Originally developed within the Cognitive Behavioural school of therapy by Professor Adrian Wells. MCT has developed into an evidence based stand alone therapy, Unlike traditional CBT which targets negative beliefs and behaviour change.
MCT targets:
- Prolonged thinking, such as Worry, Rumination, and Obsession.
- Threat monitoring which is the things we pay attention to, for example our thoughts symptoms and perceived threats within our environment.
- Coping behaviours. Acting as if our worries and monitoring is true.
- These three factors are collectively known as the CAS ( Cognitive Attentional Syndrome )
Changing the CAS Response
MCT explicitly seeks to change the CAS response using a range of proven techniques that are taught and applied in a cohesive and understandable manner. Clients learn how to experience their thoughts and beliefs in such a way that they become transitory, and not intrusions that they have to respond to with prolonged thinking. They are trained to use their ability to control attention to develop flexibility in their response to thoughts and emotions and choose their focus in difficult situations. They are also taught to identify and change behaviours that maintain their beliefs about their thoughts, mental health and emotional problems.
Can MCT Therapy help me?
MCT has been proven to bring about rapid and prolonged change in a wide range of disorders and is known to be effective in the treatment of depressive, anxiety and stress disorders including:
- Major depressive disorder
- OCD
- PTSD
- GAD
- Social Anxiety
- Personality Disorders
- Addictions