Willem Kuyken

• PhD
• Ritblat Professor Mindfulness and Psychological Science at University of Oxford

Objective: Mindfulness interventions (MIs) train nonjudgmental attention to present-moment experience and aim to improve mental health and well-being. The evidence for their effect on interpersonal relationships is promising but uncertain. This study examines the effect of MIs on couple relationship satisfaction (RS). Method: Randomized controlled...

Background The cluster randomised trial (CRT) design is increasingly used to evaluate the impact of school-based interventions for improving social-emotional functioning outcomes in pupils. Good knowledge is required on plausible values of the intra-cluster correlation coefficient (ICC) of the outcome to calculate the required sample size in such s...

This article explores the potential relevance of Mindfulness-Based Programs, particularly Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), to support the mission of higher education by facilitating the journey from information to knowledge, and from knowledge to wisdom. It thus addresses the problems of distractibility and superficial engagement caused...

Partial remission after major depressive disorder (MDD) is common and a robust predictor of relapse. However, it remains unclear to which extent preventive psychological interventions reduce depressive symptomatology and relapse risk after partial remission. We aimed to identify variables predicting relapse and to determine whether, and for whom, p...

BACKGROUND: Depression is a prevalent and debilitating affective disorder characterised by the dominance and persistence of depressive rumination. Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) is an effective treatment for recurrent depression developed specifically to target rumination and recurrence risk by training metacognitive awareness and adapt...

The COVID-19 pandemic prompted governments worldwide to introduce social distancing measures, including school closures and restrictions on in-person socialising. However, adherence to social distancing was challenging for many – particularly adolescents, for whom social interaction is crucial for development. The current study aimed to identify in...

Background Personalised management of recurrent depression, considering individual patient characteristics, is crucial. Aims This study evaluates the potentially different mediating role of mindfulness skills in managing recurrent depression using mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) among people with varying depression severity. Method Data...

A growing body of research is connecting global environmental degradation to negative impacts on mental health and human flourishing. Meanwhile, international research and policy agendas are targeting the sustainable development of human health and flourishing. Here we argue that these research and policy approaches are too narrow, because they lar...

The ability to notice and reflect on distressing internal experiences from an objective perspective, often called psychological decentering, has been posited to be protective against mental health difficulties. However, little is known about how this skill relates to age across adolescence, its relationship with mental health, and how it may impact...

This Viewpoint discusses mindfulness-based cognitive therapy as an exemplar for innovation in the treatment of depression and presents the corresponding implications for future research.

Background Prior data suggests the Mindfulness-Based Interventions: (MBI) Teaching Assessment Criteria (MBI:TAC) has good inter-rater reliability, but many raters knew teacher experience level. Objective We sought to further evaluate the MBI-TAC’s inter-rater reliability and obtain preliminary data on predictive validity. Methods We videorecorded...

Objective: Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) is a viable alternative to maintenance antidepressant medication (M-ADM) to reduce risk of relapse/recurrence (RR) in recurrent depression, but its mechanism of action is not yet fully articulated. This secondary analysis of the PREVENT trial examined if MBCT with support to taper medication (MB...

People exhibit marked individual variation in their ability to exercise cognitive control in affectively charged situations. Affective control is typically assessed in laboratory settings by comparing performance in carefully constructed executive tasks performed in both affectively neutral and affectively charged contexts. There is some evidence t...

Question Mindfulness-based programmes (MBPs) and practices have demonstrated effects in mental health and well-being, yet questions regarding the target mechanisms that drive change across the population remain unresolved. Study selection and analysis Five databases were searched for randomised controlled trials that evaluate the indirect effects...

Understanding ourselves within our peer environment is an important component of self-development during adolescence, the period of life between the onset of puberty and adulthood (between ages 10 and 24 years). We used a self-appraisal paradigm to investigate cross-sectionally the relationship between perceived friendship quality and self-judgemen...

