Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy

Imagine yourself laying in bed attempting to fall asleep however, for some reason you cannot seem to escape your thoughts and allow yourself to drift asleep. What if instead, you were able to focus on the thoughts that you were having and be aware of the present moment to help relax your mind and fall asleep? Being able to do this can aid in eliminating unwanted preoccupations regarding the past and future, such as a fight with a friend or an upcoming exam, and help a person to focus on the present and what is occurring in that exact moment. The therapeutic technique of Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) can be implemented in moments similar to this in order to help an individual gain better control of their thoughts through paying

The benefits from mindfulness interventions are cultivated directly through the person being able to practice meditation effectively. Meditation is a process, embedded in qualities of kindness and compassion, that directs one’s attention inward, focusing on the individual’s thoughts, in a steady and relaxed way in order to gain a clear awareness and understanding about oneself. There are two types of meditation: concentrative practices, focusing on a single attention point, and mindfulness practices, emphasizing the broadening of one’s awareness. For instance, in clinical practice during concentrative meditation an individual might be asked my the therapist to focus strongly on one object with no interruption in order to gain relaxation. While mindfulness practices still need some degree of concentration in order to operate, mindfulness meditation does not need to concentrate on one single focus point. Instead, an individual is asked to embrace whatever thoughts might arise. Because mindfulness meditation takes a different approach to encountering these thoughts in the present moment, it is thought to be especially useful in targeting anxious thoughts in MBCT. Mindfulness meditation practices allow a person to observe anxious thoughts and recognize them as thoughts that are simply forming in the moment. The person then learns to embody calmness, rather than

Kazantzis et al. (2010) stated that this therapy technique is thought to address underlying processes that occur in multiple disorders. MBCT may influence emotional and evaluative dimensions that underlie aspects of a person’s general well-being. This is done through the combination of mindfulness meditation, yoga, and education regarding the mind-body relationship, which helps increase a person’s awareness of their disorder and leads to increased health and well-being of patients with a wide array of disorders. Kabat-Zin emphasizes that “the simple act of recognizing your thoughts as thoughts can free you from the distorted reality they often create and allow for more clear-sightedness and a greater sense of manageability in your life” (Kazantzis, et al., 2010, in