What are Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy Techniques?

Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy techniques are one of the psychotherapies combining cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), and practices like meditation. It helps you develop a non-judgemental attitude toward yourself. The core of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy techniques is to get to know the different ways of thinking that often cause and contribute to mood disorders and at the same time, learn how to establish a new connection with them.

What is Mindfulness?

According to Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn, “Mindfulness means paying attention in a particular way; on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally.”

Practicing mindfulness involves being fully present and attentive in any activity that one carries out. The term “mindfulness” originated from the Sanskrit word “Smṛti,” which means “that which is remembered.” Mindfulness can be viewed as the act of remembering to focus on our present moment experience. Its three main purposes include:

1. Purpose: Mindfulness involves intention and purpose. This helps you direct your attention rather than letting it wander.
2. Presence: Mindfulness is all about “being in the moment” and being attentive to the present moment. Thoughts about the past and future that arise are recognized simply as thoughts occurring in the present.
3. Acceptance: Mindfulness involves being nonjudgmental toward sensations, thoughts, or emotions— they are simply acknowledged as they happen and observed until they fade away. Any action to “fix” these don’t fall under mindfulness.

What Is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy?

CBT is a type of psychotherapy that is structured and goal-oriented. It is a combination of cognitive therapy and behavior therapy. It treats a wide range of problems from disorders like anxiety disorders, depression, eating disorders, and marital problems, to drug and alcohol addiction, and severe mental illness. CBT helps you in the identification of the negative aspects that may be a part of your perspective towards life. It achieves this via the recognition of negative thoughts or any, possibly, harmful behavior.

According to the American Psychological Association (APA), three core principles underlie CBT.

1. Psychological problems are partially because of faulty or unhelpful thoughts.
2. Psychological problems are partially because of unhelpful behavior.
3. People with psychological problems can learn to cope with them thereby improving the efficacy of their lives.

MBCT vs. CBT vs. MBSR: What’s the Difference?

Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy techniques are a blend of the cognitive approach of CBT with the mindfulness approach of MBSR. It borrows heavily from both to create its own unique form of treatment. There are still some key differences between them

1. Structure: Similar to MBSR, MBCT is also an eight-week group therapy program. Contrarily, CBT, which is an individual therapy, is not based on a specific timeline.
2. Self-regulation: MBCT, with mindfulness at its core, helps clients learn how to self-regulate by being non-judgmental towards whatever they experience and feel. Although CBT can incorporate principles of mindfulness, it is not required.
3. Pattern recognition: CBT focuses on helping clients recognize patterns of thought so they can challenge and change unhelpful beliefs. MBCT also emphasizes pattern recognition, specifically regarding negative patterns common among people with depression. The same is not true for MBSR.

Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy Techniques

Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy techniques encompass principles of cognitive restructuring, mindfulness meditation, and psychoeducation. These three teach people to consciously pay attention to their thoughts and feelings without being judgmental. This allows them to recognize and modify unhelpful thought patterns, increase self-compassion, and develop a more present-focused and accepting mindset.

The most common mindfulness techniques and exercises utilized for MBCT are:

Meditation: This includes techniques like breathing meditation, sitting meditation, body scan meditation, walking meditation, and yoga meditation. These techniques help you become aware of your body and the thoughts that arise in your mind at a given moment without being judgmental. The primary focus here is to focus on your breath and bring back your attention to it whenever it starts wandering. You can use either guided or self-practiced meditation.

Body scan exercise: You scan your body by lying down in a comfortable position. As the name suggests, you scan your body by shifting your attention to all the parts of your body starting either from your head or toes and moving down or up. While you do this, you may be asked by your observer about how you feel, what you become aware of, and what sensations you’re able to gauge in different parts of your body— without any judgments.

3-minute breathing space: 3-minute breathing space is one of the mindful-based cognitive therapy techniques that has the following three steps.

1. Observation of your present mental and emotional state of mind.
2. Focus on your breath.
3. Attention to physical sensations you’re feeling in your body.

Yoga: MBCT can also encourage you to practice yoga by facilitating mindful stretching of your body.

Decentering: Decentering helps you move away from the meaning of a thought that’s occurring to you in a given moment and focus on its occurrence instead. In other words, the center focus is the thought that’s arising and not the meaning that it holds for you. Doing so allows you to simply observe your thoughts instead of assigning meaning to them.

Regular mindfulness: It is the incorporation of the principles of mindfulness, i.e., “being in the moment,” into your regular activities and habits. It can be carried out without necessarily doing mediation.

Benefits of Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy Techniques

Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy techniques teach you cognitive concepts like the association between your thoughts and feelings. Their benefits are:

1. MBCT can help you break free from the spiral of negative thoughts and deal with depression, anxiety, and loneliness.
2. People diagnosed with depression often find themselves trapped in a spiral of thoughts. It takes a single mistake or a negative feeling that leads to catastrophe. Since mindfulness-based cognitive therapy techniques use methods like mindfulness meditation and CBT, they teach people to ground themselves by breaking the spiral of these thoughts with no judgments.
3. MBCT helps you become more aware of the occurrence of any thoughts, feelings, or sensations. This is especially helpful for people who have depression.
4. Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy techniques are effective for self-regulation. They help you recognize and reassess your patterns of unhealthy thoughts and replace them with more positive thoughts that are more realistic.
5. MBCT helps you stay in your present without indulging much in your past or future.

What does MBCT treat?

MBCT was originally introduced to help people who have recurring episodes of depression. It has also shown promising results in the treatment of the following disorders.

1. Anxiety disorders like General Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
2. Traumatic brain injury
3. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
4. Eating disorders
5. Bipolar disorder
6. Low mood
7. Addictions

Are Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy Techniques an Evidence-Based Treatment?

Studies have shown that MBCT effectively treats depression including active depression, treatment-resistant depression, recurrent depression; and other mental illnesses.