Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy reduces symptoms of depression in people with a traumatic brain injury: results from a randomized controlled trial.
OBJECTIVE
We sought to determine if we could reduce symptoms of depression in individuals with a traumatic brain injury using mindfulness-based cognitive therapy.


METHODS
The study was conducted in a community setting.


METHODS
We enrolled adults with symptoms of depression after a traumatic brain injury.


METHODS
We conducted a randomized controlled trial; participants were randomized to the 10-week mindfulness-based cognitive therapy intervention arm or to the wait-list control arm.


METHODS
The primary outcome measure was symptoms of depression using the Beck Depression Inventory-II.


RESULTS
The parallel group analysis revealed a greater reduction in Beck Depression Inventory-II scores for the intervention group (6.63, n = 38,) than the control group (2.13, n = 38, P = .029). A medium effect size was observed (Cohen d = 0.56). The improvement in Beck Depression Inventory-II scores was maintained at the 3-month follow-up.


CONCLUSIONS
These results are consistent with those of other researchers that use mindfulness-based cognitive therapy to reduce symptoms of depression and suggest that further work to replicate these findings and improve upon the efficacy of the intervention is warranted.
Department of Health Sciences, Lakehead University, (Dr Bédard, Mr Dubois), Northern Ontario School of Medicine, (Dr Bédard, Mr Dubois, Mr Weaver), and Research Department, St. Joseph's Care Group, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada (Dr Bédard, Mss Gibbons and Maxwell, and Mr Dubois); St. Francis Xavier University, Antigonish, NS (Ms Felteau); Clinical Epidemiology, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (Dr Marshall); Institute for Rehabilitation Research and Development, (Dr Marshall), Department of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (Dr Marshall), Electromyography Laboratory, (Dr Marshall), and Acquired Brain Injury Rehabilitation Program, The Ottawa Hospital Rehabilitation Centre, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (Dr Marshall); West Park Healthcare Centre, (Dr Cullen), NeuroRehabilitation, Toronto Rehab, (Dr Cullen), and Division of Physiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario (Dr Cullen); Department of Psychology, Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada (Mr Mazmanian, Dr Klein); Department of Psychology, The Ottawa Hospital, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (Dr Rees); Brookhaven Hospital, Tulsa, OK (Dr Gainer); Neurologic Rehabilitation Institute of Ontario, Etobicoke, Ontario, Canada (Dr Gainer); and Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (Dr Moustgaard).
Michel
M
Bédard
Melissa
M
Felteau
Shawn
S
Marshall
Nora
N
Cullen
Carrie
C
Gibbons
Sacha
S
Dubois
Hillary
H
Maxwell
Dwight
D
Mazmanian
Bruce
B
Weaver
Laura
L
Rees
Rolf
R
Gainer
Rupert
R
Klein
Amy
A
Moustgaard
D000328:Adult; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000523:psychology* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D018592:Cross-Over Studies; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D064866:Mindfulness; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D057832:Watchful Waiting; D015928:Cognitive Behavioral Therapy