy in question is mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, also known as MBCT, and is developed from mindfulness techniques and cognitive therapy.

It encourages patients to focus on the moment, accepting negative thoughts and feelings but actively disengaging from them.

The participants who took part in the therapy trial also gradually came off their anti-depressants.

But the other 212 participants only took the medication and stayed on them for the full two years (the length that is recommended by doctors for sufferers at risk of relapsing).

Scientists admitted they hoped the study would reveal therapy to be more effective than anti-depressants but they actually ended up with very similar results.

In the mindfulness group, there was a 44 per cent relapse rate compared to 47 per cent on anti-depressants.

However scientists agreed that while mindfulness-based therapy was not ‘superior’ to medication, it provides an alternative for patients who don’t want to take the pills for a full two years.

“Currently, maintenance antidepressant medication is the key treatment for preventing relapse, reducing the likelihood of relapse or recurrence by up to two-thirds when taken correctly,” said Prof Richard Byng, co-author of the study from the Plymouth University Peninsula Schools of Medicine and Dentistry.

“However, there are many people who, for a number of different reasons, are unable to keep on a course of medication for depression.

“Moreover, many people do not wish to remain on medication for indefinite periods, or cannot tolerate its side-effects.”

The Lancet report concludes that MBCT ‘may be a new choice for millions of people with recurrent depression on repeat prescriptions.’

Scientists believe the next step is to compare how mindfulness-based therapy compares to other group therapy options – and for the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) to look at the study results when revising the guidelines on the depression relapses.

For more information on the causes, symptoms and treatment for depression, please visit the Mental Health Foundation website.

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