The Impact of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy on the Quality of Life in Non-Clinically Depressed People

In this research we investigated the effect of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy on enhancing student's quality of life and reducing their depression. A pretest-posttest quasi-experimental design including an experimental group and a control group was used. The experimental group took part in an eight-session mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) procedure and the control group did not receive the treatment. Each MBCT session took about 1.5 – 2 hours. 150 students randomly were selected from 1000 students living in the dormitories of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences. Then, they all filled in BDI. Among those who scored 15 or above on BDI, 30 students were randomly selected and randomized in two groups. Both groups filled in World Health Organization Quality of Life Questionnaire (WHOQOL – BREF), before and after the therapy. The data were analyzed by using SPSS 11.5 for Windows and the research hypotheses were tested conducting a series of two-way ANOVAs, Pearson Product-Moment Correlation tests and an independent t-test to investigate the effect of the therapy. The results indicated that a mindfulness-based cognitive therapy enhances student's quality of life and reduces their depression. The results are in line with previous studies. Furthermore, the findings will be theoretically and methodologically discussed.