Lipstick on a pig? Mindfulness "just as effective" as CBT t.a.u.

[HereSince1628]

3. I'm just as curious about the scoring of the self-reported relief of symptoms...

A finding of no difference is usually not considered particularly meaningful, unless something significantly cheaper (or more free of downside risk) is just as good as something significantly more expensive (or has more downside risk).

Without accessing the primary publication it's not possible to be be sure that the components that go into the self-reports are actually comparable. For example group therapy by itself results in interpersonal interactions that could be scored as spending more time concerned about others...sometimes that is a performance objective of depression therapy. One-on-one therapy doesn't generate that interaction directly. The differences in experience within the group session might be conflated with outcomes beyond the clinic and from the brief report it's a question that is unaddressed.

But, the investigators reportedly interpret the result as a rationale for replacing one-on-one CBT by a therapist (probably expensive) with group mindfulness sessions run by 'certified instructors' (probably less expensive).