Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy was developed by Segal et al as a modality which captures the essence of both mindfulness and cognitive therapy fundamentals. It was initially developed as a 8-week module to be delivered in a group setting to help people struggling with depression. Its premise is to develop ability to first “let go” of ruminative thoughts (which underpin depressive moods ) through graded meditation practices. The second step is, once we have become aware of habitual thought patterns through meditative practices, to employ cognitive therapy skills to “restructure” these core negative assumptions and thoughts into more balanced or realistic thinking. I feel that MBCT does a good job of combining what may seem like two very different approaches into a structured approach to help with depressive thought
–Arsalan