For this session, please have a pen and paper, or a journal handy.
Press Play to get started with the Mindful Mood Balance program.
Research Behind MBCT
Mindful Mood Balance is an online version of the in-person Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy program or MBCT for short. The data on the benefits of MBCT come from two major sources.
The first is a meta-analysis of nearly 1300 patients. It found that the risk of becoming depressed was lower in patients who did MBCT, compared to those who did not. For preventing depression, this meta-analysis also found that there was little to no difference between staying on antidepressant medication and participating in MBCT.
The second is a study of 424 patients who were treated with antidepressant medication and then either continued their medicine or had it withdrawn and received MBCT instead. The study found that there was no major difference in the risk of depression between staying on the antidepressant medication or receiving MBCT.
Because of this research, the official guidelines for care to patients in the UK recommend MBCT as a way for preventing the return of depression. This has given patients in the UK another valuable option for depression care.
A recent study of the online Mindful Mood Balance program yielded very exciting results! People who complete this online program find it engaging and experience significant benefits to their mental health and well-being.
We hope you too will benefit from this program in your own life. We’re excited to guide you in your learning!
Kuyken W, Warren FC, Taylor RS et al. Efficacy of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy in Prevention of Depressive Relapse: An Individual Patient Data Meta-analysis From Randomized Trials. JAMA Psychiatry. 2016 Jun 1;73(6):565-74.
Kuyken W, Hayes R, Barrett B, et al. Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy compared with maintenance antidepressant treatment in the prevention of depressive relapse or recurrence (PREVENT): a randomised controlled trial. Lancet. 2015 Jul 4;386(9988):63-73.
National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, 2009. Depression: The treatment and management of depression in adults. NICE Guidance, Report No.:CG90, UK.
Why is it Worth Taking a Chance on this Program?
- The approach taught in this course can help you learn skills to work more wisely with your thoughts and emotions so that depression is reduced and has less power to return and run your life. This may be reason enough for you to want to take part in it, but if you are unsure, how about looking through this list and clicking on the kinds of things you would like help with? This might help you decide if you are in the ‘right’ place. This list illustrates some, but not all, of the areas that Mindful Mood Balance addresses.
- turning off my mind
- thinking too much
- being caught in my mind
- taking things too personally
- being a perfectionist
- finding more energy
- setting limits in my relationships
- Use the space below to record, in your own words, the concerns you have about the ways in which feeling down, stressed or overwhelmed impact your daily life now or concerns you have about these struggles returning the future.
- This response will be reviewed and graded after submission.
Please take a moment to write down the main reasons you said you were interested in Mindful Mood Balance. We will ask you to reflect on these reasons later in our session.
Mindful Mood Balance Success Stories
As mentioned in the introduction, hearing about others’ experiences going through the program can support your own learning. Here is where we introduce a group of participants, who are therapists by training, but, just like you, are are all novices when it comes to learning the material in Mindful Mood Balance.
Let’s join the group as they are in the middle of inquiring into the experience of mindfulness practices. As you watch each clip, take a moment to reflect on what you hear. What did watching the experience of group members help you learn?
Click on the questions to hear from each group member.
