Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) for Reducing Symptoms and Preventing Relapse of Depressive Disorders: A Literature Review

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.22373/fjpa.v3i2.869

Keywords:

Depression, Evidence-based intervention, Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, Relapse prevention

Abstract

Depressive disorder is one of the most prevalent mental health problems with a significant impact on quality of life. In Indonesia, the 2018 National Health Survey (Riskesdas) reported a prevalence of depression among adolescents at 6.2%, with risk increasing along with age. The high relapse rate makes depression a chronic condition that requires long-term intervention strategies. Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) has emerged as an evidence-based intervention that integrates cognitive-behavioral therapy with mindfulness practices to help individuals disengage from ruminative thought patterns. This article aims to review empirical evidence regarding the effectiveness of MBCT in reducing depressive symptoms and preventing relapse. The method employed is a narrative review of scientific articles published between 2000 and 2020, encompassing randomized controlled trials (RCTs), quasi-experimental studies, case studies, and meta-analyses. Data collection was carried out by examining documentation from previous studies through database searches such as Google Scholar, Sinta, Science Direct, and Taylor & Francis. The review findings indicate that MBCT is effective in reducing depression, anxiety, and rumination, improving quality of life and self-compassion, and demonstrates comparable effectiveness to conventional cognitive therapy and pharmacotherapy in preventing relapse. These findings strengthen MBCTΓÇÖs position as a clinical and preventive intervention with potential for implementation in mental health services in Indonesia.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Adventinawati, M. K. (2025). Pencegahan kesehatan mental dalam upaya mengurangi stigma kesehatan mental di masyarakat. Hukum Inovatif: Jurnal Ilmu Hukum Sosial dan Humaniora, 2(1), 110ΓÇô116.

Almeida, N. de O., Demarzo, M., & Neufeld, C. B. (2020). Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy in individual clinical care for depression. SMAD Revista Eletrônica Saúde Mental Álcool e Drogas (Edição Em Português), 16(3), 55–63. https://doi.org/10.11606/issn.1806-6976.smad.2020.165509

Association, A. P. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596

Barnhofer, T., Crane, C., Brennan, K., Duggan, D. S., Crane, R. S., Eames, C., Radford, S., Silverton, S., Fennell, M. J. V., & Williams, J. M. G. (2015). Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) Reduces the association between depressive symptoms and suicidal cognitions in patients with a history of suicidal depression. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 83(6), 1013ΓÇô1020. https://doi.org/10.1037/ccp0000027

Bishop, S. R., Lau, M. S., Shauna, C., Anderson, L., Carmody, N., James, S., Zindel V, A., Susan, S., Michael, V., & Drew Devins, G. (2004). Mindfulness: A proposed operational definition. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 11(3), 230ΓÇô241. https://doi.org/10.1093/clipsy.bph077

Bolinski, F., Hendriks, G. J., Bardoel, S., Hollon, S. D., Martell, C., & Huibers, M. J. H. (2018). Cognitive Therapy or Behavioral Activation for Major Depressive Disorder in Dutch Mental Health Care: Pilot Effectiveness and Process Trial. International Journal of Cognitive Therapy, 11(3), 343ΓÇô358. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41811-018-0027-8

Cladder-Micus, M. B., Becker, E. S., Spijker, J., Speckens, A. E. M., & Vrijsen, J. N. (2019). Effects of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy on a Behavioural Measure of Rumination in Patients with Chronic, Treatment-Resistant Depression. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 43(4), 666ΓÇô678. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-019-09997-8

Cladder-Micus, M. B., Speckens, A. E. M., Vrijsen, J. N., T. Donders, A. R., Becker, E. S., & Spijker, J. (2018). Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for patients with chronic, treatment-resistant depression: A pragmatic randomized controlled trial. Depression and Anxiety, 35(10), 914ΓÇô924. https://doi.org/10.1002/da.22788

Eisendrath, S. J., Gillung, E., Delucchi, K. L., Segal, Z. V., Nelson, J. C., McInnes, L. A., Mathalon, D. H., & Feldman, M. D. (2016). A Randomized Controlled Trial of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Treatment-Resistant Depression. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 85(2), 99ΓÇô110. https://doi.org/10.1159/000442260

Elices, M., Pérez-Sola, V., Pérez-Aranda, A., Colom, F., Polo, M., Martín-López, L. M., & Gárriz, M. (2022). The Effectiveness of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy in Primary Care and the Role of Depression Severity and Treatment Attendance. Mindfulness, 13(2), 362–372. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-021-01794-3

Esfahani, M., & Aghili, S. M. (2020). Effectiveness of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy in reducing depression and enhancing the life quality of the female students. J-Gorgan-Univ-Med-Sci, 22(1), 65ΓÇô70. http://goums.ac.ir/journal/article-1-2076-en.html

Farb, N., Anderson, A., Ravindran, A., Hawley, L., Irving, J., Mancuso, E., Gulamani, T., Williams, G., Ferguson, A., & Segal, Z. V. (2018). Prevention of relapse/recurrence in major depressive disorder with either mindfulness-based cognitive therapy or cognitive therapy. J Consult Clin Psychology, 86(2), 1ΓÇô15. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1037/ccp0000266

Geurts, D. E. M., Compen, F. R., Van Beek, M. H. C. T., & Speckens, A. E. M. (2020). The effectiveness of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for major depressive disorder: evidence from routine outcome monitoring data. BJPsych Open, 6(6), 1ΓÇô7. https://doi.org/10.1192/bjo.2020.118

Kementerian Kesehatan RI. (2018). Hasil Riset Kesehatan Dasar (Riskesdas) 2018. Jakarta: Badan Penelitian dan Pengembangan Kesehatan Kementerian RI.

