Effectiveness of Online Mindfulness Training for People Experiencing Mental Illness

The Be Mindful program was offered to patients with a mental illness diagnosis to investigate the effect of online mindfulness training on this cohort's self-reported levels of depression, anxiety and stress. It also set out to discover whether clinicians would offer the course to patients with a mental health diagnosis, and whether these patients would complete the course. It is the first study of its kind in exploring the feasibility of offering mindfulness training through a UK community healthcare NHS Trust.

The study found that the patient cohort - who had received a range of mental health diagnoses including depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, autism spectrum disorder, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder - saw, on average, significant reductions in levels of stress, depression, and anxiety:

• 24% Reduction in Stress (Perceived Stress Scale)
• 30% Reduction in Anxiety (Generalised Anxiety Disorder)
• 34% Reduction in Depression (Patient Health Questionnaire)

These results 'support the wider availability of Be Mindful as a treatment option for people with history of mental illness': the MBCT course is effective for people with a range of mental illness diagnoses and can effectively be provided via UK community mental health providers. Significantly, it recommends that Be Mindful 'should be an option available to people with experience of mental illnesses.'

This study used an open-label cohort design, with no control group. It compares pre and post intervention self-report measures. The research was published in the Open Journal of Depression and was conducted by the Innovation and Research Department at the Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust.