Efficacy of mindfulness based cognitive therapy in the treatment of symptoms of active depression: a meta-analysis

Abstract

Mindfulness Based-Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) was designed to prevent relapse of depression although its uses have recently expanded. The current meta-analysis examines the effect sizes for eight studies of MBCT for treatment of depression (N = 350). The average intervention effect size (M* = 1.02, SEM* = 0.14) was significantly larger than the average control effect size (M* = 0.37, SEM* = 0.15; ZDiff = 3.19, p < .01). These results indicate that MBCT is an effective treatment for reducing the severity of active depression in both the standard and shorted version of the treatment. Specific comparisons to control groups are discussed. Overall, MBCT appears to be a viable alternative treatment for active depression.