The main MYRIAD studies from this programme are published in a series of papers in a special issue of Evidence-based Mental Health. Reports suggest that one in five teenagers experience mental health problems, and three quarters of all mental illnesses that anyone will ever develop before the age of 24. Willem Kuyken, Sir John Ritblat Family Foundation Professor of Mindfulness and Psychological Science at the University of Oxford and one of the lead authors, said:‘Our project, MYRIAD, is the largest of its kind to explore, in detail, whether mindfulness training in schools can improve young people’s mental health. Teachers who did the mindfulness training reported lower levels of burnout, particularly feelings of reduced exhaustion and depersonalization – although most effects washed out after one year. This rigorous, large-scale study found that when mindfulness training was delivered at scale in schools it did not have an impact on preventing risk of depression or promoting well-being in students aged 11 to 14 years.
