MINDFULNESS BASED COGNITIVE THERAPY (MBCT)
With increased awareness, acceptance and compassion, we can make wholesome, skillful choices that are of real benefit to ourselves and our wellbeing and begin to live with more contentment, peace and grace.
MBCT combines mindfulness meditation practices with principles from cognitive therapy.
Mindfulness helps us focus our awareness on the infinite possibilities found in the current moment of NOW—rather than ruminating over the past or worrying about an uncertain future, which is at the crux of what creates suffering. The therapeutic and ancient practice of mindfulness is composed of techniques that help keep us anchored to the present while gently noticing and allowing thoughts, feelings and bodily sensations to arise and then release with acceptance and kindness rather than judgment.
Cognitive therapy is a type of psychotherapy that helps to identify, explore and challenge patterns of unwanted thoughts, beliefs and perspectives about yourself and/or the world, which can then help to change behavior and improve mood.
This intersection of Eastern mindfulness practices with Western cognitive therapy was first developed by mindfulness expert, best-selling author and Professor of Medicine emeritus at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn, who is attributed with bringing the practice of mindfulness to the West. Also known for his internally renowned Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program that launched in 1979, Kabat-Zinn’s work has been used as a blueprint to treat all kinds of mental, emotional and physical ailments, including depression and anxiety, which MBCT addresses specifically.
Since its onset, mindfulness-based cognitive therapy courses (generally completed over eight weeks) have helped thousands of people experience more peace, joy and ease while reducing the frequency and duration of suffering, especially in the treatment of recurrent depression and/or anxiety.
The MBCT course was specifically designed to help us identify, explore and reframe the self-limiting, negative, critical and shameful thinking patterns that cause suffering. When we are able to interrupt patterns and get off of autopilot and out of our own way, we create the space to develop and foster new, kinder and more empowered ways of thinking, caring for ourselves, and relating to the world around us.
8-Week Online MBCT Course: A Nurturing Exploration of Your Heart, Body & Mind
This small group, weekly online course is designed to help you:
Tap into your heart, body and mind.
Learn how to really listen to your inner experience.
Explore and utilize mindfulness and cognitive therapy techniques to reduce suffering, manage anxiety and depression.
Experience greater ease and joy in life.
In our online group, you’ll discover how to gently turn toward that which you have the tendency to avoid. You’ll learn specifically designed meditations and cognitive behavioral strategies, which we’ll practice over the course of the program, to help access inner wisdom and connect with and cultivate your inner nurturer. As you become friendly with your mind and kinder to your inner self, you’ll gain invaluable resources to navigate life’s inevitable challenges and become a trusted friend to yourself.
Integrating current developments in neuroplasticity with ancient wisdom, the MBCT course offers powerful mind-heart-body tools and techniques to break free from prolonged periods of suffering. You’ll learn how to turn your mind into a skilled ally that supports you in both immediate and long-term health and healing, while helping you manage the ups and downs of everyday life.
Over the course of eight 2-hour weekly sessions and one half-day online retreat, you’ll learn, explore and develop new, empowering and effective skills. Some of the themes and topics covered include:
Awareness & Automatic Pilot
Kindness & Self-Compassion
Living in Our Heads & Gathering the Scattered Mind
Recognizing Aversion
Allowing & Letting Be
Thoughts Are Not Facts
Taking the Best Care of Ourselves
Maintaining & Extending New Learning
Mindful Practices
MBCT Course Details
The next offering of this course will begin in March 6, 2025 and run weekly for 8 weeks. The class is on Thursday evenings, 7 - 9 pm EST.
My intention is for this course to be accessible to all who feel that they could benefit and are committed to attending. The fee options are: $300 or $550 or $725. This cost includes eight 2-hour weekly classes and one half-day retreat, which will specifically focus on learning and practicing mindfulness practices.
I offer this “pay what you can” fee structure, trusting in your honest assessment of your circumstances. Please pay more, if possible, to help support those with fewer financial resources, and please contact me directly if needed to discuss other options for working with your current needs.
For people who are/have been members of the Monday night online Meditation Group, there is a 20% discount.
Bring a friend (taking this course with a friend or spouse is a great way to deepen your experience) and receive a 10% discount for both you and your friend, no matter what level of entrance you choose.
Before the course begins, I’ll meet with each of you individually over Zoom for us to get to know each other. This will also be a good time for you to ask questions and express any thoughts, goals or even reservations that you might have about the course.
The core focus of the program is intensive training in mindfulness meditation and its applications to the challenges of working with patterns of mood and thinking that perpetuate suffering and distress. Participating in the course does require an on-going commitment to yourself. You will be asked to attend all of the classes, including the all-day session, and practice daily home assignments for 30-50 minutes per day.The class link and materials will be provided to you before the first class.
Contact me directly at kwalant@gmail.com to pre-register.
Dr. Karen Walant has been a practicing psychotherapist for almost three decades and holds a MSW and PhD in Clinical Social Work from New York University. Karen supervises other clinicians in private practice and has given lectures around the country on issues related to attachment, mindfulness, meditation, addiction and recovery; deepening the therapeutic relationship; parenting with kindness; and fostering compassionate relationships. She is the author of Creating the Capacity for Attachment: Treating Addictions and the Alienated Self. A long-time meditator, Karen is a 2021 graduate of the 2-year Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Training Program (taught by meditation experts Tara Brach and Jack Kornfield). She has a Certificate in Meditation and Psychotherapy from the Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy in 2022, is certified as a Mindfulness Meditation Mentor by Tara Brach and Jack Kornfield, and is certified as a Level I Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) Teacher through Brown University.
