Audit of a Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy Course Within a Prison

This article examines the effectiveness of the 8-week mindfulness-based cognitive therapy course for depression within the prison population. Prisons see higher rates of mental ill health across the spectrum. This study examined how a manualized mindfulness approach to treating depression, a major cause of ill health, would affect this cohort. At the beginning of the course, participants were experiencing high levels of depression and anxiety, with low levels of mindfulness. At the end of 8 weeks, levels of depression and anxiety were reduced while mindfulness scores had increased, suggesting that mindfulness helped participants cope with difficult feelings and sensations. Retrospective study informed consent given by participants.

This is the original submission version (pre-peer review) of the following article: Maroney et al., (2021) Audit of a Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy Course Within a Prison. Journal of Correctional Health Care 27(3) 196–204, which has now been formally published in final form at 10.1089/jchc.18.09.0048. This original submission version of the article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with the Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers’ self-archiving terms and conditions.