Understanding ourselves within our peer environment is an important component of self-development during adolescence, the period of life between the onset of puberty and adulthood (between ages 10 and 24 years). We used a self-appraisal paradigm to investigate cross-sectionally the relationship between perceived friendship quality and self-judgemen...

Background: Personalized management of recurrent depression, considering individual patient characteristics, is crucial. Aims: This study evaluates the potentially different mediating role of mindfulness skills in managing recurrent depression using mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) among patients with varying depression severity. Method:...

We addressed construct validity and explored the relationship between self-compassion and compassion for others using the two main current operationalizations of compassion (Neff’s and the Sussex-Oxford Compassion Scales, SOCSs). Relationships with psychological distress and wellbeing, and potential differences in the association between self-compa...

Question: Mindfulness-based programmes (MBPs) and practices have demonstrated effects in mental health and well-being, yet questions regarding the target mechanisms that drive change across the population remain unresolved. Study selection and analysis: Five databases were searched for RCTs that evaluate the indirect effects (IEs) of an MBP or mind...

Sustained attention, a key cognitive skill that improves during childhood and adolescence, tends to be worse in some emotional and behavioural disorders. Sustained attention is typically studied in non-affective task contexts; here, we used a novel task to index performance in affective versus neutral contexts across adolescence (N = 465; ages 11-1...

Adolescence is marked by the onset of puberty, which is associated with an increase in mental health difficulties, particularly in girls. Social and self‐referential processes also develop during this period: adolescents become more aware of others’ perspectives, and judgements about themselves become less favourable. In the current study, data fro...

Objective To evaluate the effectiveness and acceptability of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy-Taking it Further (MBCT-TiF), as an adapted programme for graduates of MBCT and mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR). MBCT-TiF sits within a global mental health approach, which aims to help shift a wider distribution of the population towards ment...

Purpose: The effectiveness of mindfulness training (MT) on mental health and well- being in different groups and contexts is well-established. However, the effect of MT on different healthcare professionals' (HCPs) mental health and wellbeing needs to be synthesised, along with a focus on outcomes that are specifically relevant to healthcare settin...

Major depressive disorder is a leading cause of disability worldwide; identifying effective strategies to prevent depression relapse is crucial. This individual participant data meta-analysis addresses whether and for whom psychological interventions can be recommended for relapse prevention of major depressive disorder. One- and two-stage individu...

Adolescence is a developmental stage in which vulnerability to mental health difficulties increases. One promising strategy to reduce risk of difficulties developing could be to specifically target a key, pan-therapeutic skill broadly relevant for individuals exhibiting preliminary symptoms. Psychological decentering describes the skill of voluntar...

Over half of psychiatric disorders of behaviour, mood, and emotion begin before the age of 15. Thus, development of emotional regulation skills to cope with psycho-social stressors is imperative to reduce risk of adolescent-onset mental health difficulties. Psychological decentering, a self-reflective capacity through which distressing thoughts, fe...

Adolescence is a developmental stage in which vulnerability to mental health difficulties increases. One promising strategy to reduce risk of difficulties developing could be to specifically target a key, pan-therapeutic skill broadly relevant for individuals exhibiting preliminary symptoms. Psychological decentering describes the skill of voluntar...

Background Depression is a highly common and recurrent condition. Predicting who is at most risk of relapse or recurrence can inform clinical practice. Applying machine-learning methods to Individual Participant Data (IPD) can be promising to improve the accuracy of risk predictions. Methods Individual data of four Randomized Controlled Trials (RC...

Objective: To explore mediated effects of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy-“Taking it Further” (MBCT-TiF) on mental well-being through changes in mindfulness, self-compassion, and decentering. Method: A secondary analysis of an RCT using simple mediation, with 164 graduates of MBCT and mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), was implemented w...

Objective: Adolescence is a key developmental window that may determine long-term mental health. As schools may influence students’ mental health, we examined the association of school-level characteristics with students’ mental health over time. Method: We analysed longitudinal data from a cluster randomised controlled trial on 8,376 students (55%...

