What is Mindfulness Cognitive Therapy and How Does it Help
Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy or MBCT was developed by three therapists, Zindel Segal, Mark Williams, and John Teasdale. They were looking at upgrading cognitive therapy and combined it with a program called mindfulness-based stress reduction.
What followed was a relatively new but promisingly successful therapy on not only treating disorders like depression and anxiety but also preventing relapse. MBCT seems to be especially useful with the latter by teaching patients how to understand and manage their thoughts that would normally cause distress.
How Mindfulness Cognitive Therapy Works
If you are suffering from depression or anxiety, you are probably often experiencing timeframes with low mood, negative thoughts, unpleasant memories, etc. Mindfulness cognitive therapy can teach you cognitive techniques and mindfulness meditations that help interrupt these timeframes.
With these techniques, you are first learning to recognise the negative thoughts and feelings, especially since they often result in physical reactions like weariness or sluggishness. You will learn that you can separate your inner self from your negative experiences.
Once you can do that and you start seeing the reasons behind your negative thoughts and emotions, you can interrupt them with positivity. Essentially, MBCT teaches you how to anticipate and replace negative thoughts and low moods with positivity.
Techniques You Can Learn in MBCT
To effectively address your thoughts you have to become deeply aware of them. This is why MBCT sessions often include talking about your feelings and experiences in a non-judgmental manner.
Through meditation, breathing techniques, and even yoga, you will also learn to become more mindful in general. Techniques like body scan exercises where you lay down and become aware of each part of your body, and the three-minute breathing exercise can help you calm your mind and negativity and realize there is no reason to feel as negative as you do.
Preventing Depression Relapse With Mindfulness Cognitive Therapy
Patients with severe depression and anxiety often go through difficult and life-changing therapies to heal themselves with the help of their therapists. The reason MBCT seems so effective at preventing relapse of those illnesses is that it equips the patients with the skills they need to go through the day.
When you learn the negative patterns and the reasons behind them, you will easily foresee a downward spiral. If you can see it coming, you can react to it and prevent it from happening, or at least, prevent it from having such a devastating effect.
Are You Looking for Cognitive Therapy?
I am not using MBCT in my therapy sessions but cognitive behavioural therapy in combination with reality therapy. While there are many effective methods for treating many illnesses, I found these to suit my patients and their needs the best.
If you are looking for a CBT therapist because you are suffering from an issue like depression, anger management, or low self-esteem, or you are not sure and you need advice, you can always reach me here or call me on 086 3835910.
