New treatment for depression

People with severe depression and regression (relapse) can benefit from a new form of therapy that combines ancient medicine with modern treatments, physiologists at Oxford University said. .

The results of a small-scale experiment of this method, called mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT), in patients with depression, are published in the journal Behaviour Research and Therapy. .

Twenty-eight people now suffer from depression, and there are previous periods of depression and the intention of suicide, which are randomly divided into two groups. One group received further treatment with MBCT in addition to conventional treatments, while the other group received only conventional treatment. Treatment with MBCT reduced the number of patients with severe depression , while the other group of patients with severe depression did not change.

People with severe depression and regression (relapse) can benefit from a new form of therapy that combines ancient medicine with modern treatments.(Photos: giadinh.net)

Professor Mark Williams and colleagues from Oxford University School of Psychiatry will continue research work from these encouraging evidence. They hope to conduct research with patients to show that MBCT may help reduce the risk of relapse. Oxford's team is currently conducting a larger-scale study comparing MBCT with a group that uses neurotherapy to determine which factors or treatments are suitable for different types of patients.

Professor Williams, who developed this therapy and directed the study, said: 'We are at the forefront of discovering the really important things about how patients can maintain their strength. healthy after depression. The purpose of this therapy is to help patients get long-term liberation from daily warfare with their own psychological state. '

References:
Barnhofer et al. Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy as a treatment for chronic depression: A preliminary study. Behavior Research and Therapy, 2009; DOI: 10.1016 / j.brat.2009.01.019