Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy, or MBCT, is designed for people who suffer repeated bouts of depression or chronic unhappiness. It combines the ideas of cognitive therapy with meditative practices and attitudes based on the cultivation of mindfulness.
Recent research has also shown that people who have been clinically depressed three or more times in their life find that learning mindfulness-based skills helps to considerably reduce their chances of depression returning.
What does MBCT help treat?
- Depression and anxiety
- Food and eating issues
- Low mood and negative thoughts
- Body sensations such as weariness and sluggishness
- Psychosis
If you can relate to any of the above issues, mindfulness-based therapy may be right for you. MBCT helps people separate themselves from their thoughts and moods and teaches them how to recognize their sense of being, and aims to give participants the necessary tools to combat depressive symptoms as they arise. Evidence indicates that mindfulness-based therapy may reduce the rate of depressive relapse by 50%.