Effectiveness of mindfulness based treatments for anxiety and depressive disorders : a systematic review

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine the degree of clinical effi cacy of mindfulness based treatments in the treatment of anxiety and/or depressive disorders, from a systematic review of relevant studies in the scientifi c literature. From a total of 1,450 references identifi ed, 15 studies met the selection criteria. Systematic analysis of these studies showed that interventions based on Mindfulness, using a group format and structured exercises, were moderately effective in reducing depressive and anxious symptoms. Given that mindfulness based treatments can be administered in group format, they can be an important co-adjuvant in treating such symptoms. Nevertheless, more randomized studies with controls are needed to clearly establish the efficacy of this kind of treatments.