Effectiveness of Online Mindfulness Training for People Experiencing Mental Illness ()
ABSTRACT
Background: Evidence has shown that self-guided web application mindfulness training
can improve mental health. In this study, the “Be
Mindful” online-based mindfulness training software application was offered through a
United Kingdom (UK) universal community healthcare provider to patients with a
mental illness diagnosis. Be Mindful is an online course providing instruction
on mindfulness theories and practice training, progress tracking, integrated
guidance/feedback, and motivational emails. Objective: The aim of this paper is to present feasibility findings and outcomes on
anxiety, depression, and stress of an intervention offering Be Mindful.
Participants were adults who had a mental illness diagnosis and were under the
care of community mental health services. Methods: Open-label patient cohort design, with no control group. Pre- and post-intervention
assessment using participant self-report measures: Generalised Anxiety
Disorder-7 (GAD-7); Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10); and Patient Health
Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9; a measure of depression severity). Results: Two hundred and seventy-four started and thirty-one patients completed
the Be Mindful programme and outcome measures. PSS scores at baseline
significantly improved from 24.6 (1.79) to 18.7 (2.05) at the end (p < 0.001), with a large
effect size of 0.498. GAD-7 scores at baseline significantly improved from 11.4
(1.3) to 8.00 (1.35) at end (p <
0.001), with a medium effect size of 0.354.
PHQ-9 scores at baseline significantly improved from 13.7 (1.42) to 9.09 (1.76) to
9.81 (1.77) at end (p < 0.001),
with a medium effect size of 0.378. Limitations: There was no control group, and the intervention was adjunct to existing
treatment. Conclusions: Be
Mindful can be offered through a UK community NHS Trust and can have a
significant impact on symptoms of anxiety, depression, and stress in patients
with experience of mental illness. Roll-out through community mental health
providers to people with experience of mental illness is justified. Well-designed
and sufficiently powered randomised controlled trials of theory-driven online
mindfulness training for mental illness patient populations are required.
Share and Cite:
Griffiths, C. , Hina, F. , Pollard, L. and Reid, I. (2022) Effectiveness of Online Mindfulness Training for People Experiencing Mental Illness.
Open Journal of Depression,
11, 15-29. doi:
10.4236/ojd.2022.112002.