Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy and depression

Abstract Depression is one of the leading causes of morbidity and disability worldwide with high individual, health care, and societal costs (Vos et al., 2017). Despite major advances in the understanding of etiology and neurobiology of depression, only a third of those treated achieve remission after the first-line treatment, and a third fail to respond to multiple antidepressant trials and are identified as treatment resistant (Gaynes et al., 2009). Depression is a recurring and relapsing condition, with probability of depressive relapse increasing with every subsequent depressive episode (Eaton et al., 2008). Depression recurrence and relapse are the key factors contributing to its high prevalence and costs, disability, and disease burden. In this context, there has been an ongoing interest in mindfulness-based therapies as novel interventions able to target different pathways involved in the pathogenesis of depression and depressive relapse (Kuyken et al., 2016; Strauss et al., 2014). Mindfulness-based interventions are increasingly used in the treatment of depressive disorders in various clinical populations and in a variety of settings (Abbott et al., 2014; Chi et al., 2018; Goldberg et al., 2018). This chapter examines the evidence regarding the applications and effectiveness of mindfulness interventions in the treatment of depressive disorders, with focus on mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT).