Mindfulness
Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy is an approach to psychotherapy that uses cognitive behavioral therapy methods in collaboration with mindfulness meditative practices and similar psychological strategies.
Mindfulness, from a therapeutic perspective, is a conscious awareness of our present moment. This includes openness and non-judgment about the experience. It is often coupled with other types of therapy, such as Cognitive-based Therapy (CBT) or Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT).
Mindfulness therapy is not concerned with relaxation, though that might be a result of certain practices. The focus is on increasing your awareness of the thoughts, feelings, and actions that hinder your progress. When you are better able to do that, you can engage with those aspects of yourself, learn to tweak your language, and choose how to respond.
CBT
Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is a short-term, goal-oriented psychotherapy treatment that takes a hands-on, practical approach to problem-solving. Its goal is to change patterns of thinking or behavior that are behind people’s difficulties, and so change the way they feel.
CBT works by changing people’s attitudes and their behavior by focusing on the thoughts, images, beliefs, and attitudes that are held (a person’s cognitive processes) and how these processes relate to the way a person behaves, as a way of dealing with emotional problems.
An important advantage of cognitive behavioral therapy is that it tends to be short, taking five to ten months for most emotional problems. Clients attend one session per week, each session lasting approximately 50 minutes. During this time, the client and therapist work together to understand what the problems are and develop new strategies for tackling them. CBT introduces patients to a set of principles that they can apply whenever they need to, and that’ll last them a lifetime.
