Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT)

Hello, I’m Dr. Paul  Kelly.  I’m the founder of the  Mindfulness Clinic and I’m sitting here with Sarah Housser who is our Director.  We would like to tell you a bit about the  mindfulness-based cognitive therapy groups that we offer here at the  clinic.  If you are looking for better  ways to help yourself deal with or overcome feelings of anxiety, sadness,  depression or other difficult emotions, then this information will be of some  use to you.  Sarah, I wonder if you could  start just by telling our viewer a bit about the MBCT groups that we offer?

SARAH HOUSSER: Sure.  I guess the first thing I  will say is that “MBCT” stands for Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy.  And we say “MBCT” just because it’s  quicker.  The groups we offer at the  Mindfulness Clinic are small.  We limit  the size to 6 to 8 people,  and this is so that everyone who comes to learn the method gets the  personalized attention they need to really learn it and understand it and apply  it in their life.  As well, they get the  benefits of learning together with other people which we know are many.  It’s just easier to learn meditation as part  of a group.  As well, it’s more  affordable than one-on-one instruction.

DR. KELLY:  Thank you.  And can you tell us a bit, as well, about the  benefits or changes that someone might expect if they take part in one of our  groups?

SARAH HOUSSER:  If people have problems with  anxiety, depression, stress, they can expect to feel much better at the end of  an eight week group.  As they learn the  meditation and mindfulness techniques, what they will be learning are ways to  help themselves in their life to feel less worried, less troubled by fears, and  to gain better control over problems like emotional overeating or insomnia,  problems we know are very tied to depression and anxiety.  As well, for people who have problems with  pain and headaches, the group can be helpful for them especially if that pain  is made worse by worry and tension.

DR. KELLY:  It’s interesting, isn’t it,  that the same group could be helpful for these different kinds of problems?

SARAH HOUSSER:  M-hmm.

DR. KELLY:  I think the key to  understanding that is simply that we teach techniques for mindfulness and for  meditation and these techniques can help anyone who learns them to be less  reactive.  It helps people learn to tune  in and be aware of their thoughts and feelings and reactions without being as  overwhelmed by them.  It also helps  people learn to be kinder to themselves, learn how to respond and deal with  situations, you might say in a more mature and a more balanced way, not just as  some kind of general idea but by actually learning methods and techniques that  can be used minute to minute to make a real difference for how we notice how  we’re feeling and to also help ourselves deal with things in a more effective  way.

SARAH HOUSSER:  M-hmm.  And we should also add that there is solid  research evidence that demonstrates the effectiveness of MBCT and other  mindfulness treatments.  They’ve been  shown to be effective with depression, anxiety, phobias and other kinds of  personal distress.

DR. KELLY:  Yes, it’s impressive how much  research has been conducted over the past 30 years.  And I might just mention too, if anyone is  interested, they can check elsewhere on our website for information about the  research findings just to help reassure them that if they do take part in this,  they can make a real difference for them.

Continued in  Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy Part 2.

DR. KELLY: I wonder now if you might say something…let’s say someone is thinking they might take part in the group, what would be expected of them? What would they have to do in order to really benefit from the program, if they come for it?

SARAH HOUSSER: The format for the group is an eight week program. People come to our clinic weekly for two hours. The format of the group involves learning a meditation technique and practicing it together with the other people in the group. As well, ample time is dedicated to discussing the technique, making sure people understand it, and they are clear on how it’s going to be applied to real situations in their life outside of the group, into their work and family life. Another component of the group is there is a five hour meditation intensive about six weeks in that really helps people take that learning into an even more advanced level. Another component and I’m wondering if you can speak to, is the 45 minute daily practice we ask people to commit to.

DR. KELLY: Of course. Yes. We should say that in order to get the best from the group, from the training that we can offer, it’s important to try to set aside 45 minutes a day for six days a week over the course of the eight weeks of the training. And the reason for this is that the training is really about helping the person who is taking part, helping them to develop the skills to deal with stress, anxiety and sadness, and we know from other kinds of things, obviously, that to learn a skill you need good instruction and you also have to practice, work at it yourself, and then get some feedback on how that’s coming along. So in the group classes, we provide that instruction. We also provide feedback. People come in to say, “Well, I’ve learned this or that in the past week”, and then we can help people fine tune what they’re learning and then help them take it further. So that the best way to benefit from the group is to do the home-based practice as well as to come to the classes each week.

SARAH HOUSSER: Yes. Another question I’ll answer. People may be wondering about the cost of the group. It’s $950.00 and that includes everything, the instruction for the eight weeks, the meditation intensive, all the MP3 and CD supports we provide for people to use during the course and after the course. So that price is inclusive.

DR. KELLY: And we should mention too that many people can have some or all of the costs of the group probably covered by their third party insurance health insurance through their employer, sometimes through other sources. And we are quite happy too to talk about a payment schedule that might be workable for someone if they would need to spread it out.

SARAH HOUSSER: M-hmm. So if people are interested in registering, they will see our number on the screen as well as an e-mail address. They can contact us to answer any questions and to sign up if they like.

DR. KELLY: Thank you.

SARAH HOUSSER: Thanks.