A Quasi-Experimental Clinical Trial of the Detached Mindfulness Group Therapy for Married Women with Major Depressive Disorder

Background: In an effort to make psychotherapy more widely available, group therapy sessions have recently emerged as a type of treatment. Although there is a lack of evidence about the effectiveness of psychotherapy groups in treating Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) in adults, literature shows that married women with a diagnosis of MDD could benefit from these treatments. Objective: This research aims to shed light on a quasi-experimental trial of the Detached Mindfulness Group Therapy (DMGT) for married women with a diagnosis of MDD. Methods: This study examined the effect of a twelve-week intervention in a quasi-experimental trial by using a pre- and post-intervention design. Results. Based on the results, the DMGT treatment is an effective strategy for treating major depressive disorder. It was found to have a large significant pre-post effect sizes on self-reported depressive symptoms, level of depression, and knowledge development. The level of satisfaction with the intervention was quite high. Conclusions: The strong evidence on treatment protocol acceptability, effect magnitude, outcome variance, and group members variables strongly support a future study to test the effectiveness of the DMGT among married women. Quasi-experimental trials should be used in future studies to determine the effectiveness of this DMGT treatment.