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Our practicum applications are now open and due February 1st, 2025.

Send your CV, cover letter, and 2 references to office@citcassociates.com to submit your application.

Mindfulness

Mindfulness

Mindfulness is the practice of maintaining awareness of your thoughts, emotions, physical sensations and the world around you with openness, curiosity, and without judgment. Being attuned to what is happening in the present moment has been shown to have many benefits, including stress reduction, improved relationships, less emotional reactivity, and improved focus and memory.

Mindfulness teaches you how to assess, interpret, and manage feelings and thoughts during stressful situations. These tools provide long-term support in various areas, including work, home, romantic relationships, social encounters, and more. Mindfulness has been practiced around the world for centuries. In the 1970s, Jon Kabat-Zinn was the first to integrate mindfulness into his work and developed a mindfulness-based stress reduction program for individuals with chronic pain. Since that time, research has supported the use of mindfulness-based interventions for various conditions.

What is mindfulness-based CBT?

Mindfulness-based CBT (MBCT) was originally developed to treat depression and anxiety by Mark Williams, Zindel Segal, and John Teasdale. The stress management therapy is normally delivered in sessions over 8-weeks, during which negative mental and physical aspects of life are reviewed, and coping mechanisms are developed.

Today, mindfulness-based CBT, also known as MCBT, is used for many cognitive disorders and psychological issues, including:

  • OCD
  • PTSD
  • Depression
  • Anxiety Disorders
  • Eating Disorders
  • Phobias
  • Anger Management
  • Sleep Disorders
  • Chronic Pain Disorders
  • Migraines

What does mindfulness-based cognitive therapy involve?

Negative thoughts and mood swings affect your everyday life, from home to romantic and social events. These emotional effects have physical impacts on our bodies, including headaches, fatigue, sleep irregularity, stomach issues, and more.

Using mindfulness-based cognitive behavioural therapy allows access to your inner thoughts to better differentiate adverse thought patterns, mood changes, and physical awareness. It helps you prepare yourself for a negative mood and either disengage from those negative feelings or avoid them.

The sessions begin with the teaching of specialized techniques to calm the body and mind. These include:

  • Meditation practices
  • Breathing exercises
  • Mindful listening

Sometimes you may also participate in special meditation exercises, including walking, sitting, yoga, and other mindful movements. This helps you focus not only on your mind but also on your body and how it responds to stress and negativity.

Mindfulness CBT is an empirical-based therapy with a long history of success in patients dealing with emotional disorders and depression. At the Cognitive & Interpersonal Therapy Centre, we are continually following the evolution of mindfulness psychotherapy to ensure we offer you the most up-to-date and relevant coping methods with stress and anxiety.

Differentiating Between Modes: Doing and Being

There are two “modes” in which we operate: doing and being.

Doing is the status of activity; when you are at work organizing files, you are doing something.

Being is the status of existence in any given moment. When you are at work organizing files, and you feel a sense of dread at how many there are left to go, you are being upset by the action you are doing.

Recognizing these two modes allows you to better understand when you are having difficulty moving between them. Doing and being affects you in all areas of life. Whether you are at home, at work, at school, with your family, with a romantic partner, or at a social event, you may experience disruptions between modes.

Within our Toronto facility, we focus MCBT on the mode of being, as one which creates emotional change, both bad and good. The ability to manage your mode of being and differentiate between being and doing helps you cope with feelings of depression, anxiety, and stress in difficult situations.

Getting to Know Your CITC Therapist

Before you begin your CBT sessions, our therapist may request some information to get to know you better. This could include a list of current situations and events that cause stress, anger, or sadness. It will also include a list of short and long-term goals you would like to achieve throughout sessions and afterwards.

Setting realistic goals for yourself provides a timeline for your productivity and growth. It empowers you to make changes in your life, promote self-esteem and positive feelings. Individuals who take on CBT feel a boost in confidence and self-worth as you learn to navigate problems independently.

This introduction of self and what you want to achieve throughout your MCBT in Toronto will continue into your initial session. Your therapist will spend time getting to know you and developing a plan for your individual symptoms. The plan may evolve as you work your way through the steps, depending on your progress and treatment effectiveness.

No two people are alike; that’s why, at the Cognitive & Interpersonal Therapy Centre, we ensure that every therapy plan is customized to meet you where you are and work with your strengths. CBT helps you develop coping methods more quickly for real-life situations when you complete your therapy.

Contact the Cognitive & Interpersonal Therapy Centre

The Cognitive & Interpersonal Therapy Centre provides mindfulness CBT to patients across Ontario, supporting people to lead healthy, happy lives. Stress, anxiety, and depression are common issues in North America. However, with the proper treatment, including mindfulness CBT, you can lead a full and healthy life.

For more information on MBCT in Toronto, we invite you to contact the Cognitive & Interpersonal Therapy Centre. Reach out to us by calling 1-416-570-5050 or through our online contact page.

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