CBT/DBT Associates
Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy
New York, NY 10022
212-546-9200

What is MCBT?
Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) is an empirically supported treatment for people whose negative thinking patterns make them especially vulnerable to repeated bouts of depression.  It was developed by three psychologists, Zindel Segal, Mark Williams, and John Teasdale, and is an adaptation of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction created by Jon Kabat-Zinn.  Since its introduction in 2002, MBCT has been modified and adapted to treat anxiety and other mood regulation problems.

MBCT  is a “third-wave” Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT).  Rather than focusing on changing the content of thoughts, third-wave CBTs help individuals change their relationship to thoughts and experience.  The primary vehicle for achieving this change is mindfulness. Mindfulness is a way of experiencing the present more fully. It is nonjudgmental awareness of present experience, including thoughts, feelings and bodily sensations.

Research has shown that trying to avoid negative thoughts and feelings can actually intensify these experiences.  Mindfulness practice helps one cultivate the ability to be with the fullness of negative experience, as well as positive experiences.  Increased acceptance of experience can improve psychological functioning and decrease emotional distress. To learn more about MBCT, please go to www.mbct.com.

How is treatment structured?
MBCT is an 8-week group workshop that entails experiential learning through the practice of mindfulness techniques and group discussion.  Participants will receive weekly reading assignments and make mindfulness practice commitments.  In general, the more time people invest in the workshop, the better they tend to do.  However, each participant has the choice of how much mindfulness to do each day. Thirty-minutes a day is good, forty-five minutes is optimal. Some have done well with less.

Evidence of Effectiveness
Two randomized controlled trials (RCTs) indicate that for patients with a history of three or more depressive episodes, MBCT substantially reduced the rate of recurrence over the following 12 months (Ma & Teasdale, 2004; Teasdale et al., 2000). Further, there is evidence to suggest that MBCT is efficacious in the treatment of generalized anxiety disorder (Evans, Ferrando, Findler, Stowell, Smart, & Haglin, 2007) and the treatment of residual depressive symptoms (Kingston, T., Dooley, B., Bates, A., Lawlor, E., & Malone, K., 2007).

MBCT Program
CBT/DBT Associates offers an ongoing MBCT program for adolescents and adults. The next 8-week groups are scheduled to begin in May 2012 and will be led by Donald Fleck, DCSW. The adult group will meet Tuesday evenings from 6:30 to 8:30 pm beginning May 22nd.  The adolescent group (ages 14 to 17) will meet on Wednesdays from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. beginning May 9th. To register for one of the MBCT groups, please click here.

Target Population
MBCT was originally developed and researched for people with a history of 3 or more depressive episodes, currently in remission so that they can do the daily home practice that is an essential part of the program.  Based on clinical experience, MBCT is useful for people whose negative thinking provokes psychiatric symptoms. This can include individuals with a variety of emotional and anxiety disorders.

Group Leader
Donald Fleck, MBA, LCSW, DCSW graduated from Duke University and earned his degree in clinical social work at Fordham University. Prior to practicing psychotherapy he received an MBA from Columbia University's Graduate School of Business Administration, and managed businesses in New York City.

Donald completed his pre-Masters internships at Blue Feather School, the Jewish Association for Services to the Aged, and the Jewish Board of Family and Children's Services (JBFCS) where he introduced mindfulness in the Advanced Training program. He graduated from the Martha K. Selig Institute with a concentration in group treatment.  He also has specialized clinical training in the treatment of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Loss and Bereavement, Mindful Psychotherapy, and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy. He was awarded the Diplomate in Clinical Social Work (DCSW) by the National Association of Social Workers in 2007.

Donald has been practicing meditation for 30 years.  He is active in a weekly meditation group, meets monthly with a group of therapists interested in using  mindfulness with clients, and has recently given a workshop for psychotherapists at the National Association of Social Workers titled Mindfulness In Your Therapy Practice. 

To learn more about Donald and his practice please visit www.donaldfleck.com

References
Evans, S., Ferrando, S., Findler, M., Stowell, C., Smart, C., & Haglin, D. (2007). Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for generalized anxiety disorder. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 22, 716-721.

Kingston, T., Dooley, B., Bates, A., Lawlor, E., & Malone, K. (2007). Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for residual depressive symptoms. Psychology and Psychotherapy, 80, 193-203.

Ma, S.H., & Teasdale, J.D. (2004). Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for depression: Replication and exploration of differential relapse prevention effects. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 72, 31-40.

Segal, Z.V., Williams, J.M.G., & Teasdale, J.D. (2002). Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Depression. Guilford.

Teasdale, J.D., Segal, Z., Williams, J.M., Ridgeway, V.A., Soulsby, J.M., & Lau, M.A. (2000). Prevention of relapse/recurrence in major depression by mindfulness-based cognitive therapy. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 68, 615-623.

Recommended Reading
Segal, Z.V., Williams, J.M.G., & Teasdale, J.D. (2002). Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Depression. Guilford.

Williams, J.M.G., Teasdale J.D., Segal, Z.V., & Kabat-Zinn, J. (2007). The Mindful Way Through Depression, Freeing Yourself from Chronic Unhappiness. Guilford.