A MBPP will be conducted for 2 hours for each session, one a week for ten weeks, with 13-15 participants per group. The protocol has been developed based on the model of mindfulness-based stress reduction proposed by Kabat-Zinn (1994) and Tong et al. (2015), and the psychoeducation programmes by Chien and Lee, and Lehman and colleagues (Chien & Lee, 2010; Kabat-Zinn et al., 1992; Lehman et al., 2004; Tong et al., 2015).

The usual care group will receive routine psychiatric outpatient services, including monthly psychiatric consultation and treatment by a psychiatrist, psychiatric nursing advice and brief education according to the patient's psychosocial needs. There will be community mental health services, social welfare or financial assistance supported by medical social workers, whenever necessary.

Participants in this control may be aware that they are receiving no extra treatment which may result in negative expectancies and inflation of the treatment effect (Stoney & Johnson, 2012). To eliminate the time effect and artificially inflated intervention effect, patients in the control group will receive telephone contact once a week to discuss their disease process and daily issues.

A MBPP will be conducted for 2 hours for each session, one a week for eight weeks. The protocol has been developed based on the model of mindfulness-based stress reduction proposed by Kabat-Zinn (1994) and Tong et al. (2015), and the psychoeducation programmes by Chien and Lee, and Lehman and colleagues (Chien & Lee, 2010; Kabat-Zinn et al., 1992; Lehman et al., 2004; Tong et al., 2015).

The programme will be integration of mindfulness and psychoeducation to cultivate the client's mindfulness attitude. The clients will learn to apply the mindfulness in illness management and daily difficulties.

This is a self-report questionnaire that measures two different emotion regulation patterns: cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression. The questionnaire has 10 items: six items reflect the reappraisal factor and four items reflect the suppressive factor. The 10 items are rated on a scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree).

It comprises 10 items that are symptom-focused, self-focused, or focused on the possible causes and consequences of the depressive mood. Participants will be asked to rate on a four-point Likert scale, resulting in a possible range of scores from 22 to 88, with a higher score implying a higher level of rumination.