Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) Reduces Depression and Anxiety Induced by Real Stressful Setting in Non-clinical Population

A randomized, controlled study was conducted in a non-clinical population to investigate the impact of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) on depression, anxiety, automatic thoughts, and dysfunctional attitudes, normally induced by exam as a real stressful setting. The participants were randomly assigned either to receive 8 weekly 2.5- hour MBCT or remain in a waiting list control group. A series of two-way ANOVA with repeated measures were performed to detect if the application of MBCT would result in a systematic reduction in the dependent variables over five assessment points: pre-test, session 4, session 8, first follow-up (1 month) and second follow-up (6 months). The results indicated that MBCT was effective at helping participants to deal with their anxiety and depressive feelings before, during and after stressful circumstances. In addition, the reductions in negative automatic thoughts and dysfunctional attitudes in those who received MBCT were significant. The findings provide further evidence that MBCT might be a useful intervention for enhancing well-being in non-clinical populations who are susceptible to experience anxiety and depression in real life situations.