Objectives: To examine outcome after mindfulness training in a heterogeneous psychiatric outpatient population and to compare outcome in different diagnostic groups.
Method: One hundred and forty-three patients in 5 diagnostic categories completed questionnaires about psychological symptoms, quality of life, and mindfulness skills prior to and immediately after treatment.
Results: The mixed patient group as a whole improved significantly on all outcome measures. Differential improvement was found for different diagnostic categories with respect to psychological symptoms and quality of life: Bipolar patients did not improve significantly on these measures. This finding could be explained by longer illness duration and lower baseline severity in the bipolar category.
Conclusion: Mindfulness training is associated with overall improvement in a heterogeneous outpatient population. Differences in outcome between diagnostic categories may be ascribed to differences in illness duration and baseline severity.
Keywords: adjustment disorder; anxiety disorder; bipolar disorder; depressive disorder; mindfulness training.
© 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.