A Long-Term Pilot Study of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Subjective Well-Being Among Healthy Individuals in Comparison with Clinical Samples

Abstract

Mitsuhiro Sado,1,2 Teppei Kosugi,1 Akira Ninomiya,1,2 Sunre Park,3,4 Daisuke Fujisawa,1,4,5 Maki Nagaoka,1 Masaru Mimura1,2 1Department of Neuropsychiatry, Keio University School of Medicine, Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan; 2Center for Stress Research, Keio University, Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan; 3Faculty of Nursing and Medicine Care, Keio University, Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan; 4Palliative Care Center, Keio University Hospital, Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan; 5Division of Patient Safety, Keio University Hospital, Shinjuku, Tokyo, JapanCorrespondence: Mitsuhiro SadoDepartment of Neuropsychiatry, Keio University School of Medicine, 35 Shinanomachi, Shinjuku, Tokyo, 160-8582, JapanTel [phone]Fax [phone]Email [email protected]: Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) could be an intervention for improving subjective well-being among healthy individuals (HIs). However, MBCT studies for HIs to improve their subjective well-being are rare. The aim of this study was to report the feasibility, safety and effectiveness of MBCT for HIs in comparison with clinical samples.Patients and Methods: We conducted a single-arm, pre-post comparison pilot study offering MBCT to both HIs and people with common mental disorders. Twenty-four participants in total were included in the study. Eight weekly two-hour sessions with six monthly boosters were offered to all participants. Assessment was carried out at baseline, week 4, 8, and during follow-up. The 5-item World Health Organization Well-Being Index (WHO-5) was the primary clinical outcome measure.Results: The results showed the MBCT is sufficiently safe and would be more feasible in HIs compared to in clinical samples (attendance rate: 81.5% vs 61.3%, p=0.06). Although Satisfaction with Life Scale, the other scale of subjective well-being used, improved significantly at week 20 (p=0.01), no significant improvement was seen in WHO-5. The results of the sub-group analysis revealed WHO-5 improved significantly at week 8 and 32 among the subjects whose baseline scores began in the lower half.Conclusion: MBCT is sufficiently safe and would be more feasible with HIs compared to the clinical samples. In designing randomized controlled trials, selecting HIs with lower subjective well-being would be reasonable to minimize the “ceiling effect” on outcomes.Keywords: subjective well-being, mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, feasibility, common mental disorders

Keywords

• subjective well-being
• mindfulness based cognitive therapy
• feasibility
• common mental disorders