Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy as Migraine Intervention: a Randomized Waitlist Controlled Trial

Based on promising effects seen in a pilot study evaluating a generic mindfulness-based program for migraine, we developed a migraine-specific adaptation of the Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) program. The aim of this study was to evaluate this program for feasibility and effectiveness in a randomized controlled trial.

Fifty-four patients suffering from migraine were randomly allocated to either waitlist or the adapted MBCT. Outcomes were migraine-related parameters as well as variables of psychological functioning and coping. Assessment took place at baseline and post-intervention, for the intervention group also at follow-up (7 months). The effects of the intervention were analyzed by the use of ANCOVAs and linear mixed models.

With respect to migraine parameters we did not find a significant group difference in the primary outcome (headache-related impairment), but the intervention resulted in a significant reduction of headache frequency (p = .04). In the analysis of secondary outcomes, MBCT showed superiority in four out of eight psychological parameters (perceived stress, anxiety, rumination, catastrophizing) with small to medium effect sizes. The intervention proved to be feasible and participants reported high degrees of contentment and achievement of personal goals.

The migraine-specific MBCT program did not result in improvements with regard to headache-related impairment but showed a reduction in headache frequency as well as improved psychological functioning in secondary outcomes.

This trial was registered in the German Trial Registry "Deutsches Register Klinischer Studien" (ID: DRKS00007477), which is a WHO-listed primary trial register.