On today’s episode of Being Well, Dr. Rick and Forrest Hanson talk with Dr. Zindel Segal about Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), an eight-week group therapy program designed to help those who suffer from chronic unhappiness and prevent relapse after episodes of severe clinical depression.

About our Guest: Dr. Segal is a Professor of Psychology at the University of Toronto at Scarborough, and one of the creators of MBCT. He specializes in mood disorders, particularly depression, and has had an enormous influence on the clinical adoption of mindfulness-based practices and their addition to more traditional forms of cognitive therapy.

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You can watch this episode on YouTube.

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction

2:00: Origins of MBCT

4:30: Why Segal prioritized studying mindfulness as an intervention to depression

7:10: Comparing MBCT with traditional CBT

10:20: What about depression makes us more reactive to thoughts and feelings?

13:15: Mindfulness of sadness vs direct experience

18:35: MBCT practices explained

23:10: Three minute breathing space exercise

31:00: Attentional control training

33:45: Managing feelings of inadequacy

39:00: Motivation and implicit compassion

43:15: Ongoing practices after the MBCT course

45:45: Creating access to mindfulness resources

48:15: Recap

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

Sponsors:

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

Want to sleep better? Try the legendary Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Connect with the show:

• Subscribe on iTunes
• Follow Forrest on YouTube
• Follow us on Instagram
• Follow Forrest on Instagram
• Follow Rick on Facebook
• Follow Forrest on Facebook
• Visit Forrest's website

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices