The acceptability and usefulness of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for people living with psoriasis: a qualitative study

Funding sources: This work was conducted as part of a Medical Research Council funded studentship at the University of Manchester. Conflicts of interest: none declared. Dear Editor, Many people with psoriasis believe that their condition is exacerbated by stress.1 Living with chronic plaque psoriasis is associated with elevated levels of stress,2 and decreased quality of life.3 4 Rather than challenging cognitions, mindfulness‐based interventions aim to reduce physiological arousal and psychological distress by developing a nonjudgemental awareness of the present moment and fostering an acceptance of the demands of daily life. It is proposed that mindfulness‐based cognitive therapy (MBCT) could help people with psoriasis to uncouple emotional reactions from cognitive or physical triggers that may maintain elevated levels of distress. MBCT could also encourage people with psoriasis to use acceptance‐based coping strategies.5 6 A pilot study examining MBCT in the management of psoriasis found that the intervention significantly reduced psoriasis severity and impairment of quality of life but did not change stress or distress (anxiety/depression) levels.7 We investigated the experiences of people with psoriasis who had taken part in the 8‐week pilot MBCT intervention programme.