Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy History and Mechanisms

Abstract

Mindfulness has become a popular term in the 21st-century zeitgeist. Researchers have attempted to establish that anyone can reap benefits from practicing mindfulness, ranging from healthcare professionals (HCPs) and business executives to patients experiencing florid psychosis. Given the abundance of research on mindfulness-based intervention, it would be prudent for HCPs to understand the proposed mechanism of action through which mindfulness-based therapy confers benefit. Therefore, this commentary article seeks to describe the history and mechanisms of change underlying Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) as developed by Segal et al. in 1996.