The MAC‐P program: A pilot study of a mindfulness and compassion program for youth with psychotic experiences

Abstract

Background The purpose of this pilot study was to determine the feasibility, acceptability and the potential clinical utility of a novel mindfulness and compassion program (MAC‐P) designed for youth with a range of psychotic experiences. Method A non‐randomised, non‐controlled prospective follow‐up study was conducted. Eighteen participants who either met criteria for the ‘at risk mental state’ or were experiencing a psychotic episode or had a recent diagnosis of schizophrenia attended the 8‐week program. Participants completed clinical assessments pre‐treatment, post‐treatment and at 6‐week follow‐up which measured a range of symptoms (psychosis, anxiety, depression and stress) and psychosocial outcomes. Results Attendance and retention data indicated that MAC‐P is a feasible and acceptable program. There was a large significant increase in self‐compassion. Mindfulness demonstrated a positive change over time. There was a large significant effect on one subscale—acting with awareness. There were significant reductions in distress associated with psychotic experiences as well as anxiety, depression, stress and self‐criticism. Significant improvements in functioning and insecure attachment styles were also found. Regression results demonstrated that self‐compassion was associated with a number of these findings. Conclusion The MAC‐P for youth shows potential as a clinically effective intervention provided as an addition to treatment as usual for youth with psychotic experiences. A larger controlled study is needed to validate the effectiveness of this intervention.

Home practice in mindfulness-based interventions for psychosis groups: a systematic review and qualitative study

“…RCT 50 14. (a) Hickey et al [ 71 ] (b) Hickey et al [ 72 ] Community mental health services Mindfulness and compassion program None 1 × 90 min sessions/week for 8 weeks Feasibility and acceptability 4. Quantitative Descriptive 100 15.…”

The Impact of Community Mental Health Programs for Australian Youth: A Systematic Review

“…Only eight studies described the cultural and linguistic diversity of the sample, defined as being born in non-English speaking countries (n = 7, Hall et al, 2021;Hayes et al, 2011;Killackey et al, 2017McGuire et al, 2021;Pearce et al, 2020;Sabbioni et al, 2018) or do not speak English at home (n = 1, Kehoe et al, 2014), yet the specific countries were often not specified. There was also a lack of inclusion and reporting on the sexual and gender diversity of young people in the reviewed studies (n = 4): two studies each included two young people who identified as non-binary or gender queer (i.e., do not identify as male or female, Hall et al, 2021;Hickey et al, 2020); one study reported that 3% of the sample identified as transgender or gender diverse (Goel et al, 2021); and 15% of young people identified as same-sex attracted or bisexual in Daubney et al' (2021) study. Only five studies discussed families' socioeconomic status, encompassing parental income, educational attainment or employment, which were considered representative of the general population (Bassilios et al, 2017;Farrell et al, 2012;Havighurst et al, 2015;Hides et al, 2011;Kehoe et al, 2014).…”

“…Sixteen of the 37 studies evaluated the impact of a therapy-based program for young people, predominantly delivered by a psychologist. Nine of the 16 studies implemented a manualized group therapy program, which included: family-based group Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) program for youth with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD, Farrell et al, 2012); the Cool Kids program, which implemented CBT for youth with anxiety disorders (Hudson et al, 2015); origami and mindfulness-based art therapy group program (Edwards & Hegerty, 2018); Emotion Regulation and Impulse Control (ERIC) modularized CBT skills-based program (Hall et al, 2021); the Mindfulness and Compassion group program for young people experiencing psychosis (Hickey et al, 2020); the BEST MOOD program-a manualized eight-session family systems group therapy program (i.e., parent and young person sessions) to alleviate depressive symptoms (Poole et al, 2018); Tuning in to Teens, a six-session group therapy program specifically targeted to parents to help support their adolescents to understand and cope with their emotions in a positive way (Havighurst et al, 2015;Kehoe et al, 2014); and a five-session mindfulness-based group program called Taming the Adolescent Mind (Tan & Martin, 2015). Group programs were conducted weekly at local community centers or services and ranged in duration from one to three months.…”

“…Fifteen of the 16 therapy programs (n = 7 controlled, n = 8 pre-post) evaluated improvements in mental health symptomology, while only five studies (n = 4 pre-post, n = 1 controlled) assessed psychosocial functioning (Farrell et al, 2012;Hickey et al, 2020;Hides et al, 2011;Hopkins et al, 2017;Schley et al, 2018). Eleven of the 15 studies (8/8 pre-post, 3/7 controlled) found significant improvements in young people's mental health symptoms following engagement in a therapy program, with variability in effect sizes ranging from very small (d = 0.14, Kehoe et al, 2014) to very large (d = 2.07, Hickey et al, 2020).…”

“…Fifteen of the 16 therapy programs (n = 7 controlled, n = 8 pre-post) evaluated improvements in mental health symptomology, while only five studies (n = 4 pre-post, n = 1 controlled) assessed psychosocial functioning (Farrell et al, 2012;Hickey et al, 2020;Hides et al, 2011;Hopkins et al, 2017;Schley et al, 2018). Eleven of the 15 studies (8/8 pre-post, 3/7 controlled) found significant improvements in young people's mental health symptoms following engagement in a therapy program, with variability in effect sizes ranging from very small (d = 0.14, Kehoe et al, 2014) to very large (d = 2.07, Hickey et al, 2020). Specific outcomes included significant reductions in general symptom severity, (d = 0.31-2.07, Hall et al, 2021;Havighurst et al, 2015;Hickey et al, 2020;Porter & Nuntavisit, 2016), depressive symptoms (d = 0.14-1.45, Hayes et al, 2011;Kehoe et al, 2014;Schley et al, 2018), anxiety (d = 0.46-0.86, Hudson et al, 2015Kehoe et al, 2014;Schley et al, 2018;Westwater et al, 2020), OCD symptoms (d = 0.92, Farrell et al, 2012 and psychological distress (d = 0.75, Schley et al, 2018;Tan & Martin, 2015).…”