Rumour: Mindfulness group therapy, such as meditation, can treat psychiatric disorders.
Truth: This is true. The most commonly used psychiatric intervention is currently cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). However, many individuals cannot seek CBT due to the cost. Cheaper options such as mindfulness group therapy (MGT) have been introduced to determine whether it has been just as effective as CBT in treating psychiatric disorders.
A study published in European Psychiatry compared a group of controls to CBT and MGT groups to determine if either was effective in positive psychiatric treatment. The experiment occurred over eight weeks and found a reduction in psychiatric-related problems in the CBT and MGT experimental groups. Specifically, mindfulness group therapy was found to modify brain patterns that are linked to anxiety, emotional regulation, and functional changes. This illustrates the effectiveness of mindfulness group therapy in psychiatric healing in addition to being budget-friendly.
For more information on this study, click here.
