Counselling week 6 + 7

Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy

• Mindfulness involves being fully present and aware of the moment without trying to change it.
• There are two modes of the mind: "doing mode" and "being mode," and mindfulness helps in switching between them.
• Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) aims to help individuals recognize and change their "doing state of mind" through various techniques and exercises.
• MBCT techniques include psychoeducation, mindfulness as a core skill, and exercises such as the Raisin Exercise and 3-Minute Breathing Space.
• Through experiential learning, MBCT helps individuals develop skills like concentration, awareness, decentering, and letting go.
• Other MBCT exercises focus on reconnecting with emotions, attention to pleasant experiences, and dealing skillfully with day-to-day life.
• Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a third-wave therapy that aims to create a meaningful life while accepting inevitable pain.
• ACT acronym stands for: Accept thoughts and feelings, Choose valued direction, and Take action.
• Core principles of ACT include contact with the present moment, acceptance, defusion, self-as-context, and values.
• Values exercise in ACT involves visualizing one's 80th birthday party to identify life's deepest desires and motivations.
• Committed action in ACT emphasizes values-guided, effective, and mindful behavior.
• Psychological flexibility, a key aspect of ACT, involves being fully aware and open to experiences while taking action guided by values.

Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) for Depression

• MBCT is effective in reducing symptoms associated with various diagnoses such as anxiety, depression, and eating disorders
• It was developed for the prevention of depressive relapse and is effective for a range of diagnoses including bipolar disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, sexual disorders, hypochondriasis, borderline personality disorder, and ADHD
• MBCT is usually run in groups and consists of 8 weekly 2-hour sessions with various formal and informal meditations
• There is clear evidence that depression is a chronic and relapsing condition, with at least 50% of patients experiencing another episode after recovery from a single episode
• When mood becomes low, depressive thinking intensifies mood, and cognitive processing becomes automatic
• The aim of relapse prevention is to provide clients with tools to disengage from ruminative and self-perpetuating modes of mind
• The core skill of MBCT is the ability to recognize and disengage from mind states characterized by self-perpetuating patterns of ruminative, negative thought
• When engaged in rumination, people experience thoughts as if they were actually happening, leading to higher amygdala activity and dysfunction between limbic and cortical circuits
• Mindfulness training may improve attentional control and affect regulation by improving working memory
• There are two modes of action in MBCT: "Doing Mode" (DM) and "Being Mode" (BM)
• The doing mode is goal-driven, triggers negative emotions, and sets in motion habitual patterns of continuous monitoring and evaluation
• The being mode is not motivated towards achieving any goal and focuses on "allowing" and "accepting" whatever comes along, practicing "non-doing"