Mindfulness‐based cognitive therapy for depression in adolescents
Open accessAbstract
Background: Mindfulness‐Based Cognitive Therapy ( MBCT ) has been shown to be effective in preventing relapse of depression in adults, but has not previously been applied to adolescents who have residual symptoms of depression following treatment. Method: An 8‐week MBCT group was adapted for adolescents, and evaluated using qualitative and quantitative measures. Results: Participants report high levels of satisfaction with the group intervention. Qualitative analysis of semi‐structured interviews provides areas for future development of this intervention. Pilot data indicate reductions in depressive symptoms, alongside positive change in mindfulness skills, quality of life and rumination. Conclusions: Preliminary evidence for the use of MBCT with this group of adolescents is provided.
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Mindfulness-based interventions in youth have shown reductions in depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and stress symptoms, as well as increases in self-esteem.
“Específicamente, las intervenciones basadas en mindfulness aplicadas en jóvenes han mostrado reducción de síntomas depresivos 17-19 , síntomas de ansiedad 20-23 y síntomas de estrés 24 , así como aumento de la autoestima 25,26 .”
From Mindfulness y promoción de la salud mental en adolescentes: efectos de una intervención en el contexto educativo (2017) · cites this paper as [17]
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“To our knowledge, only one other study (Ames et al. 2014) has narrowed the focus of the intervention to depression among young people, with similarly encouraging findings.”
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BackgroundMindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Children
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“…as a small-group therapy program for children aged 9 – 12 years with anxiety (Semple & Lee, 2011), and has been subsequently validated with a broader range of cultures, and both clinical and non-clinical populations (e.g., Ames et al., 2014; Cotton et al., 2015; Esmaeilian et al., 2018; Lam, 2016).”
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“Mindfulness-based interventions have been effective in individuals with chronic diseases (Bohlmeijer et al., 2010), psychological disorders (Hofmann et al., 2010), depression (Ames et al., 2014), stress reduction (Gross et al., 2010) and anxiety (Hofmann & Gómez, 2017).”
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- Authors
- Ames, C. S., Richardson, J., Payne, S., Smith, P., & Leigh, E.
- Affiliations
- King's College London (GB)
- South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Ames, Catherine S.
- Venue
- Child and Adolescent Mental Health
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2013-08-28
- Volume
- 19
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 74-78
- ISSN
- 1475-357X (ISSN-L)
- 1475-3588
- OpenAlex
- W2153119361
- Cited by
- 95
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 11 · 2021: 10 · 2020: 11 · 2019: 11 · 2018: 5 · 2017: 12 · 2016: 11 · 2015: 4
- FWCI
- 5.56
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Child and Adolescent Mental Health (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Research Portal (King's College London) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Personality Disorders and Psychopathology
- Keywords
- mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, adolescent depression, relapse prevention, residual depressive symptoms, group intervention, mindfulness skills, rumination, quality of life, treatment satisfaction
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