Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy
Information Sheet for Patients
An eight-week evening group programme at Nightingale
Hospital
Who benefits from Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy?
Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) is designed to help people who suffer repeated
bouts of depression and chronic unhappiness.
What is Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy?
Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) combines the ideas of cognitive therapy with
meditative practices and attitudes based on the cultivation of mindfulness. The heart of this work
lies in becoming acquainted with the modes of mind that often characterise mood disorders while
simultaneously learning to develop a new relationship to them.
Results of Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy
The UK National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) has recently endorsed MBCT as an
effective treatment for relapse prevention of depression. Research has shown that people who
have been clinically depressed 3 or more times (sometimes for twenty years or more) find that
taking the programme and learning these skills helps to reduce considerably their chances that
depression will return. The evidence from two randomized clinical trials of MBCT indicates that it
reduces rates of relapse by 50% among patients who suffer from recurrent depression.
But what is actually involved in Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy?
The practice of mindfulness meditation allows you to pay close attention to the present moment,
noting your thoughts, feelings and body sensations with an attitude of curiosity and non-judgement.
The non-reactive stance on your experience creates the possibility of working more wisely with
sadness, fear and worry, emotions that are central to preventing depression.
In the MCBT programme, participants meet together as a class with an instructor for 8 weekly 2hour classes plus one all-day session between weeks 5 and 7. The main ‘work’ of the programme
is done at home between classes using CDs with guided meditations that support participants’
developing practices. In each class you have the opportunity to talk about your experiences with
the home practices, the obstacles that inevitably arise, and how to deal with them. Each class is
organised around a theme that is explored through both group inquiry and mindfulness practice.
The course takes place on Thursday evenings from 6:30pm to 8:30pm and the 1-day retreat is held
on a weekend.
How will Mindfulness Practice help you?
It will help you understand what depression is.
It will help you discover what makes you vulnerable to downward mood spirals, and why you get
stuck at the bottom of the spiral.
It will help you see the connection between downward spiral and:
• High standards that oppress us
• Feelings that we are simply ‘not good enough’
• Ways we put pressure on ourselves or make ourselves miserable with overwork
• Ways we lose touch with what makes life worth living,
How much does the course cost?
You would be required to attend an initial individual meeting with one of the facilitators which is
free. This meeting is to discuss your aims and expectations for the course and to determine how
you will benefit the most from it. The eight sessions (two hours each) and full day retreat (six
hours) will cost £645. If you have private insurance, it is worth checking whether they will cover
Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy.
Please visit our website to find out when the next MBCT course will start. Alternatively,
please contact the Therapy Department to register for updates about the course.
How do you get onto the course?
The first step is to express your interest to our Therapy Administrator. Telephone: 020 7535 7739
MBCT Facilitators
Adam Barrett
Adam has many years of experience as a group facilitator on a variety of rehabilitation
programmes. He has also worked for the London Fire Brigade as a staff counsellor. He currently
works at Nightingale Hospital as a group facilitator and a 1to1 psychotherapist. He has experience
of working with a broad range of emotional and mental health difficulties, including: anger
management, anxiety, depression and trauma. As a relational psychotherapist Adam integrates his
further training in CBT and Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy.
Dr Monica Cain
Monica has worked at the Nightingale Hospital since 2009 where she currently facilitates CBT
groups as part of the hospitals group therapy programme and works on a 1to1 basis with patients.
She also has experience in working with a wide range of clinical issues such as depression,
anxiety, eating disorders and bereavement. She has also recently completed her doctoral thesis in
Counselling Psychology where she specialised in Mindfulness.
Contact our Enquiries & Admissions Department 24 hours a day on 020 7535 7700
11-19 Lisson Grove Marylebone London NW1 6SH
Tel: +44 (0)20 7535 7700
Fax: +44 (0)20 7724 5976
www.nightingalehospital.co.uk
[email protected]