Importance As young people’s mental health difficulties increase, understanding risk and resilience factors under challenging circumstances becomes critical. Objective To explore the outcomes of the COVID-19 pandemic on secondary school students’ mental health difficulties, as well as the associations with individual, family, friendship, and schoo...

Objectives The primary aim was to explore state- and trait-level effects and candidate mechanisms of four Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) practices. Method One hundred sixty adults self-selected from the general population were randomized to one of four mindfulness practices: body scan, mindful movement, breath and body, and befriending...

Background: Anhedonia (reduced interest/pleasure) symptoms and wellbeing deficits are core to depression and predict a poor prognosis. Current depression psychotherapies fail to target these features adequately, contributing to sub-optimal outcomes. Augmented Depression Therapy (ADepT) has been developed to target anhedonia and wellbeing. We aimed...

Objective: The ability to notice and reflect on distressing internal experiences from an objective perspective, often called psychological decentering, has been posited to be protective against mental health difficulties. However, little is known about how this skill develops across adolescence, how it relates to mental health symptoms, and how thi...

The COVID-19 pandemic prompted governments worldwide to introduce social distancing measures, including school closures and restrictions on in-person socialising. However, adherence to social distancing was challenging for many, and particularly for adolescents, for whom social interaction is crucial for development. The current study aimed to iden...

Objective: We explored what predicts secondary school students' mindfulness practice and responsiveness to universal school-based mindfulness training (SBMT), and how students experience SBMT. Method: A mixed-methods design was used. Participants were 4,232 students (aged 11-13) in 43 UK secondary schools, who received universal SBMT (i.e., '.b'...

Background The Mindfulness-Based Interventions: Teaching Assessment Criteria (MBI:TAC) is an important tool for assessing teacher skill and aspects of the fidelity of mindfulness-based interventions, but prior research on and implementation of the MBI:TAC has used video recordings, which can be difficult to obtain, share for assessments, and which...

Given well‐established links between socio‐economic adversity and mental health, it is unsurprising that young people's mental health is deteriorating amidst economic crises. The World Health Organisation (WHO) recognises mental health as “crucial to personal, community, and socio‐economic development” and outlines goals to reshape environments suc...

Background Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) is an effective group intervention for reducing rates of depression relapse. However, about one-third of graduates experience relapse within 1 year of completing the course. Objective The current study aimed to explore the need and strategies for additional support following the MBCT course. M...

Objectives Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Depression (MBCT-D) has been shown to be effective at repairing positive affect deficits in depressed individuals, but the mechanism of action underpinning these changes has not been empirically examined. To address this issue, secondary analyses of two randomised controlled trials in individuals w...

Mindfulness training programmes have shown to encourage prosocial behaviours and reduce antisocial tendencies in adolescents. However, less is known about whether training affects susceptibility to prosocial and antisocial influence. The current study investigated the effect of mindfulness training (compared with an active control) on self‐reported...

Objective: To determine the effectiveness of mindfulness-based programmes (MBPs) on the mental health of elite athletes. Design: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Data sources: Eight online databases (Embase, PsycINFO, SPORTDiscus, MEDLINE, Scopus, Cochrane CENTRAL, ProQuest Dissertations & Theses and Google Scholar), plus forward and backw...

A secondary analysis of the COBRA randomized controlled trial was conducted to examine how well Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and Behavioural Activation (BA) repair anhedonia. Patients with current major depressive disorder (N = 440) were randomized to receive BA or CBT, and anhedonia and depression outcomes were measured after acute treatmen...

Background Previous research suggests that mindfulness training (MT) appears effective at improving mental health in young people. MT is proposed to work through improving executive control in affectively laden contexts. However, it is unclear whether MT improves such control in young people. MT appears to mitigate mental health difficulties during...

Background Education is broader than academic teaching. It includes teaching students social–emotional skills both directly and indirectly through a positive school climate. Objective To evaluate if a universal school-based mindfulness training (SBMT) enhances teacher mental health and school climate. Methods The My Resilience in Adolescence para...

