The 8-week MBCT group

If you've ever replayed a conversation at 11 p.m. or rewritten the same email five times, you know how busy a mind can get. The group invites you to practice noticing thoughts and feelings with curiosity, and responding with more choice.

Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) is an evidence-based 8-week program developed by Zindel Segal, Mark Williams and John Teasdale. It brings together mindfulness practice and ideas from cognitive therapy, which looks at how our thoughts shape how we feel. It also helps us notice how emotions are felt in and through the body, and learn how to calm the body in the face of challenging or uncomfortable emotions. It gives us new ways of relating to stress, to emotions, and even to ourselves.

At its heart, MBCT is attention training. What we pay attention to determines what we feel and how intensely we feel it. So much of our stress lives in our thoughts: worries about what the future might bring, and things from the past we haven't yet been able to let go of or accept.

What it involves

The group meets on Saturday mornings for 8 sessions of 2.5 hours each, in a small group of 12 people. Each session includes guided practices such as sitting, the body scan and short breathing practices, plus time to talk about what you noticed. Sharing is always optional. Between sessions, plan for 10 to 30 minutes a day of home practice, with short recordings and weekly summaries to guide you. Try what fits your week. No meditation experience is needed.

What you'll take with you

Over the eight weeks, you'll practice noticing when you're on autopilot and coming back to the present. Later weeks look at letting things be as they are for a moment, and at taking care of yourself. The recordings and summaries are yours to keep, so you can carry the practice forward in your own way.

Your teacher

Angie is a certified MBCT teacher and has been leading MBCT groups since 2011. You can find her on the Access MBCT Register, a public list of MBCT teachers, and in the Mindful Directory, an international list of mindfulness teachers.

How to join

If you already know you'd like to join, register for an upcoming group here on Eventbrite. If you'd like to hear more first, call or email Angie through the contact page on our website: https://mindfulnessforhealth.ca/contact-us/ Either way, Angie will then send you a short intake form. After that, you'll have a 15 to 20 minute call by phone or video, so you and Angie can decide together whether it's the right fit and the right timing for you. If you've already registered and it isn't the right fit, you'll get a full refund.

Insurance

This is a structured, skills-based group psychotherapy program led by a Registered Psychotherapist. It may be covered by Extended Health Care plans that include Registered Psychotherapists. Check with your plan. Angie can provide receipts.

Learn more

Read the full program details on the 8-Week Mindfulness Training page of our website: https://mindfulnessforhealth.ca/our-services/8-week-mindfulness-training-burlington/

Mindfulness for Health is the Burlington practice of Angie Kingma, Registered Psychotherapist (CRPO #005741).