Mental health disorders present many challenges for those who struggle with them. As researchers continue to study the effects of different therapies, they conclude that some modalities work better for certain conditions. Mindfulness based cognitive therapy exercises are making themselves known in the mental health field as a therapeutic approach with great results. A mindfulness training services could be the key for you to unlock lasting recovery.

Once used as a therapy to help patients who suffered from major depression, it’s now recognized as an effective treatment for anxiety disorders and substance use disorder as well.

Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy: What Is It?

woman participates in mindfulness based cognitive therapy exerciseMindfulness based cognitive therapy combines mindfulness practices with cognitive behavioral therapy. It uses cognitive behavioral therapy as its foundation and then builds mindfulness therapy upon its principles.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

First, cognitive behavioral therapy has been an effective psychological intervention for many years. It’s a common type of psychotherapy that involves talking to a therapist. CBT seeks to help you identify and break down negative thought patterns. The principle theory is that the way we think about things affects our emotions and therefore, our behavior. Therefore, if you have negative or false perceptions about yourself and the world, these can cause undue stress. Finally, as your emotions take hold, you will respond to these false beliefs with behavior that may cause harm to you or others.

At the root of cognitive behavioral therapy is the belief that by challenging those false beliefs, therapists can help you change the negative behavior. By replacing faulty reasoning with positive thinking (or at least challenging it), you will change the depressed or anxious emotions.

Mindfulness Based Therapy

Next, the mindfulness based part of mindfulness based cognitive therapy adds to the foundation explained above. Mindfulness exercises and techniques are a vehicle to make CBT more effective. Likewise, through further mental health treatment, you can change those negative thoughts and bring about more positive emotions and behavior.

What are Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy Exercises?

The first step of mindfulness based cognitive therapy is to be mindful of all the thoughts that come into your mind without criticism, judgment, or anger about them. People often ignore many of their stream of consciousness thoughts or criticize their thoughts/feelings. Ignoring is suppressing, and criticizing increases the negative thought patterns.

Then, the second step of the therapy is to reevaluate, reflect on, and reconsider the negative thoughts that you have. This allows you to consider another option instead of staying stuck in the same cycle of negativity.

Also, mindfulness based cognitive therapy exercises attempt to help participants become more aware of their thoughts, their present situation, and their feelings. Exercises include activities that will cause you to focus on one object —how it feels, looks, smells, and so on. This forces you to concentrate on just one thing and brings your mind into focus.

Lastly, other exercises may have you focus on how your body reacts to stimuli, stress, or negative thoughts. Then when you recognize your body’s response, you can consciously make changes such as relax tense muscles and so on.

Finding Hope Through Therapy

Many people have discovered the benefits of this therapy. During therapy, the thoughts that spiraled you down into a depression are changed to more positive thoughts. Tension and worry melt away as you practice mindfulness training. You even learn techniques for reducing cravings for drugs or alcohol as well. In this manner, your mindfulness based cognitive therapy can be integrated alongside any substance abuse treatment that you may need.

In fact, at Rose Hill Center, you have hope for a bright tomorrow through mindfulness-based cognitive therapy. Our gorgeous 400-acre campus is equipped to treat your mental health disorder. Using all the latest techniques in therapy and medications, our psychiatric team is ready to lead you to a place of healing. Some treatment services we offer are:

Don’t let mental illness steal your joy or peace of mind. Through mindfulness based cognitive therapy, you can find solace and healing. Contact us at 866.367.0220, and we’ll get you on the road to recovery.