Since 2009, Melbourne Mindfulness Institute has helped thousands of Australians develop practical skills to manage anxiety, depression, stress and emotional reactivity. Mindfulness-integrated Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (MiCBT)—is an evidence-based approach that combines traditional mindfulness practices with contemporary psychological techniques to create lasting change.

Our approach isn’t about temporary relief or quick fixes. Through structured training and dedicated practice, we help you understand the connection between your thoughts, body sensations and emotions—giving you the tools to respond thoughtfully rather than react impulsively to life’s challenges.

Our Mission: Practical Skills for Lasting Change

Mental health challenges like persistent worry, low mood and emotional reactivity aren’t character flaws—they’re patterns that can be understood and changed. We believe that just as physical fitness requires regular exercise, mental well-being requires training and practice.

Our mission is to provide accessible, evidence-based mindfulness training that helps people develop the skills to manage their mental health independently. We don’t create dependency on therapy—we equip you with tools you can use for life.

As one of our participants described it: “The changes it has made in my life are immeasurable. I never expected to experience a feeling of peace in my life… ever! Now that I have, it has really aided me to understand what is most important.”

Our Approach: Mindfulness-integrated Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (MiCBT)

MiCBT was developed by clinical psychologist Dr Bruno Cayoun and represents a unique integration of Eastern mindfulness traditions with Western cognitive-behavioural psychology.  MiCBT is designed as a clinical intervention that places equal emphasis on both metacognitive awareness (understanding your thinking patterns) and interoceptive awareness (noticing body sensations that accompany emotions).

This dual focus is significant. Research shows that emotions manifest as physical sensations in the body sometimes even before we consciously recognise them. By developing awareness of these sensations and learning to observe them without reacting, we can interrupt the automatic patterns that maintain anxiety, depression and stress.

The Four Stages of MiCBT

The MiCBT program progresses through four structured stages, each building on the previous:

Stage 1 – Internal Awareness: Developing attention regulation through specific mindfulness meditation practices. You’ll learn to observe thoughts as just thoughts and sensations as just sensations, without getting “hooked” by them.

Stage 2 – Exposure and Behaviour Change: Applying mindfulness skills to previously avoided situations. Using equanimity (non-reactive acceptance), you learn to be calm in the face of challenges that previously triggered anxiety or avoidance.

Stage 3 – Interpersonal Mindfulness: Extending your skills to relationships and communication. You develop the ability to stay calm and present during difficult conversations instead of being emotionally reactive.

Stage 4 – Empathic Understanding: Exploring personal ethics and developing self-compassion and empathy for others. Recognising the importance of acting in ways that are consistent with my core values. This stage consolidates all previous learning into an integrated approach to daily life.

Evidence and Research

MiCBT is supported by a growing body of peer-reviewed research. we are committed to evidence-based practice and have contributed to the research ourselves.

Our Published Research

Dr Sarah Francis completed a PhD investigating the effectiveness of MiCBT delivered in group format. The randomised controlled trial, published in Frontiers in Psychiatry (2022), found that participants showed statistically significant reductions in depression, anxiety, stress and improvements in overall wellbeing. Importantly, these gains were maintained at 6-month follow-up, suggesting lasting change rather than temporary relief.

A key finding was the importance of equanimity—the ability to observe experiences with an even-minded, non-reactive attitude. Participants who developed stronger equanimity showed greater improvements across all measures.

In 2024, Dr Francis co-authored a review article in Frontiers in Psychology with colleagues including Dr Bruno Cayoun (the developer of MiCBT). This review provides clinicians with detailed guidance on the why, how, and what of MiCBT practice—helping to establish clear clinical protocols and differentiate MiCBT from other mindfulness-based approaches.

Broader Evidence for MiCBT

A 2025 scoping review in the journal Mindfulness summarised randomized trials of MiCBT across several populations and outcomes. Evidence is strongest for depression/anxiety/stress outcomes, with promising findings in some medical groups including pain management. The authors noted that MiCBT’s unique mechanism of interoceptive desensitisation—learning to observe and tolerate body sensations without reactivity—appears effective across different diagnoses and with diverse cultural settings.

Individual studies included in this review and other MiCBT research have demonstrated benefits for:

• Anxiety and depression in pregnant women (Yazdanimehr et al., 2016)
• Women with multiple sclerosis (Bahrani et al., 2017)
• Adults with type 2 diabetes (Sohrabi et al., 2022)
• Chronic pain management (Cayoun et al., 2020)
• Sports anxiety and performance (Scott‐Hamilton et al., 2016)
• Substance addiction treatment (Wickham, 2013)

Additionally, neuroscience research has demonstrated measurable brain changes following mindfulness meditation, including increased thickness in areas associated with attention and emotional regulation, and decreased activity in the amygdala (the brain’s threat-detection centre).

How We Can Help

We offer several pathways to learning MiCBT, depending on your needs and circumstances:

Individual Therapy

One-on-one sessions with a registered psychologist are recommended for acute or complex issues. Individual therapy allows us to tailor the MiCBT framework to your specific challenges, whether that’s anxiety, depression, trauma, relationship difficulties, life transitions or pain management. Treatment typically takes 8-12 weeks, though complex issues may require longer. Medicare rebates are available with a GP referral.

8-Week Group Training Program

Our flagship program teaches MiCBT in a supportive group environment of up to 10 participants. The structured format includes two-hour weekly online sessions with guided practice, theory explanation and group discussion. You’ll receive a comprehensive manual, audio practice files and access to our ongoing support community upon completion.

Group programs are well-suited for people experiencing mild to moderate anxiety, depression or stress who are able to commit to daily home practice. The cost is $600 (Medicare rebates may apply with referral, significantly reducing the cost). We aim to ensure that those who are keen to join the program can do so.

