<p>The Effectiveness of a Mindfulness-Based Psychoeducation Programme for Emotional Regulation in Individuals with Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders: A Pilot Randomised Controlled Trial</p>

Abstract

Background: Emotion dysregulation has emerged as a transdiagnostic factor that potentially exacerbates the risk of early-onset, maintenance, and relapse of psychosis. Mindfulness is described as the awareness that emerges from paying attention to the present moment without judgment. It gently pulls the mind out of the negative emotions induced by the disparity between expectation and reality by focusing on the present moment, instead of worrying about the future or regretting the past. However, only a few research has ever focused on the efficacy of using a mindfulness-based intervention to improve emotion regulation in schizophrenia spectrum disorders. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of a Mindfulness-Based Psychoeducation Programme (MBPP) on the emotion regulation of individuals with schizophrenia, in particular, to access emotion regulation strategies. The objective of this study was to find out whether MBPP is feasible for improving emotion regulation strategies, in terms of rumination, cognitive reappraisal, and expressive suppression, with a sustainable effect at a three-month follow-up. Patients and Methods: A single-blinded pilot randomised controlled trial with repeatedmeasures designs was adopted. Forty-six participants diagnosed with schizophrenia and its subtypes were randomised in either the 8-week mindfulness-based psychoeducation programme or treatment-as-usual (control) group. Results: The results of the Generalised Estimating Equations test indicated that the MBPP group showed a significant improvement in reappraisal at a three-month follow-up (β = −6.59, Wald's χ 2 =4.55, p=0.033), and a significant reduction in rumination across time. However, the Generalised Estimating Equations indicated no significant difference in rumination and expressive suppression in the MBPP group. Two participants reported having unwanted experiences, including feelings of terror and distress during the mindfulness practice. Conclusion: The MBPP appeared to be effective for improving emotion regulation, which will contribute to future large-scale RCT to confirm the treatment effects in more diverse groups of schizophrenic patients.

Mindfulness, Age and Gender as Protective Factors Against Psychological Distress During COVID-19 Pandemic

“…In particular, mood disorders seem to negatively affect physical and psychological response to treatment in chronic patients ( Marazziti et al, 2008 ; Mula et al, 2008 ; Dell’Osso et al, 2012 ; Piccinni et al, 2012 ; Veltri et al, 2012 ; Martino et al, 2019c , 2020b ). Recent studies demonstrated that mindfulness disposition is related to anxiety and depression and this is observable among different clinical populations ( Idusohan-Moizer et al, 2015 ; Zhang et al, 2015 ; Lam et al, 2020 ). Several systematic reviews and meta-analyses showed significant beneficial effects on depressive and anxiety symptoms in patients treated with mindfulness-based interventions ( Strauss et al, 2014 ; Chu et al, 2018 ).…”

Mindfulness and Other Simple Neuroscience-Based Proposals to Promote the Learning Performance and Mental Health of Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…This technique works at an emotional level (triggering a series of biological processes). It is widely suggested for the treatment of pathologies such as stress and anxiety and is a useful tool for confronting the limitations that generate states of depression, anxiety, or stress [ 141 , 142 , 143 ]. As college students are very susceptible to high health-risk behaviours, a recent work [ 144 ] demonstrated that mindfulness-based intervention has valuable effects in both improving mindfulness and reducing many such behaviours.…”

Dispositional Mindfulness and Psychotic Symptoms in Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders: The Mediating Roles of Rumination and Negative Emotion

“…29,32,40 Current evidence suggests that mindfulness practice, which cultivates both state and dispositional mindfulness in people with SSDs, could improve emotional and psychotic symptoms. [41][42][43][44] Recent randomised control studies and metaanalyses showed that mindfulness-based interventions significantly improved DM, negative emotions, positive symptoms and negative symptoms compared with control groups. [43][44][45][46][47][48][49] A 2-year longitudinal follow-up study of the relationships between changes in the five facets of mindfulness (observing, describing, acting with awareness, nonjudging and nonreactivity) and the clinical outcomes of psychotic patients who received mindfulness training revealed that all facets of mindfulness significantly increased over time and that two facets (observing and acting with awareness) were significantly associated with improvements in positive and negative symptoms.…”

“…[41][42][43][44] Recent randomised control studies and metaanalyses showed that mindfulness-based interventions significantly improved DM, negative emotions, positive symptoms and negative symptoms compared with control groups. [43][44][45][46][47][48][49] A 2-year longitudinal follow-up study of the relationships between changes in the five facets of mindfulness (observing, describing, acting with awareness, nonjudging and nonreactivity) and the clinical outcomes of psychotic patients who received mindfulness training revealed that all facets of mindfulness significantly increased over time and that two facets (observing and acting with awareness) were significantly associated with improvements in positive and negative symptoms. 50 A recent mediation analysis also suggested that negative emotion might mediate the relationship between DM and clinical outcomes, such as quality of life, in people with SSDs.…”