Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy Essay

Finucane and Mercer (2006) conducted a mixed method study to determine if mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) would be an appropriate and beneficial treatment for people who suffer from depression and anxiety. The authors utilized both qualitative and quantitative methods in their research. Thirteen study participants were recruited to take part in an eight week group program designed to address relapsing depression and anxiety through meditation and cognitive therapy (Finucane & Mercer, 2006, p. 4). "A body-scan, guided sitting meditation, mindfulness stretching, mindfulness walking, three minute breathing space, and everyday mindfulness" (Finucane & Mercer, 2006), were the treatment approaches utilized by the researchers. One-on-one informal conversational interviews were completed with the study participants either over the phone or in person (Finucane & Mercer, 2006). All of the interviews were recorded and transcribed and then coded with Nvivo; a qualitative software program. All but one study participant reported having never used mindfulness/meditation as a treatment approach for depression and anxiety. Additionally, the majority of the participants had never participated in a group intervention. One theme that emerged regarding the group therapy was the participants felt that they were not alone in …show more content…
Participants were excluded if they were currently abusing drug or alcohol, were diagnosed with a personality disorder, psychosis, or a brain disease, or had a score of two or more on the Beck Suicidal Inventory. Informed consent was obtained from all the participants and an ethical committee approved the research study. It is difficult to determine if the findings could be generalized to other populations because of the absence of demographic information. However, the authors did note that the sample the was diverse in relation to socioeconomic