Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for youth with anxiety disorders at risk for bipolar disorder: a pilot trial

Aim Children and adolescents with bipolar parents have an elevated risk for anxiety disorders. However, antidepressant medications commonly used to treat symptoms of anxiety may accelerate the onset of mania in these already at‐risk youth. Therefore, studies evaluating innovative non‐pharmacologic t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Early intervention in psychiatry 2016-10, Vol.10 (5), p.426-434
Main Authors: Cotton, Sian, Luberto, Christina M., Sears, Richard W., Strawn, Jeffrey R., Stahl, Lauren, Wasson, Rachel S., Blom, Thomas J., Delbello, Melissa P.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Anxiety
Anxiety Disorders - therapy
bipolar
Bipolar disorder
Bipolar Disorder - psychology
Child
Children & youth
Cognitive therapy
Cognitive Therapy - methods
Female
Humans
Male
MBCT-C
Mindfulness
Parents - psychology
Pilot Projects
Psychotherapy, Group
youth
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Summary:Aim Children and adolescents with bipolar parents have an elevated risk for anxiety disorders. However, antidepressant medications commonly used to treat symptoms of anxiety may accelerate the onset of mania in these already at‐risk youth. Therefore, studies evaluating innovative non‐pharmacologic treatments for anxiety in this population are urgently needed. Methods Subjects participated in 12 weekly sessions of mindfulness‐based cognitive therapy for children (MBCT‐C), a manualized group psychotherapeutic intervention utilizing cognitive behavioural principles and mindfulness exercises to increase regulation of attention and non‐judgmental acceptance of present moment thoughts, emotions and experiences. Independent raters administered symptoms rating scales prior to each treatment session. Spearman correlations and paired‐samples signed rank tests were used to examine outcomes. After‐intervention surveys and session transcripts were reviewed to assess feasibility and acceptability of the intervention. Results Participants included 10 youth (meanage = 13.2; 80% girls; 40% biracial) with generalized, social and/or separation anxiety disorders, and a parent with bipolar disorder. Clinician‐rated anxiety was significantly reduced after intervention (meanbefore = 11.1; meanafter = 4.3; P 
ISSN:1751-7885
1751-7893
DOI:10.1111/eip.12216