Mindfulness integrated Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (MiCBT): Fact Sheet for General Practice
How do we manage the 1 in 3 people with risk factors for or experiencing mild mental illness?
MiCBT informs our therapy with individual patients because it addresses the psychological processes that underlie many mental health conditions. When patients acquire some mindfulness towards their unhelpful thinking and their emotions they can be guided to manage their reactivity towards life’s challenges and their difficulties. MiCBT is designed to be a transdiagnostic therapeutic approach (see evidence base below). We offer individual focussed psychological therapy (Medicare rebates available with medical referral) as well as group training programs – see below
MiCBT is an 8-week mindfulness program integrated with CBT that is beneficial for people with pre-clinical or clinical mental illness – delivered within individual therapy or as a group program:
- Level 1 evidence for effectiveness including for anxiety, depression, PTSD, pain, and stress.
- Sustained benefits shown for at least six months post treatment.
- Medicare rebate for eligible patients in individual therapy.
- Online group program provides an alternative cost-effective option.
MiCBT improves mental wellbeing through developing self-awareness, self-regulation, empathy, and social skills:
- MiCBT is differentiated by its strong emphasis on awareness of both thinking patterns and the co-arising body sensations that comprise emotions as well as on acceptance and non-reactivity. The theory and tools taught in MiCBT facilitate enduring behaviour change.
- Mindful and compassionate exposure to challenging emotions and associated body sensation breaks the pattern of unhelpful reactive thoughts and behaviours.
- Four stages that start with internal awareness and flows to practical ways to engage with others (see figure).
MiCBT in:
– Individual therapy – patients learn the MiCBT skills and use the framework to explore isses and behaviours that are maintaining disorders.
– Group programs – for some patients learning MiCBT in a group format works well – sometimes as an adjunct to other treatments.
Evidence base:
Here is the link to our research on the effectiveness of MiCBT https://www.researchgate.net/publication/360967318
Additional research on the use of MiCBT in various clinical settings:
- anxiety and depression in pregnant women (Yazdanimehr et al., 2016)DOI: 10.15171/jcs.2016.021
- women with multiple sclerosis (Bahrani et al., 2017) https://doi.org/10.1590/2237-6089-2018-0105
- men and women with type 2 diabetes (Sohrabi et al., 2022) https://doi.org/10.1007/s44202-022-00026-6
- chronic pain (Cayoun et al., 2020) https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-017-0823-x
- pain self-efficacy in patients with breast cancer (Mozafari-Motlagh et al., 2019) https://doi.org/10.1590/2237-6089-2018-0105
- reducing substance addiction compared to established treatment (Wickham, 2013)
- sports-anxiety and pessimism and increasing flow in competitive athletes (Scott‐Hamilton et al., 2016)DOI: https://doi.org/10.1123/jcsp.2015-0020
- improved gene expression (IncRNA) in women with perinatal depression who received training in MiCBT (Wang et al., 2021)https://doi.org/10.1002/jcla.23890
- Investment for client:
- Two-hour group sessions online – Evening classes – 6pm to 8pm AEST – Day classes – 12-2pm AEST
- Daily meditation practice
- $450 (concession/financial hardship fees available).
- Start dates: See home page