Recurrent Depression
Conditions
Keywords
Randomised controlled trial, Recurrent depression, Mindfulness training, Compassion training (MBCL), Fear of Compassion, Added value Compassion
Brief summary
Since a few years, Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) has been used as treatment for patients suffering from recurrent depression. Though a number of studies show that MBCT is effective in this population and MBCT reduces the chances of relapse/recurrence in recurrent depressive patients, the chance of a new depression developing after end of treatment is still considerable. Ergo, there is room for improvement. Especially the development of a non-judging or compassionate attitude towards all experience seems to mediate the treatment effect. It is therefore our expectation that a follow-up intervention that focuses specifically on self-compassion could prove very useful in elaborating on the effects of MBCT. The research question of this research is therefore: what is the effect of compassion training in people suffering from recurrent depression who have already received MBCT training?
Interventions
BEHAVIORALMindfulness Based Compassionate Living
The MBCL program consists of eight biweekly group sessions of 2.5 hours, in which the participants get formal meditation exercises, some theoretical information and participate in inquiry on the meditation exercises and homework assignments. Homework assignments are given after every session, consisting of formal and informal meditation exercises primarily and some diary instructions.
Sponsors
Triodos Foundation
Radboud University Medical Center
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
SINGLE (Outcomes Assessor)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
1. Recurrent depression according to the DSM-IV criteria. 2. Having participated in an MBCT training (\>= 4 sessions)
Exclusion criteria
1. One or more previous (hypo)manic episodes according to DSM-IV criteria. 2. Primary psychotic disorder, e.g. schizophrenia or delusions. 3. Clinically relevant neurological conditions (e.g. brain trauma or dementia) or somatic conditions (e.g. cancer, AIDS) that could be related to the depression. 4. Current alcohol and/or drug abuse. 5. Use of high dosages of benzodiazepines. 6. Recent electro convulsive therapy (ECT) (less than 3 months ago). 7. Problems impeding participating in a group, such as severe borderline personality disorder. 8. No prior experience with MBCT. 9. Problems impeding completing the questionnaires, such as cognitive dysfunctions (only assessed if suspected). 10. Subnormal intelligence (IQ \< 80) (only assessed if suspected).
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Beck Depression Inventory-II | 1 year | The BDI-II measures depression symptoms. Measurements will be taken at baseline, end of treatment/control and follow up. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire | 1 year | The FFMQ measures mindfulness skills. Measurements will be taken at baseline, end of treatment/control and follow-up. |
| The Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-II | 1 year | The AAQ-II measures Experiential Avoidance. Measurements will be taken at baseline, end of treatment/control and follow-up. |
| Fears of Compassion Scale (3) | 1 year | The FoCS (3) measures fear of Self-Compassion. Measurements will be taken at baseline, end of treatment/control and follow-up. |
| Self-Compassion Scale | 1 year | The Self-Compassion Scale measures Self-Compassion. Measurements will be taken at baseline, end of treatment/control and follow-up. |
| The World Health Organization Quality of Life Scale | 1 year | The WHO-QoL measures Quality of Life. Measurements will be taken at baseline, end of treatment/control and follow-up. |
| The Ruminative Response Scale | 1 year | The RRS measures Rumination. Measurements will be taken at baseline, end of treatment/control and follow-up. |
| The Childhood Trauma Questionnaire | Baseline | The CTQ measures Childhood Adversity. Measurements will be taken at baseline only. |
| Types of Positive Affect Scale | 1 year | The TPAS measures Positive Affect. Measurements will be taken at baseline, end of treatment/control and follow-up. |
Countries
Netherlands
Outcome results
None listed