Evaluating Compassion–Mindfulness Therapy for Recurrent Anxiety and Depression: A Randomized Control Trial
Abstract
Objective: To evaluate the effects of compassion–mindfulness therapy (C-MT), an adapted version of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy that integrates compassion training. Method: Individuals aged 17–69 with recurrent depressive and anxiety symptoms were recruited from a community mental health service unit. Half of the participants were randomized to an 8-week C-MT program ( n = 41) and the other half to a wait-list control condition ( n = 41). Results: Intent-to-treat analyses showed significant improvements in all measures in the treatment group. The effect sizes for depression and anxiety were 1.11 and 1.10, respectively, and those for physical distress, daily functioning, positive affect, and negative affect ranged from 0.71 to 1.04. All improvements were sustained at the 3-month follow-up. Conclusions: The results provide preliminary support for C-MT as a viable treatment option for individuals with recurrent depression and anxiety symptoms. Time-limited treatments such as C-MT should be promoted in social work practice.
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An estimation of a drop-out rate of 15% is based on two local studies of mindfulness-based intervention [25,47].
“An estimation of a drop-out rate of 15% is based on two local studies of mindfulness-based intervention [25,47].”
From Mindfulness-Based Intervention for Caregivers of Frail Older Chinese Adults: A Study Protocol (2022) · cites this paper as [47]
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- Authors
- Lo, H. H. M., Ng, S. M., & Chan, C. L. W.
- Affiliations
- City University of Hong Kong (HK)
- Department of Social Work and Social Administration, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
- Corresponding author
- Lo, Herman H. M.
- ORCID
- Lo, Herman H. M.
- Venue
- Research on Social Work Practice
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2014-06-09
- Volume
- 25
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 715-725
- ISSN
- 1049-7315 (ISSN-L)
- 1552-7581
- OpenAlex
- W2045651010
- Cited by
- 26
- References
- 57
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 4 · 2016: 1 · 2014: 1
- FWCI
- 2.36
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Research on Social Work Practice (publishedVersion)
- The HKU Scholars Hub (University of Hong Kong) (submittedVersion)
- 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 › Psychotherapy Techniques and Applications
- Keywords
- mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, compassion training, recurrent depression, anxiety, time-limited therapy, treatment effects, social work practice, community mental health
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