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Mindfulness therapy can aid in keeping a control on depression and help in preventing relapse, claims a new study. According to researchers from the University of Oxford in England, Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) can turn out to be an alternative treatment or effective supplement to anti-depressant medication in treating depression.

Mindfulness therapy helps patients to deal with negative emotions through meditation techniques, yoga, and breathing exercises. For the purpose of the study, the research team analyzed the findings of nine published studies which included around 1,300 depression patients.

The purpose of the research study was to compare mindfulness therapy's effectiveness against other depression treatments, including the use of antidepressants. During the 60 weeks follow-up, the researchers found that 38 percent of patients who received mindfulness therapy fell into a relapse of depression within five months as compared to 49 percent who did not receive the treatment.

It was also found that the patients who received the therapy were 31 percent less likely to experience a relapse during the 60 weeks follow-up. The therapy showed no evidence of adverse effects on patients.

The researchers found that patients' gender, age, educational qualifications and the age when they first suffered from the ailment, did not have any impact on the therapy's efficacy. The study authors said that mindfulness therapy may have greater positive effects on patients with more severe depression as compared to other treatments.

"The results of the meta-analysis tell us that there is a small but significant benefit of MBCT when delivered alongside or as an alternative to antidepressants, in terms of reduced rates of relapse," said Willem Kuyken, lead author and Professor of Clinical Psychology at the Oxford Mindfulness Centre, reported The Independent.

"While MBCT is not a panacea, it does clearly offer those with a substantial history of depression a new approach to learning skills to staying well in the long-term."

Professor Kuyken stressed that MBCT is a "safe and empowering" option alongside other mainstream approaches for depression such as cognitive behavioural therapy and antidepressants.

Another psychologist, Jill Emanuele, said "I have increasingly incorporated mindfulness-based interventions into my work with children, adolescents and adults, and I've seen how it has improved treatment outcome and overall well-being in my clients," reported UPI.

Emanuele is a senior clinical psychologist at the Child Mind Institute in New York City. She added that the mindfulness approach brings patients "increased awareness of emotions and thoughts, and the ability to more effectively regulate and cope with them." The study findings were published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry on April 27.