Systematic review of the efficacy of mindfulness-based therapy for anxiety disorders

During the last 20 years, interest in mindfulness-based therapy has grown. The objective of this study was to systematically review the current scientific literature that shows evidence concerning the efficacy of mindfulness-based psychological therapy when applied specifically to the treatment of anxiety disorders. A total of 269 potentially relevant articles were gathered from various databases. Of these, 8 articles fulfilled the inclusion criteria. The analysis of these studies suggests that mindfulness-based psychological therapy is efficacious in the treatment of general anxiety disorder, panic disorder, social anxiety disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder when they are used in conjunction with pharmacological treatments. Nevertheless, the authors suggest the need for further studies that, following rigorous methodological review, would allow firm conclusions to be reached concerning the efficacy of this type of treatment for anxiety disorders. (C) 2016 Sociedad Espanola para el Estudio de la Ansiedad y el Estres - SEAS. Published by Elsevier Espana, S.L.U. All rights reserved.