Psychological Changes Following MBSR and CCT Interventions in a Brief and Intensive Retreat Format: A Sequential Randomized Crossover Study

This study aimed to investigate the effects of two meditation-based programs, Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and Compassion Cultivation Training (CCT), in a brief and intensive format on various psychological variables in a group of healthy volunteer adults attending a retreat with a crossover design.

Participants received both interventions in a random order over 7 days (MBSR-CCT, n = 25; CCT-MBSR, n = 24). Assessments were conducted at three different times: Day 1 (pre-program), Day 4 (after completing the first program and before starting the second program), and Day 7 (post-second program), with a follow-up assessment 3 months later.

A significant time main effect was found for emotion regulation (p < 0.001; b = 0.49), self-compassion (p < 0.001; b =  − 0.78), mindfulness (p < 0.001; b =  − 1.06), low-arousal positive affect (p < 0.001; b =  − 1.39), and high-arousal negative affect (p < 0.001; b = 1.82), with improvements in the expected directions observed in both groups. However, the combination of MBSR followed by CCT showed an advantage in some psychological outcomes following the retreat. The follow-up analysis revealed that some of the psychological benefits observed were retained after 3 months (e.g., emotional distress and regulation, self-compassion, and mindfulness), especially in the groups starting their training with MBSR followed by CCT.

These findings highlight the benefits of meditation-based interventions in a brief and intensive format for psychological functioning in healthy adults, providing novel results on the sequential and combined effects of MBSR and CCT, with implications for practice and interventions.

The study was pre-registered at clinicaltrials.gov (NCT05516355).