Background Systematic reviews suggest school-based mindfulness training (SBMT) shows promise in promoting student mental health. Objective The My Resilience in Adolescence (MYRIAD) Trial evaluated the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of SBMT compared with teaching-as-usual (TAU). Methods MYRIAD was a parallel group, cluster-randomised control...

Background Preventing mental health problems in early adolescence is a priority. School-based mindfulness training (SBMT) is an approach with mixed evidence. Objectives To explore for whom SBMT does/does not work and what influences outcomes. Methods The My Resilience in Adolescence was a parallel-group, cluster randomised controlled trial (K=84...

Question Mindfulness-based programmes (MBPs) are an increasingly popular approach to improving mental health in young people. Our previous meta-analysis suggested that MBPs show promising effectiveness, but highlighted a lack of high-quality, adequately powered randomised controlled trials (RCTs). This updated meta-analysis assesses the-state-of th...

Purpose: We explored what predicts secondary school students’ mindfulness practice and responsiveness to universal school-based mindfulness training (SBMT).Methods: Participants were 4,232 students (aged 11-13) in 43 UK secondary schools, who received universal SBMT (i.e., “.b” program), within the MYRIAD trial (ISRCTN86619085). Theory-driven stude...

BACKGROUND Depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide and prevalence is on the rise. One of the most debilitating aspects of depression is the dominance and persistence of depressive rumination,- a state of mind that is linked to onset, and recurrence of depression. Mindfulness meditation trains adaptive attention regulation and presen...

People exhibit marked individual variation in their ability to exercise cognitive control in affectively-charged situations. Affective control is typically assessed in laboratory settings by comparing performance in carefully constructed executive tasks performed in both affectively neutral (‘cool’) and affectively-charged (‘hot’) contexts. Whilst...

Depression is highly recurrent, even following successful pharmacological and/or psychological intervention. We aimed to develop clinical prediction models to inform adults with recurrent depression choosing between antidepressant medication (ADM) maintenance or switching to mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT). Using previously published dat...

Objectives In order to address an important gap in understanding mechanisms of depressive relapse, we complemented self-report with psychophysiological measures to a specifically developed brief self-compassion exercise, to examine if mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) reduces dispositional negative self-bias in individuals with recurrent d...

Mindfulness training programmes have shown to encourage prosocial behaviours and reduce antisocial tendencies in adolescents. However, less is known about whether training affects susceptibility to prosocial and antisocial influence. The current study investigated the effect of mindfulness training (compared with an active control) on self-reported...

There is evidence that universal school-based mindfulness training (SBMT) can have positive effects for young people. However, it is unknown who benefits most from such training, how training exerts effects, and how implementation impacts effects. This study aimed to provide an overview of the evidence on the mediators, moderators, and implementati...

Introduction Decentering describes the ability to voluntarily adopt an objective self-perspective from which to notice internal, typically distressing, stressors (eg, difficult thoughts, memories and feelings). The reinforcement of this skill may be an active ingredient through which different psychological interventions accrue reductions in anxiet...

The ability to retrieve specific, single-incident autobiographical memories has been consistently posited as a predictor of recurrent depression. Elucidating the role of autobiographical memory specificity in patient-response to depressive treatments may improve treatment efficacy and facilitate use of science-driven interventions. We used recent m...

This paper provides a framework for understanding why, when, and how to adapt mindfulness-based programs (MBPs) to specific populations and contexts, based on research that developed and adapted multiple MBPs. In doing so, we hope to support teachers, researchers and innovators who are considering adapting an MBP to ensure that changes made are nec...

Introduction. Decentering describes the ability to voluntarily adopt an objective self-perspective from which to notice internal, typically distressing, stressors (e.g. difficult thoughts, memories, and feelings). The reinforcement of this skill may be an active ingredient through which different psychological interventions accrue reductions in anx...

