Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT): Foundational Teacher Training with Relational Mindfulness

NON-PROFESSIONALS CAN REGISTER AND PAY THROUGH PAYPAL: http://www.paypal.me/metacenter

The rate for non-professionals is $400 for the course.

From Zindel Segal, Ph.D., co-creator of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT)

“Chris Molnar, Ph.D. offers a high quality MBCT training that adheres to the principles of participant experiential learning and treatment fidelity”

“There is no better way to learn mindfulness and MBCT than to experience it for yourself. "

Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) is an adaptation of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) that integrates Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) with contemplative wisdom practices. Originally developed to prevent relapse in people with recurrent depression, MBCT and its adaptations have been shown to not only reduce relapse of mood disorders, but also reduce current symptoms of PTSD, OCD, Panic, GAD, other anxiety, & related disorders (e.g., substance abuse) that can develop when disorders marked by Neuroticism remain untreated. Through effective integration of scientific findings and theory about emotional processing and the cognitive, physical, and overt and covert behavioral elements of emotion, MBCT has been shown to be a trans-therapeutic intervention of benefit to those with a range of transdiagnostic disorders. This is in part through increasing metacognition  (aka "decentering" , "deidentification", etc.) and changing how one relates habitually with unwanted internal experiences in mind and body. Moreover, the mindfulness skills developed in MBCT are foundational for the range of compassion-based interventions that also have transtherapeutic benefits for those with emotional disorders.

The path for competently and ethically teaching MBCT to those with emotional disorders includes, but is not limited to, participation in the traditional 8-session MBCT program in the role of participant. The participant-observer model of competence development supports professionals in implementing MBCT with the population they already have expertise serving. It also offers the opportunity to observe experienced professionals model implementation of the MBCT curriculum elements with people exhibiting symptoms the practitioner wants to develop skills for treating.  Importantly, the model offers opportunities for receiving feedback from fellow healthcare professionals in role plays in a consultation setting to enhance competence through deliberate practice. Practitioners will develop foundational skills for implementing all elements of the MBCT curriculum. Further, through developing the habit of formal and informal personal mindfulness practice in the role of participant they can enhance both intra- & inter-personal effectiveness in responding to challenges that arise in MBCT skill development and implementation with clients. For more about the MBCT training pathway & becoming an MBCT teacher visit  https://www.mbct.com/mbct-training-pathway/ or read  article by MBCT co-developer Zindel Segal, Ph.D. at www.philabta.org/EBP about increasing access to high quality professional training Home - Access MBCT .

In this workshop, developing clinician teachers will directly experience the MBCT treatment protocol . Professionals will then practice guiding short versions of traditional MBCT practices & receiving feedback from novice to experienced teachers using the "teach-back" model for skill development. Feedback is offered in the context of a relational mindfulness practice that invites contemplation,  reflection, &  inquiry about implementing the "Guiding Practice" Domain of the Mindfulness-Based Interventions - Teaching Assessment Criteria (MBI-TAC). The Guiding Practice Domain outlines the "bones" or essential elements of each MBCT formal practice including: the 3 step breathing space - regular & responsive versions; body scan; mindfulness of sounds and thoughts; two ways of knowing; and sitting & movement formal practices.  Professional participants  will also practice implementing the relational mindfulness practice of Mindful Case Consultation (MCC), with a focus on implementing MBCT with cases and teaching challenges while maintaining self-care.

This synchronous virtual workshop is followed by optional and virtual monthly meetings with past professional graduates of this training. These occur in the year following the training to support implementation with clients.  The MBI-TAC is introduced in a separate virtual CE training after the 8-week program. The MBI-TAC in used in the year following the training during the optional virtual follow-up meetings during which practice teaching and offering feedback continue for those interested in continuing development as teachers.

Required reading for the MBCT teacher training sequence.

• The Mindful Way Workbook: An 8-Week Program to Free Yourself from Depression and Emotional Distress.

• Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Depression, Second Edition 2nd Edition

• Mindfulness-Based Interventions - Teaching Assessment Criteria (MBI-TAC) 

• Baer, R., Crane, C., Miller, E., & Kuyken, W. (2019). Doing no harm in mindfulness-based programs: conceptual issues and empirical findings. Clinical psychology review, 71, 101-114.

• Molnar, C. (2025). Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT): Curriculum, Training, and Clinician Guide. In The Palgrave Handbook of Third-Wave Psychotherapies (pp. 489-512). Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland. (will be provided to registrants by the author)

Suggested Reading

Crane, R. S., Eames, C., Kuyken, W., Hastings, R. P., Williams, J. M. G., Bartley, T., ... & Surawy, C. (2013). Development and validation of the mindfulness-based interventions–teaching assessment criteria (MBI: TAC). Assessment, 20(6), 681-688.

Dimidjian, S., & Segal, Z. V. (2015). Prospects for a clinical science of mindfulness-based intervention. American Psychologist, 70(7), 593.

Kramer, G. (2007). Insight dialogue: The interpersonal path to freedom. Shambhala Publications.

Molnar, C. (September, 2017). Playing in the ocean of awareness: Innovations in mindfulness training. The Pennsylvania Psychologist Quarterly, pages 16-17.

Molnar, C. (June, 2014). Peer groups as a reflecting pool for enhancing wisdom. The Pennsylvania Psychologist Quarterly, pages 9-10.

About Presenters

Chris Molnar, Ph.D., a licensed psychologist and clinical investigator, founded Mindful Exposure Therapy for Anxiety and Psychological Wellness Center (META Center) in 2007. She completed post-doctoral fellowship training in traumatic stress, neuroscience, and psycho-physiology and is an expert in the assessment and treatment of anxiety, OCD, PTSD, emotional, and stress-related conditions using evidence-based practices. She teaches both Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) and Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and has also developed adaptations for highly distressed clients, using Relational Mindfulness Practices (RBPs), to meet the needs of people in both individual and group therapy settings. At META Center, she offers integrative interventions grounded in findings about the brain, emotion, and learning to facilitate mental and behavioral habit change, even in the face of severe distress. Before founding META Center, she served as a clinical investigator and therapist supported by grants from the National Institute of Health and other agencies. She is also on the editorial board of Behavior Therapy and serves the public in many ways, through professional presentations, workshops, publications, and affiliations.