Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) is a type of psychotherapy that involves a combination of cognitive therapy, meditation, and the cultivation of a present-oriented, non-judgmental attitude called “mindfulness.”​

MBCT was developed by therapists Zindel Segal, Mark Williams, and John Teasdale, who sought to build upon cognitive therapy. They felt that by integrating cognitive therapy with a program developed in 1979 by Jon Kabat-Zinn called mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), therapy could be more effective

A primary assumption of cognitive therapy is that thoughts precede moods and that false self-beliefs lead to negative emotions such as depression. The goal of cognitive therapy is to help you recognise and reassess your patterns of negative thoughts and replace them with positive thoughts that more closely reflect reality.

Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy builds upon the principles of cognitive therapy by using techniques such as mindfulness meditation to teach people to consciously pay attention to their thoughts and feelings without placing any judgments upon them or trying to change them.

This approach helps people review their thoughts without getting caught up in what could have been or might occur in the future. MBCT encourages clarity of thought and provides you the tools needed to more easily let go of negative thoughts instead of letting them feed your depression.

Much like with cognitive therapy, MBCT operates on the theory that if you have a history of depression and become distressed, you are likely to return to those automatic cognitive processes that triggered a depressive episode in the past.

The combination of mindfulness and cognitive therapy is what makes MBCT so effective. Mindfulness helps you observe and identify your feelings while cognitive therapy teaches you to interrupt automatic thought processes and work through feelings in a healthy way.

The goal of MBCT is to help clients with chronic depression learn how to avoid relapses by not engaging in those automatic thought patterns that perpetuate and worsen depression. In fact, a study published in The Lancet found that MBCT helped prevent depression recurrence as effectively as maintenance antidepressant medication did.

On average, MBCT was shown to reduce the risk of relapse for people who experience recurrent depression by nearly 50%, regardless of their sex, age, education, or relationship status.

Research also has shown that MBCT can reduce the severity of depressive symptoms as well as help reduce cravings for addictive substances.

The MBCT program is a group intervention or can be offered one to one. The programme consists of 8 weekly 90 min – 2 hour sessions which include sitting meditations and enquiry as well as working through structured Cognitive Behavioural Therapy exercises and mindful movement.

Regular practice at home is encouraged and there is an expectation that participants commit to it for 6 out of 7 days. The programme promotes cultivating the practice of meditation in which people can learn to pay attention to their moment-to-moment events as they unfold in their internal and external world. By ‘waking up’ to all of our experiences, we gain insight into habitual reactions to such events, often characterised by aversion or attachment, commonly resulting in over thinking and distress. MBCT places an emphasis on learning to tap into our natural inner stability and resourcefulness, so we can manage life’s challenges more easily, be open to new opportunities and appreciate positive life experiences that are already part of our lives.

Though a lot of the hard work of MBCT is self-directed, advocates stress that the classes themselves are important to the efficacy of the program.