Does Mindfulness increase well-being in people diagnosed with severe mental disorder? A Pilot study

Abstract

The main aim with the recovery of Severe Mental Disorder is to improve the skills and abilities in the daily life of the person. For the development in occupational areas, it is necessary to focus attention on the qualisty of life for the person be able to have a satisfactory life. This study was to verify if the group analyzed with Psychopharmacological treatment obtains an improvement in the quality of life incorporating the conventional treatment, Mindfulness technique. A single center trial with pre and post-treatment measures was designed with 12 participants, each having a different mental disorder. To assess psychotic symptoms we used Spanish version of Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale PANSS, quality of life was assessed with World Health Organization Quality of Life-Bref scale (WHOQOL-BREF), and mindfulness was assessed with the Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS). All outcomes met parametric criteria so paired t-test was used to analyze the data. There were significant differences in WHOQOL-BREF Psychological. There are not high differences in quality of life measures. Regarding PANSS measures, there was a significant reduction in Positive scale after the treatment was completed. Finally, MAAS scores increased significantly post treatment. Previous studies shown improvement of the quality of life with the use of the Mindfulness technique in the psychopharmacological treatment is positive. Other factors must be taken into account in order to increase this result. In this study, it has been possible to obtain an improvement in the psychotic positive and psychological symptoms but it is not enough. Therefore is important to research in this technique and to obtain better results in the future.