Brief group mindfulness-based interventions: a systematic review

Mindfulness-based strategies have demonstrated their efficacy in a variety of clinical conditions. However, several studies report difficulties in adherence linked to eight-session models and brief strategies with good results. In the present systematic review, based on PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses), a total of 366 articles were reviewed, of which only eleven reported on the target population, number and duration of sessions, strategies used, and results obtained in eleven brief group interventions based on mindfulness. These eleven were the only ones used in the final analysis. The results show that these interventions (from two to seven sessions) are effective, with a duration ranging from thirty-five minutes to four hours; the most used strategy is the integration between mindfulness and cognitive-behavioral techniques, and there is a wide variability in activities between sessions. The heterogeneity in the number of sessions, duration, and quality of the practices makes an exhaustive comparison very difficult, so it is necessary to continue the study on the most effective modality for the long-term acquisition of the strategies by the participants.