Mindfulness Therapy Offers Hope for Treatment-Resistant Depression, Major UK Study Finds
London, UK – A groundbreaking new study published in The Lancet Psychiatry (2025; DOI: 10.1016/S2215-0366 (25) 00105-1) offers a beacon of hope for the roughly half of depression sufferers who don’t find relief through customary “talking therapy.” Researchers have found that mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT),incorporating meditation and yoga exercises,substantially reduces depressive symptoms – and the benefits persist long after treatment ends.
The findings are particularly significant given the scale of the problem. The UK’s National health Service (NHS) ”Talking Therapies” program, the largest publicly funded psychological therapy service globally, treats approximately 670,000 people annually, with nearly half seeking help for major depression. While psychotherapy is a crucial component of mental healthcare, it’s often reserved for those who haven’t responded too medication. Even with intensive conversation therapy, remission rates remain stubbornly around 50%, leaving a substantial number of patients with limited options.
This new research, conducted as part of the “Improving Access to Psychological Therapy” (IAPT) study, investigated whether MBCT could bridge that gap. The study involved 118 patients across 20 centers who had already completed 12 sessions of intensive conversation therapy without achieving their treatment goals.Participants, averaging 42.5 years old and with a history of 6.1 depressive episodes since the age of 20.3, had previously engaged in extensive psychotherapy – between 11 and 40 sessions – to no avail. The majority (59%) were also concurrently taking antidepressant medication.
The MBCT intervention itself is relatively low-intensity. Following an initial individual consultation, patients participated in eight weekly group sessions delivered via teleconference. These sessions focused on commonly practiced meditation and yoga techniques designed to disrupt negative thought patterns associated with depression.
The results were compelling. After the MBCT program, patients showed a significant decrease in depressive symptoms as measured by the PHQ-9 questionnaire, with scores dropping from an average of 17.95 to 12.64. This compared to an improvement from 17.77 to 14.88 in a control group receiving standard “connection care” without further psychotherapy. The difference of 2.49 points was statistically significant.
Crucially, the benefits extended beyond the eight-week program. At 24 weeks post-treatment, 28% of the MBCT group had achieved remission, compared to just 16% in the control group. Moreover, only 5% of MBCT patients experienced a worsening of symptoms, versus 25% in the control group. Improvements were also observed in anxiety levels, measured by the GAD-7 questionnaire, and other indicators of mental wellbeing.
Perhaps most encouragingly, the study suggests MBCT is a cost-effective treatment. With an estimated cost of less than £100 per patient, researchers calculate that it falls well below the widely accepted threshold of £20,000 per quality-adjusted Life Year (QALY), making it a possibly valuable addition to the NHS’s mental health offerings.
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