TY  - JOUR
A1  - Stangier, Ulrich
A1  - Frick, Artjom
A1  - Thinnes, Isabel
A1  - Arens, Elisabeth A.
A1  - Hofmann, Stefan G.
T1  - Metta-based therapy for chronic depression: a wait list control trial
T2  - Mindfulness
N2  - Objectives: Current treatments for chronic depression have focused on reducing interpersonal problems and negative affect, but paid little attention to promoting prosocial motivation and positive affect. Following this treatment focus, the objective of the present study was to examine whether the combination of metta (Loving Kindness) group meditation and subsequent tailored individual therapy focusing on kindness towards oneself and others (metta-based therapy, MBT) shows greater improvements in depressive symptoms than a wait list control group in patients with chronic depression. Methods: Forty-eight patients with DSM-5 persistent depressive disorder were randomly assigned to MBT or a wait list control condition. Outcome was assessed after group meditation, after subsequent individual therapy, and at 6-month follow-up. The primary outcome measure was an independent blind rating of depressive symptoms at post-test. Secondary outcome included changes in self-reported depression, behavioral activation, rumination, social functioning, mindfulness, compassion, and clinician-rated emotion regulation. Results: Mixed-design analyses showed significant differences between MBT and WLC in changes from pre- to post-test in clinician-rated and self-rated depression, behavioral activation, rumination, social functioning, mindfulness, and emotion regulation. Most of the changes occurred during group meditation and were associated with large effect sizes. Improvements were maintained at 6-month follow-up. Conclusions: The results provide preliminary support for the effectiveness of MBT in treating chronic depression. Trial Registration: ISRCTN, ISRCTN97264476.
KW  - Metta
KW  - Loving kindness
KW  - Mindfulness meditation
KW  - Cognitive behavioral therapy
KW  - Chronic depression
KW  - Persistent depressive disorder
Y1  - 2021
UR  - http://publikationen.ub.uni-frankfurt.de/frontdoor/index/index/docId/64052
UR  - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:hebis:30:3-640520
SN  - 1868-8535
N1  - Dr. Hofmann receives financial support from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, NIH/NCCIH (R01AT007257), NIH/NIMH (R01MH099021, U01MH108168), and the James S. McDonnell Foundation 21st Century Science Initiative in Understanding Human Cognition – Special Initiative.
VL  - 12
SP  - 2929
EP  - 2942
PB  - Springer
CY  - Berlin ; Heidelberg ; New York, NY
ER  -