Workshop Description:

Gain a new understanding of the use of Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) in an individual format for depression and anxiety in this interactive workshop through an iterative mix of didactic instruction, mindfulness meditation, and inquiry/group discussion. CBT, a change-based approach, is effective in treating depression and anxiety disorders. Yet therapists at times find themselves struggling with how to help their clients when traditional CBT techniques don’t work. MBCT, an acceptance-based approach integrating systematic mindfulness meditation practice with cognitive therapy for depression, has been shown to be effective in treating acute symptoms of depression and anxiety. In this way, MBCT offers clients a way to encounter, identify, and develop a new relationship to those modes of mind that often characterize mood and anxiety disorders by strengthening an orientation to the present moment. This promotes, among other things, the possibility of de-centering and dis-identifying from ruminative or anxious thinking patterns along with a more kind-hearted self-observation and a softening of self-judgement. While MBCT was originally developed as a group intervention, most clinicians work primarily with individual clients. Thus, in this workshop, we will explore how one might use mindfulness meditation in individual CBT.