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Internet-Based Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for the Adjunctive Treatment of Major Depressive Disorder

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Understanding Depression

Abstract

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is among the most prevalent mental health problems and, due to its tendency to recurrence, a leading cause for chronic illness and disability worldwide. Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) has been developed as an 8-week face-to-face group program for the relapse prevention of MDD. Over the past three decades, MBCT was shown to be effective in the prevention and treatment of depression. However, participant engagement and commitment to regular mindfulness practice are obstacles for adherence to MBCT and its longer-term efficacy. Hence, there is a need to provide MBCT more conveniently, making it easier for patients implementing mindfulness practice into daily life. Internet-based delivery modes for MBCT provide benefits over traditional group formats. Due to the novelty of Internet-based MBCT, its efficacy and underlying mechanisms of change need to be clarified. To derive evidence-based recommendations for practice and research, this chapter aims to review the literature on the efficacy of different MBCT formats.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    WHO International (2017). Depression: Let’s Talk. Last accessed on 10 April 2017 under http://www.who.int/campaigns/world-health-day/2017/toolkit.pdf?ua=1. Archived under http://www.webcitation.org/6plZia43b.

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Correspondence to Jennifer Apolinário-Hagen .

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Apolinário-Hagen, J., Salewski, C. (2018). Internet-Based Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for the Adjunctive Treatment of Major Depressive Disorder. In: Kim, YK. (eds) Understanding Depression. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-6577-4_22

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-6577-4_22

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