Ongoing Support

Learning mindfulness skills is just the beginning—maintaining them is equally important. We offer live online meditation sessions three times weekly for anyone who has completed our programs, plus half-day retreats and monthly group sessions to deepen practice.

Learn more about Ongoing Support →

Organisational Programs

We work with organisations to provide Employee Assistance Programs (EAP), leadership development and workplace wellbeing training. Our team of senior psychologists has over 15 years’ experience delivering corporate mindfulness programs. Leaders require high emotional intelligence which includes self-awareness, self-regulation, social awareness and relationship management – all attributes that MiCBT develops.

Learn more about Organisational Programs →

What Makes Us Different

There is no shortage of mindfulness offerings—from apps to weekend workshops to yoga studios. Here’s what distinguishes our approach:

Evidence-based and research-validated: We have published peer-reviewed research demonstrating its effectiveness.

Structured skill development: Unlike drop-in meditation classes, MiCBT follows a progressive curriculum that builds skills systematically. Each stage prepares you for the next, including exercises in making behavioural change.

Integration of body and mind: Many mindfulness programs focus primarily on thoughts. MiCBT’s emphasis on interoceptive awareness (awareness of body sensations) provides a more complete toolkit for managing emotions.

Qualified psychologists: Our practitioners are AHPRA-registered psychologists with clinical and meditation training. This means we can work safely with complex presentations and recognise when additional support is needed.

Ongoing support: Our ongoing meditation sessions and refresher programs help you maintain and deepen your practice for years to come.

Real commitment required: We’re upfront about this—MiCBT requires daily practice (ideally twice daily for 20-30 minutes). Like physical fitness, mental fitness requires consistent training and practice. We accept participants who are ready to commit to this work.

Our Story

Melbourne Mindfulness Institute’s approach to mental health is deeply informed by its founder’s personal journey. In her forties, Dr Sarah Francis was diagnosed with cancer. Facing her own mortality, she began exploring meditation—not as a clinical tool, but as a way of making sense of the world.

That exploration took her to Buddhist meditation centres across different traditions—Tibetan, Zen and others—and eventually on pilgrimages to Tibet and Nepal. Over more than 25 years, she developed a deep personal practice grounded in Eastern contemplative traditions.

During her recovery, Sarah encountered the work of Dr Bruno Cayoun, who was developing MiCBT. She recognised immediately what he had achieved: a way of translating the profound insights of Buddhist psychology into a clinically useful, evidence-based therapeutic framework. As she describes it, MiCBT made the wisdom of these ancient traditions accessible and practical for people struggling with modern psychological challenges.

That recognition inspired her to focus her psychology training, to specialise in MiCBT, and eventually conduct research into its effectiveness. After careers in education, human resources and business consulting, she brought together her decades of personal practice with rigorous clinical training.

In 2019, Sarah co-authored The Clinical Handbook of Mindfulness-integrated Cognitive Behavior Therapy with Dr Cayoun and Dr Alice Shires helping to disseminate MiCBT to clinicians worldwide. In 2022, she completed her PhD research demonstrating the effectiveness of MiCBT in group format.

Since 2009, Melbourne Mindfulness Institute has run group programs—first from our Melbourne CBD location, and now online to reach participants across Australia and beyond. There are now psychologists trained in MiCBT across the globe and we co-ordinate monthly peer support meetings for this population.

Our Team

Our practitioners are registered psychologists with comprehensive training in MiCBT and extensive clinical experience. Each brings unique strengths—from child and adolescent work to multicultural counselling to corporate wellbeing.

Meet Our Team →

Ready to Start?

If you’re considering whether MiCBT might help you, we offer a free 15-minute consultation with Dr Sarah Francis to discuss your situation and determine the best pathway.

For Individual Therapy: You might like to take the free 15-minute call opportunity to meet Sarah and assess if you think this will be a good fit for your needs. If you want to access Medicare rebates, you’ll need a medical referral.

For Group Programs: We screen all participants before the program begins to ensure it’s appropriate for their current situation. Those with severe or acute mental health conditions may be better suited to individual therapy first.

References

1. Francis, S. E., Shawyer, F., Cayoun, B., Enticott, J., & Meadows, G. N. (2022). Group mindfulness-integrated cognitive behavior therapy (MiCBT) reduces depression and anxiety and improves flourishing in a transdiagnostic primary care sample compared to treatment-as-usual: A randomized controlled trial. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 13, 815170. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2022.815170
2. Francis, S. E. B., Shawyer, F., Cayoun, B. A., Grabovac, A., & Meadows, G. (2024). Differentiating mindfulness-integrated cognitive behavior therapy and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy clinically: The why, how, and what of evidence-based practice. Frontiers in Psychology, 15, 1342592. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1342592
3. Rooney, K., Deasy, C., & Newell, J. (2025). Mindfulness-integrated cognitive behaviour therapy: A scoping review of randomised controlled trials. Mindfulness. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-025-02715-4
4. Cayoun, B. A., Francis, S. E., & Shires, A. G. (2019). The Clinical Handbook of Mindfulness-integrated Cognitive Behavior Therapy: A Step-by-Step Guide for Therapists. Wiley-Blackwell.
5. Cayoun, B. A., Simmons, A., & Shires, A. (2020). Immediate and lasting chronic pain reduction following a brief self-implemented mindfulness-based interoceptive exposure task: A pilot study. Mindfulness, 11(1), 112-124. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-017-0823-x
6. Australian Psychological Society. (2022). Evidence-based Psychological Interventions in the Treatment of Mental Disorders. https://psychology.org.au