Introduction. Decentering describes the ability to voluntarily adopt an objective self-perspective from which to notice internal, typically distressing, stressors (e.g. difficult thoughts, memories, and feelings). The reinforcement of this skill may be an active ingredient through which different psychological interventions accrue reductions in anx...

The COVID-19 pandemic created stressors that raised the likelihood of elite athletes experiencing mental health problems. Understanding how individual traits promote resilience is key to offering treatments specific to this population. This prospective study explores the relationship between mindfulness skills, resilience, and athletic identity on...

Mindfulness training (MT) is considered appropriate for school teachers and enhances well-being. Most research has investigated the efficacy of instructor-led MT. However, little is known about the benefits of using self-taught formats, nor what the key mechanisms of change are that contribute to enhanced teacher well-being. This study compared ins...

Objectives Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) has been found effective in reducing depressive symptoms in adults suffering from recurrent depression. However, sustained recovery after MBCT is modest and may require additional, sequential treatment. Basing such additions on known working mechanisms of MBCT, like increases in (self-)compassio...

Negative self-bias is a detrimental vulnerability factor of recurrent depression. Here we examine the potential of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) to reduce this bias by assessing self-report and psychophysiological responses to a previously validated self-compassion exercise in individuals with recurrent depression. One group (n= 25) re...

There is evidence that universal school-based mindfulness training (SBMT) can have positive effects for young people. However, it is unknown who benefits most from such training, how implementation quality impacts effects, and how training exerts effects. No known scoping reviews have comprehensively reviewed moderation, mediation and implementatio...

Background: Despite growing evidence for the salutary effects of mindfulness-based programs (MBPs), there is limited understanding of the how, why, and for whom these programs work in the general population. To better understand these questions, one must implement design and data-analytic approaches that can elucidate potential mediators, mechanism...

Mental health problems are relatively common during university and adversely affect academic outcomes. Evidence suggests that mindfulness can support the mental health and wellbeing of university students. We explored the acceptability and effectiveness of an 8-week instructor led mindfulness-based course (“Mindfulness: Finding Peace in a Frantic W...

Decentering is a ubiquitous therapeutic concept featuring in multiple schools of psychological intervention and science. It describes an ability to notice to day-to-day psychological stressors (negative thoughts, feelings, and memories) from an objective self-perspective and without perseverating on the themes they represent. Thus, decentering damp...

The ability to retrieve specific, single-incident autobiographical memories has been consistently posited as a predictor of recurrent depression. Elucidating the role of autobiographical memory specificity in patient-response to depressive treatments may improve treatment efficacy and facilitate use of science-driven interventions. We used recent m...

Importance Depression frequently recurs. To prevent relapse, antidepressant medication is often taken in the long term. Sequentially delivering a psychological intervention while undergoing tapering of antidepressant medication might be an alternative to long-term antidepressant use. However, evidence is lacking on which patients may benefit from t...

Background MYRIAD (My Resilience in Adolescence) is a superiority, parallel group, cluster randomised controlled trial designed to examine the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of a mindfulness training (MT) programme, compared with normal social and emotional learning (SEL) school provision to enhance mental health, social-emotional-behavioural...

Objective Recent studies suggest deteriorating youth mental health. The current UK policy emphasises the role of schools for mental health promotion and prevention, but little data exist on what aspects of schools explain pupils’ mental health. We explored school-level influences on the mental health of young people in a large school-based sample f...

OBJECTIVE: Recent studies suggest deteriorating youth mental health. The current UK policy emphasises the role of schools for mental health promotion and prevention, but little data exist on what aspects of schools explain pupils' mental health. We explored school-level influences on the mental health of young people in a large school-based sample...

Objectives: Evidence-based mindfulness programs have well established benefits, but the potential for harmful effects is understudied. We explored the frequency and severity of unpleasant experiences and harm in two nonclinical samples participating in an adaptation of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) for the general population. Methods:...

Background/Objective Healthcare workers play a critical role in the health of a nation, yet rates of healthcare worker stress are disproportionately high. We evaluated whether mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for life (MBCT-L), could reduce stress in healthcare workers and target a range of secondary outcomes. Method: This is the first parallel...

