Preliminary results of mindfulness-based cognitive group therapy (MBCT) in social phobic patients

Objectives. - The aim of this exploratory study is twofold: one the one hand present a Mindfulness-Based Cognitive group Therapy intervention, built on model of Segal and adapted to social phobic patients. One the other hand, provide short-term results from a first group of patients who benefited from this therapy. Patients. - The study involves 9 participants (2 men) aged 27-55 years. Participants are social phobic outpatients who followed a Mindfulness-Based Cognitive group Therapy proposed in a health center. The goals of the therapy were: learn to better manage emotions, reduce anxiety, improve self-esteem, learn to know themselves better, to live in the moment and not to fear the judgment of the other. Before participation, all subjects were informed of the assessment procedure and gave their free and informed consent. Patients completed questionnaires before the start of treatment and after the treatment. The questionnaires administered assessed the depressive and anxious symptomatology assertiveness, self-esteem, strategies of emotional regulation, thoughts in social interaction, the tendency to perfectionism, positive and negative affectivity, and mindfulness skills. Psychotherapy was held over 8 sessions of 2 hours per week and exercises between sessions. It was led by a psychologist trained in behavioral and cognitive therapies, and mindfulness, an occupational therapist also trained in behavioral and cognitive therapies, more two interns psychologists. Sessions focused on methods of learning the centering of attention on the present moment, body awareness and the use of cognitive tools. To evaluate the short-term effects of the treatment, we compared the questionnaires' scores of patients to two stroke of the evaluation. Results. - The first results are suggesting an improvement after surgery for several dimensions evaluated: anxiety, depression, assertiveness, ruminations, non-adaptive emotion regulation strategies, and mindfulness capacity of non-judgment. However, the results are less conclusive as regards mindfulness capabilities. We present and discuss the initial results in relation to the already published studies and in taking account the limitations of the study: small staff, no control group, sex ratio. Conclusions. - The first results are encouraging. They suggest to replicate the study with other social phobic patients to verify the effectiveness of MBCT on social phobia. (C) 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.