Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Bipolar Disorder: A Feasibility Trial

Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) studies generally focus on what’s sometimes called unipolar depression. The term “unipolar” is just a fancy way of distinguishing clinical depression from depression experienced in people with bipolar disorder. People with bipolar disorder may alternate between periods of depression and periods of elation called mania or hypomania (hypomania is less extreme than mania).

In earlier studies of MBCT, people with bipolar depression were screened out. More recently, researchers from Geneva University Hospital in Switzerland set out to determine if MBCT may be helpful for people with bipolar disorder.  They hypothesized that mindfulness may help break the vicious cycles of depression and mania.  This study is the first to pilot the use of MBCT for a sample comprised entirely of people with bipolar disorder.

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The intervention consisted of weekly, 2-hour, MBCT sessions for a total of 8 weeks. Each group met three months after the end of the 8-week program for a 2-hour refresher session. Little was changed to the program except that mania and hypomania were discussed in sessions and mentioned in handouts. Participants were assessed a month before the MBCT class, a month afterward, and at the 3-month follow-up. Of 23 participants, only 15 attended enough sessions to be included in the analyses, and only 9 were assessed at follow-up.

Overall, there were no significant improvements in mindfulness, depression, and hypomania between the beginning and end of the MBCT program. Interestingly, it didn’t look like the researchers included the 3-month follow-up in their analyses. Statistical analyses indicate no significant changes in depressive symptoms, mindfulness, and mania during the study. According to a table in the article, it even looks like depression may have increased at the follow-up! The good news is that 82% of the participants reported having benefited from the program. This point is emphasized by the authors.

A big limitation of this study is sample size: it’s hard to detect changes when working with such a small sample. That said, the study is spun a bit. The authors seem to downplay the nonsignificant changes in symptoms and mindfulness in favor of the participants’ self-report that they found the program beneficial. People says they liked the program, but there's no evidence it impacted depressive symptoms or mania, or that people improved in mindfulness.

In sum, the study suggests that people with bipolar disorder can participate in MBCT, but it provides little evidence that they benefited from it. However, because the sample size was small, it may be worth running another MBCT study for people with bipolar disorder with a larger sample.

The full citation is below:

Weber, B., Jermann, F., Gex-Fabry, M., Nallet, A., Bondolfi, G., & Aubry, J.-M. (2010). Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Bipolar Disorder: A Feasibility Trial. European Psychiatry, 25, 334-337.

If you're interested in learning more about MBCT, the original book is one of the more readable therapist manuals out there:

Segal, Z.V., Williams, J.M.G., & Teasdale, J.D. (2001). Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Depression: A New Aproach to Preventing Relapse. New York: Guilford.

The core MBCT originators also created a self-help book called The Mindful Way Through Depression.

I'd like to thank Molly Ellis for her help with this post.