Specialist depression service may help people with persistent depression

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Ben Hannigan reports on a recent RCT of the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of a specialist depression service versus usual specialist mental health care to manage persistent depression.

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Perinatal mental health difficulties: does the internet have the answer?

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Jane Iles summarises a recent systematic review of digital interventions for perinatal mental health, which highlights a mixed bag of heterogeneous studies in this field.

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Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy can prevent recurrent depression

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Sarah McDonald reports on a meta-analysis published yesterday, which found that when compared with active treatment, mindfulness-based cognitive therapy resulted in a reduced risk of depressive relapse.

This blog also features a podcast interview with the lead author of the research, Professor Willem Kuyken.

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Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy cannot substitute maintenance antidepressants for preventing depression relapse

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Ioana Cristea takes a closer look at a recent non-inferiority RCT, which compares mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) plus discontinued antidepressants versus MBCT and maintenance antidepressants.

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Mindfulness-based interventions in primary care: absent but successful

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Ioana Cristea appraises a meta-analysis on the effectiveness of mindfulness in primary care. She finds that the evidence is insufficient to draw any reliable conclusions about the actual effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions in primary care settings.

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Top mental health blogs in 2015

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André Tomlin presents his review of 2015, the year when the Mental Elf came of age. He highlights our top mental health blogs, showcases the #WeCATS and #ElfCampfire activities and explains how the new National Elf Service website can help you engage more with relevant and reliable research.

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All in the mindfulness? Reflections on the Mindful Nation report

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André Tomlin considers the recommendations for health service delivery and research from the recent Mindful Nation report.

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Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy to prevent depression

In April 2015 we blogged PREVENT and concluded that mindfulness based cognitive therapy is a promising intervention for preventing depression.

André Tomlin presents the results of the PREVENT RCT published today in The Lancet, which investigates the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy compared with maintenance antidepressant treatment in the prevention of depressive relapse or recurrence.

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Mindfulness based group therapy for common mental health disorders

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Mark Smith summarises a recent RCT of mindfulness based group therapy in primary care patients with depression, anxiety and stress and adjustment disorders.

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Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy may reduce the demand for primary care visits

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Can’t get an appointment with your GP? Don’t stress, mindfulness-based cognitive therapy may help by reducing the demand for primary care visits by distressed patients, according to a new study in the Journal of Psychosomatic Research.

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