What Disorders Can MBCT Treat?

The initial clinical research on Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) focused on recurrent depression. MBCT is now being used to treat other mental illnesses, including:

• Depression, from chronic recurring to acute severe depression
• Suicidality
• Anxiety disorders, including Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Panic Disorder and PTSD
• Bipolar disorder
• Eating disorders
• Substance abuse
• ADHD
• Borderline Personality Disorder (particularly in conjunction with DBT
• Depression associated with medical conditions

MBCT Research & Publications

Kuyken W., Warren, F.C., Taylor, R.S., et al. (2016). Efficacy of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy in Prevention of Depressive Relapse. JAMA Psychiatry 2016;73(6):565.

Kuyken, W. et al. (2015) Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy compared with maintenance antidepressant treatment in the prevention of depressive relapse or recurrence (PREVENT): A randomised controlled trial. Lancet 2015 386: 63-73.

Segal, Z. V., J. M. G. Williams and J. D. Teasdale (2013). Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for depression, Second Edition. New York, Guilford Press.

Williams, J. M. G., Kuyken, W. (2012) Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy: A Promising New Approach to Preventing Depressive Relapse, The British Journal of Psychiatry 2012 200:359-360.

Kuyken, W., Watkins, E., Holden, E., White, K., Taylor, R.S., Byford, S., Evans, A., Radford, S., Teasdale, J.D., & Dalgleish, T. (2010). How does mindfulness-based cognitive therapy work? Behaviour Research and Therapy 2010 48 (11), 1105-1112.

Segal, Z. V., Bieling, T., Young, G., MacQueen, R., Cooke, L., Martin, R., Bloch and R. D. Levitan (2010). Antidepressant monotherapy vs sequential pharmacotherapy and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, or placebo, for relapse prophylaxis in recurrent depression. Arch Gen Psychiatry 2010 67(12): 1256-1264.

Farb, N., Anderson, A., Mayberg, H., Bean, J., McKeon, D., & Segal, Z.V. (2010). Mindfulness training alters neural response to sad mood provocation in a mixed clinical sample. Emotion 2010 10(1), 25-33.

Bondolfi, G., Jermann, F., Van der Linden, M., Gex_Fabry, M., Bizzini, L., Weber Rouget, B., Myers-Arrazola, L., Gonzalez, C., Segal, Z.V., Aubry, J.M., & Bertschy, G. (2010). Depression relapse prophylaxis with Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy: Replication and extension in a French speaking sample. Journal of Affective Disorders 2010 122(3), 224-231.

Williams, J. M. G., Teasdale, J.D., Segal, Z.V., & Kabat-Zinn, J. (2007). The mindful way through depression: Freeing yourself from chronic unhappiness. New York: Guilford Press

Farb, N., Segal, Z.V., Mayberg, H., Bean, J., McKeon, D., & Anderson, A. (2007). Mindfulness training reveals dissociable neural modes of self-reference. Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience 2007 2, 313-322.

Segal, Z.V., Kennedy, S., Gemar, M., Hood, K., Pedersen, R., & Buis, T. (2006). Cognitive reactivity to sad mood provocation and the prediction of depressive relapse. Archives of General Psychiatry 2006 63, 750-755.

Teasdale, J.D., Moore, R.G., Hayhurst, H., Pope, M., Williams, S., & Segal, Z.V. (2002).Metacognitive awareness and prevention of relapse in depression: Empirical evidence. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 2002 70, 278-287.

Teasdale, J.D., Segal, Z.V., Williams, J.M.G., Ridgeway, V., Soulsby, J., & Lau, M. (2000).Prevention of relapse/recurrence in major depression by mindfulness-based cognitive therapy.Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 2000 68, 615-623.