Kessel, R., Gecht, J., Forkmann, T., Drueke, B., Gauggel, S., & Mainz, V. (2016). Exploring the relationship of decentering to health related concepts and cognitive and metacognitive processes in a student sample. BMC Psychology, 4(1), 1ΓÇô10. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-016-0115-6

Kuyken, W., Warren, F. C., Taylor, R. S., Whalley, B., Crane, C., Bondolfi, G., Hayes, R., Huijbers, M., Ma, H., Schweizer, S., Segal, Z., Speckens, A., Teasdale, J. D., Van Heeringen, K., Williams, M., Byford, S., Byng, R., & Dalgleish, T. (2016). Efficacy of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy in prevention of depressive relapse an individual patient data meta-analysis from randomized trials. JAMA Psychiatry, 73(6), 565ΓÇô574. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2016.0076

Mackenzie, M. B., & Kocovski, N. L. (2016). Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for depression: Trends and developments. Psychology Research and Behavior Management, 9, 125ΓÇô132. https://doi.org/10.2147/PRBM.S63949

Mahan, R. M., Swan, S. A., & Macfie, J. (2018). Interpersonal Psychotherapy and Mindfulness for Treatment of Major Depression With Anxious Distress. Clinical Case Studies, 17(2), 104ΓÇô119. https://doi.org/10.1177/1534650118756530

Musa, Z. A., Soh, K. L., Mukhtar, F., Soh, K. Y., Oladele, T. O., & Soh, K. G. (2020). Impact of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy on Depressive Symptoms Reduction among Depressed Patients in Nigeria: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 1(October), 1ΓÇô9.

Racey, D. N., Fox, J., Berry, V. L., Blockley, K. V., Longridge, R. A., Simmons, J. L., Janssens, A., Kuyken, W., & Ford, T. J. (2018). Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Young People and Their Carers: a Mixed-Method Feasibility Study. Mindfulness, 9(4), 1063ΓÇô1075. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-017-0842-7

Raj, S., Sachdeva, S. A., Jha, R., Sharad, S., Singh, T., Arya, Y. K., & Verma, S. K. (2019). Effectiveness of mindfulness based cognitive behavior therapy on life satisfaction, and life orientation of adolescents with depression and suicidal ideation. Asian Journal of Psychiatry, 39, 58ΓÇô62. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajp.2018.12.001

Schanche, E., V├╕llestad, J., Visted, E., Lillebostad Svendsen, J., Binder, P. E., Osnes, B., Franer, P., & S├╕rensen, L. (2021). Self-criticism and self-reassurance in individuals with recurrent depression: Effects of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy and relationship to relapse. Counselling and Psychotherapy Research, 21(3), 621ΓÇô632. https://doi.org/10.1002/capr.12381

Schanche, E., V├╕llestad, J., V├╕llestad, J., Visted, E., Visted, E., Svendsen, J. L., Svendsen, J. L., Osnes, B., Osnes, B., Binder, P. E., Franer, P., & S├╕rensen, L. (2020). The effects of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy on risk and protective factors of depressive relapse - A randomized wait-list controlled trial. BMC Psychology, 8(1), 1ΓÇô16. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-020-00417-1

Segal, Z. V., Williams, J. M. G., & Teasdale, J. D. (2013). Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for depression, 2nd ed. The Guilford Press.

Shang, P., Cao, X., You, S., Feng, X., Li, N., & Jia, Y. (2021). Problem-solving therapy for major depressive disorders in older adults: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Aging Clinical and Experimental Research, 33(6), 1465ΓÇô1475. https://doi.org/doi.org/10.1007/s40520-020-01672-3

Suryaningsih, & Pujiyanto. (2025). Hubungan jenis kelamin dan status pernikahan dengan indikasi masalah kesehatan jiwa pada pegawai pemerintah Kota Depok tahun 2025. Jurnal Kesehatan Afinitas, 7(5), 37ΓÇô48.

Takdir, A. M. (2023). Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) untuk menurunkan gejala post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) [Tesis, Universitas Muhammadiyah Malang]. Universitas Muhammadiyah Malang Repository. https://eprints.umm.ac.id/id/eprint/2257/1/TESIS.pdf

Takdir, A. M., & Yuniardi, M. S. (2024). Cognitive behavioral therapy for psychosis to divert delusions in schizoaffective depressive type. Procedia: Studi Kasus dan Intervensi Psikologi, 12(1), 44ΓÇô50. https://doi.org/10.22219/procedia.v12i1.29912

Tang, Y. Y., H├╢lzel, B. K., & Posner, M. I. (2015). The neuroscience of mindfulness meditation. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 16(4), 213ΓÇô225. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn3916

Teasdale, J. D., Segal, Z. V., Williams, J. M. G., Ridgeway, V. A., Soulsby, J. M., & Lau, M. A. (2000). Prevention of relapse/recurrence in major depression by mindfulness-based cognitive therapy. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 68(4), 616ΓÇô623. https://doi.org/10.1037//0022-006x.68.4.615

Downloads

Published

2025-06-30

How to Cite

Takdir, A. M. (2025). Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) for Reducing Symptoms and Preventing Relapse of Depressive Disorders: A Literature Review. Fathana, 3(2), 86-95. https://doi.org/10.22373/fjpa.v3i2.869