Depression–Mindfulness Profiles and Transitions among Adolescents Receiving Animal Assisted Group Psychotherapy

Background and objectives: Adolescents receiving inpatient mental health care differ considerably in their symptom burden, psychological resources, and patterns of change. This study identified latent profiles based on depressive symptoms and mindfulness and examined transitions between these profiles among adolescents participating in animal-assisted group psychotherapy.Methods: The sample comprised 108 adolescent inpatients aged 12–18 years (M age = 15.84 years, SD = 1.26) who participated in a five-week animal-assisted group psychotherapy program alongside standard inpatient treatment. Depressive symptoms and mindfulness were assessed before and after the intervention using the Beck Depression Inventory–Fast Screen and the Freiburg Mindfulness Inventory. Profiles for each time point were identified using latent profile analysis and linked longitudinally using latent transition analysis.Results: Three profiles were identified at both measurement points: reduced burden (T1: n = 14, 14.0%; T2: n = 28, 26.7%), characterized by low depressive symptoms and high mindfulness; moderate burden (T1: n = 46, 46.0%; T2: n = 33, 31.4%); and elevated burden (T1: n = 40, 40.0%; T2: n = 44, 41.9%), characterized by high depressive symptoms and low mindfulness. Estimated transition probabilities indicated that 100% of adolescents in the reduced-burden profile and 86.9% of those in the elevated-burden profile at T1 remained in their respective profiles at T2. Among adolescents in the moderate-burden profile at T1, 27.7% transitioned to the reduced-burden profile over the five-week intervention period.Conclusions: Adolescents showed distinct depression–mindfulness profiles with different patterns of stability and change. Adolescents with moderate initial burden were most likely to transition toward a more favorable profile, suggesting that they may represent a particularly responsive subgroup. These findings highlight heterogeneity in adolescents’ patterns of functioning and change during multimodal inpatient treatment incorporating animal-assisted group psychotherapy.