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To limit the first spread of COVID-19 in March 2020, the Italian government imposed strict lockdown measures to the population. Despite necessary to reduce the virus transmission and the burden to the hospitals, social isolation has caused detrimental effects on psychological wellbeing and mental health. Moreover, during this period, it was also difficult to deliver psychological treatments and psychiatric assistance. A short (a weekly session for 9 weeks) mindfulness-based meditation program, named Integral Meditation (IM), was administered entirely online to healthy adults from Italy. This is a two-groups pre–post-quasi-experimental study in which the two groups, treated and control, were not randomized. Through matching procedures aimed at overcoming the absence of randomization, we analyzed a sample of 84 subjects (42 for each group). By applying linear mixed effect models, we tested the hypothesis of a beneficial effect of IM on wellbeing, perceived stress, and state anxiety, as measured by three self-reported questionnaires (WEMWBS, PSS, and STAI-X1, respectively), assuming that this effect could be different according to the level of baseline trait anxiety, as measured by STAI-X2. The results showed a statistically significant effect of STAI-X1 (β = −8.24 [95%CI −15.39; −1.09], p = 0.02) and WEMWBS (β = 4.61 [95%CI 0.94; 8.29], p = 0.01) in the higher trait anxiety subgroup only. No statistically significant effect of IM was observed for PSS. These results suggest that our IM, delivered online, may increase mental wellbeing and decrease anxiety specifically in subjects with higher trait anxiety.

Background: Cinematherapy and video treatments are artistic therapeutic techniques by which the individuals are exposed to their psycho-physical difficulties through the stories of the characters on the screen who are coping with the same issues that the patients are. Although these techniques are increasingly common within modern art therapies, there are neither comprehensive classifications of the different approaches nor agreement on their effectiveness. We performed a scoping review, describing different methodological approaches and outcome measures in cinematherapy and video treatments.Methodology: We searched articles in PubMed, PsycINFO and Google Scholar. We included: (i) articles in which subjects were treated for their difficulties with videos or films, (ii) articles written in English. Review articles and papers describing a research protocol without data collection were not included.Results: We analyzed 38 studies. Thirty-six reported a positive effect of the treatment. Seven studies used classical cinematherapy, adopting a qualitative approach to measure the therapy outcome. Thirty-one studies used different video treatments, 8 of which were defined as randomized controlled trials with specific objective therapy outcomes. Studies were mainly focused on behavioral and psychological difficulties in Autism Spectrum Disorders and Schizophrenia.Conclusion: Studies using video treatments more often rely upon structured experimental designs; on the contrary, those who used classical cinematherapy produced descriptive results. A more standardized methodological approach in terms of experimental design, procedure, and objective outcome measure is needed to provide evidence on the effectiveness of these techniques, promoting its application in the clinical field.

Caregivers of patients with dementia experience high levels of stress and burden, with effects comparable to those of a traumatic event. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) appear to be effective in recovering post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). We aimed at investigating the effectiveness of the Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Integrative Group Treatment Protocol (EMDR-IGTP) on the “caregiver syndrome”. Forty-four primary caregivers entered the study. They were randomly assigned to either the “immediate” branch, who received the treatment soon after recruitment, or to the “delayed” branch, who received it two months after recruitment. The treatment consisted of eight group sessions (one per week) spanning over two months. Emotional distress was measured before the treatment, immediately after the end of it, and two months later (follow-up), by means of several clinical scales (Impact of Event Scale-Revised, IES-R; Caregiver Needs Assessment, CNA; Caregiver Burden Inventory, CBI; Anxiety and Depression Scale-Reduced Form, AD-R). The “immediate” branch improved significantly more than the “delayed” (control) branch on The Impact of Event Scale-Revised, the Anxiety, and the Depression scales; however, after treatment such an improvement was maintained only in the first scale. The “delayed” branch took less advantage of the treatment, showing significant reduction only on the Depression scale, an effect which disappeared at follow-up. These preliminary results show for the first time that EMDR-IGTP reduces stress-related symptoms, anxiety, and depression in caregivers of patients with dementia. Interestingly, caregivers who were inserted in a waiting list after recruitment showed smaller treatment effects. Larger samples are needed to better interpret such differential clinical profiles.