Background The Mindfulness-Based Interventions: Teaching Assessment Criteria (MBI:TAC) is a widely used tool for assessing fidelity in mindfulness-based program (MBP) research and training. It also supports MBP teacher reflective and skill development. MBI:TAC assessors review MBP teaching and rate the teaching on 6 domains. The MBI:TAC yields indi...

Background: Despite growing evidence for the salutary effects of mindfulness-based programs (MBPs), there is limited understanding of the how, why, and for whom these programs work in the general population. To better understand these questions, one must implement design and data-analytic approaches that can elucidate potential mediators, mechanism...

Introduction Adolescents are particularly susceptible to social influence and previous studies have shown that this susceptibility decreases with age. The current study used a cross‐sectional experimental paradigm to investigate the effect of age and puberty on susceptibility to both prosocial and antisocial influence. Methods Participants (N = 52...

Background There is growing research support for the use of mindfulness training (MT) in schools, but almost no high-quality evidence about different training models for people wishing to teach mindfulness in this setting. Effective dissemination of MT relies on the development of scalable training routes. Objective To compare 4 training routes fo...

Background Affective dysregulation is central to depression. However, emotion regulation (ER) tendencies in depression remain poorly understood. It is critical, therefore, to validate measures of habitual ER in clinical populations. The current study aimed to validate the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ) in a sample of individuals...

Introduction: Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) has been shown to reduce depressive symptoms in patients with recurrent or chronic depression. However, sequential, follow-up interventions are needed to further improve outcome for this group of patients. One possibility is to cultivate mechanisms thought to support recovery from depression,...

Major depressive disorder is highly recurrent over the lifespan, even following successful pharmacological and/or psychological intervention. Here we investigate whether predictive modeling can be used to optimize treatment recommendations, when choosing between continuing maintenance antidepressant medication (mADM) treatment or switching to Mindf...

There is a high prevalence of stress in the logistics sector owing to very demanding, fast-paced and unpredictable tasks. Mindfulness-based programmes may reduce stress but require considerable practice. Our aim was to evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of a shortened, workplace-adapted, mindfulness-based programme for the logistics sector...

Objectives This study aimed to describe the recovery journeys of people with a history of recurrent depression who took part in a psychosocial programme designed to teach skills to prevent depressive relapse (mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT)), alongside maintenance antidepressant medication (ADM). Design A qualitative study embedded with...

Depression is common with a high risk of relapse/recurrence. There is evidence from multiple randomised controlled trials (RCTs) demonstrating the efficacy of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) for the prevention of depressive relapse/recurrence, and it is included in several national clinical guidelines for this purpose. However, little is...

Objective: The sudden gain (SG; large symptom improvements in one between-session interval) has been identified as a consistent predictor of better outcomes at posttreatment and over follow-up in cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for depression. Other defined trajectories of symptom change in CBT, including linear (consistent changes in depressio...

Introduction Psychological interventions and antidepressant medication can be effective interventions to prevent depressive relapse for patients currently in remission of depression. Less is known about overall factors that predict or moderate treatment response for patients receiving a psychological intervention for recurrent depression. This is a...

Depression co-occurs in 20% of people with cardiovascular disorders, can persist for years and predicts worse physical health outcomes. While psychosocial treatments have been shown to treat acute depression effectively in those with comorbid cardiovascular disorders, to date, there has been no evaluation of approaches aiming to prevent relapse and...

Compassion has received increasing societal and scientific interest in recent years. The science of compassion requires a tool that can offer valid and reliable measurement of the construct to allow examination of its causes, correlates, and consequences. The current studies developed and examined the psychometric properties of new self-report meas...

Recent clinical research suggests that facilitating psychological flexibility and emotional processing and decreasing rumination and avoidance are important tasks of treatment for disorders characterized by entrenched patterns of psychopathology, such as major depressive disorder. The current study examined these processes as predictors of treatmen...