What is Mindfulness Based Cognitive Behavioural Therapy?
Mindfulness based cognitive behavioural therapy (MBCT) utilises mindfulness meditation at the heart of therapy.
Mindfulness is primarily based on raising levels of awareness and consciousness towards our own emotional processing. I teach a course of meditation that encourages personal development through learning different meditation practices, including the body scan, breathing exercise, sitting meditation, mindful movement, and moving towards difficulty.
The mindfulness I teach does not use Buddhism at the foundation of practice; however, the meditation can bring us closer towards what it means to be a human being at a feeling and heart level, as we become more aware of ourselves and our personal journey.
Mindfulness is primarily based on raising levels of awareness and consciousness towards our own emotional processing. I teach a course of meditation that encourages personal development through learning different meditation practices, including the body scan, breathing exercise, sitting meditation, mindful movement, and moving towards difficulty.
The mindfulness I teach does not use Buddhism at the foundation of practice; however, the meditation can bring us closer towards what it means to be a human being at a feeling and heart level, as we become more aware of ourselves and our personal journey.
Mindfulness asks us to observe what actually moves us, the root meaning of emotion, and to learn to stand inside of our feelings in ways that allows us to tap their power and touch and to heal.
How Mindfulness helps Depression
MBCT has been recommended by the NICE guidelines as an effective treatment for depression, often used as a relapse prevention technique. Depression is often caused by unhelpful negative thinking patterns and emotions, which may result in feeling lethargic, lacking in energy and motivation. An example of how meditation could help is that meditation breathing techniques allow us to create distance from our negative thoughts and emotions, so that we do not have to get so caught up, or enmeshed in these.
In other words, negative thoughts and feelings do not have to rule our lives.
There is an invitation towards the end of the MBCT Therapy course to move towards more difficult experiences to help in changing embedded relationships with these. I also incorporate some CBT techniques within the course, to help with learning about depression and building activities that will increase energy levels.
In other words, negative thoughts and feelings do not have to rule our lives.
There is an invitation towards the end of the MBCT Therapy course to move towards more difficult experiences to help in changing embedded relationships with these. I also incorporate some CBT techniques within the course, to help with learning about depression and building activities that will increase energy levels.
