Researchers in the Netherlands ran a trial to test whether mindfulness-based cognitive therapy could help adults with ADHD. They recruited 120 adults, all aged 18 or older and diagnosed with ADHD, from three specialist clinics and by self-referral. Half were randomly assigned to add an 8-week group mindfulness program to their usual treatment, and half kept usual treatment alone. About half of each group were women, and the average age was around 39.
Clinicians who did not know which treatment people received rated ADHD symptoms. Those who added the mindfulness program had lower core symptoms after treatment than those with usual care alone, a small effect, and the gain held through 6-month follow-up. More people in the mindfulness group cut their symptoms by at least 30% (27% versus 4%). People who added the program also reported fewer symptoms of their own, plus better mindfulness skills, self-compassion and positive mental health. Their executive functioning did not differ right after treatment but did improve over the follow-up period. General day-to-day functioning did not differ between the groups.
The authors suggest an 8-week group mindfulness program may serve as an add-on to usual care for adults with ADHD, and they call for comparison with active treatments and for tracking of side effects.
The numbers Stats and what the terms mean
The statistics behind the plain-language claims above.
- Janssen, 2018: clinician-rated core ADHD symptoms after treatment, mindfulness plus usual care versus usual care alone, d = 0.41.
What the terms mean:
- d is an effect size. Roughly, 0.2 is small, 0.5 is moderate and 0.8 is large. A minus sign shows the direction of the change, not its size.
Source: Janssen L, Kan C, Carpentier P, et al.. Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy v . treatment as usual in adults with ADHD: a multicentre, single-blind, randomised controlled trial. Psychological Medicine (2018). doi:10.1017/S0033291718000429