Essay on Modern Epoch: Combining Mindfulness, Cognitive, & Behavioral Therapies

Introduction

The modern epoch is characterized by the application of the latest psychological innovations which primarily incorporate techniques in mindfulness mediation with behavioral therapies as well as traditional cognitive therapies. Consequently, challenging behavioral and traditional cognitive therapists to combine acceptance as well as change based clinical practices and strategies (Shallcross & Visvanathan, 2016). The two treatment options; mindfulness-based cognitive therapy and dialectical behavior therapy integrate strategies from individual modality in the accomplishment of treatment objectives, treatment effectiveness and implications for therapist training. More so, the incorporation of these two therapies is faced with several challenges in everyday life and clinical practice. Therefore, the fundamentality of the incorporation of dialectical behavior therapy and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy is the creation of efficacious treatment capabilities and options.

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Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy

The motivation behind the development of Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy principally emanated from an increasing work with the assertion that depression is best perceived as a lifelong, chronic, recurring disorder. For instance, patients with successful recovery from a previous depression incident still stand a 50% probability of suffering from a second depression episode. More so, for patients with a history of at least two depression episodes, they are even more vulnerable since they have a high recurrence or relapse risk of around 80%. Hence, the data coupled with the incapacities of traditional strategies in the suppression of depression relapse accentuated the vital need of developing innovative and pertinent approaches to tackle prophylaxis of depressive recurrence or relapse (Thompson et al., 2016).

Nonetheless, the theoretical basis for the establishment of MBCT is centered on a depressive recurrence cognitive vulnerability model. Notably, the model makes an attempt of illustrating the bigger risks associated with recurrence or relapse with increased cases of prior depressive incidents due to the verity that it is evidential that discrete processes are involved upon the commencement of the initial depression incident in comparison to recurring incidences. Importantly, though prime life stressors are a much firmer forecaster of the first commencement of depression than recurring incidences, dysfunctional thinking and dysphoric styles are more linked with the history of depressive incidences, and the relation is a much better forecaster of recurring incidents than of the first depressive episodes.

The result acclamations, consequently, provide support to the differential activation hypothesis coined by John Teasdale as a variable risk factor for depressive relapse (Robins & Rosenthal, 2012). The differential activation hypothesis nonetheless affirms that repeated correlations between negative thinking patterns and depressed mood during depression incidents result to an increased probability of recrudescence of dysfunctional thinking in ensuing dysphoric of state of moods (Wisner, 2017). Thus, minimal environmental stress is needed to provoke recurrence or relapse. Instead, the process mediating recurrence or relapse is likely to become more independent with increased depression experience. According to the model, to minimize the risks of relapse, first, an individual needs to improve his or her awareness of negative thinking during situations of potential recurrence or relapse and then to coin responsive approaches that emancipate a person from reactivated streams of negative thoughts. Therefore, interventions intended to minimize the relapse risks should result in the changing of patterns of cognitive processing which become active in dysphoric states (Thompson et al., 2016).

Moreover, it is neither desirable nor essential that treatment should be used to eliminate sadness. Instead, the focus ought to be normalizing the patterns of thinking in mild sadness states to maintain the moods in the mild state and not to intensify it further. Teasdale and colleagues primarily coined the MBCT to attain these main objectives through the integration of CT depression aspects with MBSR components (Shallcross & Visvanathan, 2016). Therefore, the training of Canadian counsellors and social workers in mindfulness provides practice in "turning around" and not "turning away from" possible challenges. However, participants are highly encouraged to nurture an open and tolerant orientation needed for the development of a decentered perception of feelings and thoughts. To achieve this, mediations are applied for example through mindful stretching, body scan, and mindfulness of body-breath-sounds thoughts that instructs on essential skills of emotions, bodily sensation, feelings, mindfulness of thoughts and concentration. Therefore, this results in an "aware" mode that typically features the freedom of choice, which is contrary to the method dominated by automatic and habitual patterns (Robins & Rosenthal, 2012). Also, apposite and improved mindfulness aids in the early discovery of negative thinking patterns which result in relapse, hence enabling early preventive action.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy

Mindfulness, as well as the other principles coined from the Zen philosophy, essentially form a pivotal segment of DBT due to the apparent setbacks of traditional behavioral and cognitive strategies for treating BPD. According to Linehan, the leading flaws of these strategies was their profound accentuation on the change to patients with BPD, was an invalidating experience (Wisner, 2017). Hence, to successfully engage such patients, critical attention should be directed towards the nurturing of therapeutic relationships. Linehan, however, went ahead to modify the traditional behavioral and cognitive treatment by underscoring the significance of acceptance and validation.

Linehan coined a theory asserting that persons with BPD are much sensitive to change strategies since the application of such interventions matches invalidating experiences typically identify their history of development (Crane, 2017). However, a principal tenet of the biosocial theory by Linehan asserts that borderline pathology develops due to a transaction between an individual's biological constitution and a transaction between inescapable experiences of the environment. Thus, due to invalidating experiences of the environment, people with BPD learn to constrain their emotions that results to shortages in the consciousness of the basic sensory-motor cues that are related to the emotional experiences (Day, 2016). The vitality of the development of the deficits is based on its knack to enable individuals to accept, acknowledge and trust their feelings and thoughts as legitimate and accurate responses to environmental and internal events. Also, individuals with BPD have failed to understand how to endure distressing life experiences. Therefore, in totality, individuals with BPD cannot internalize an attitude of self-acceptance (WELCH et al., 2006).

DTB was mainly designed for people with several disorders who manifest severe behavioral dysregulation. Notably, in DBT's first stage, the prime objective is the reduction of extreme behaviours with the focus of achieving balance through learning to "walk middle path" (Wisner, 2017). The notion, is, however, derived from the Buddhist idea of that enlightenment is achievable through the avoidance of being entangled and submerged in extremes.

Discussion

For both, DBT and MBC, mindfulness is incorporated with behavioral and cognitive approaches to improve psychotherapeutic works. The key input from these efforts is the ability to widen people's understanding of how to implement change. The justification for accentuating mindfulness in DBT and MBCT stems from a collective philosophy. According to the philosophy, the acceptance of experience, comprising all misery in life has therapeutic benefits. Both DBT and MBCT embrace the idea of Zen which asserts that freedom is achievable through nonattachment to life experiences (Crane, 2017). The view is, moreover, centered on the commitment to the certainty that awareness and acceptance of life experiences is an imperative component of the process of change.

Conclusion

In conclusion, MBCT and DBT are gravitas efforts in the incorporation of mindfulness mediation with behavioral and cognitive theories. Importantly, paying critical attention to the emanating challenges from the incorporation of the change-based approaches verse its acceptance is very fundamental to achieve significant milestones. Therefore, the integration of MBCT and DBT in everyday life and clinical practices evidently demonstrates the efficiency of both approaches.

References

Crane, R. (2017). Mindfulness practice in everyday life. Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy, 133-135. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315627229-25

Day, M. A. (2016). The Application of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Chronic Pain. Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy, 65-74. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-29866-5_6

Robins, C. J., & Rosenthal, M. Z. (2012). Dialectical Behavior Therapy. Acceptance and Mindfulness in Cognitive Behavior Therapy, 164-192. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118001851.ch7

Shallcross, A. J., & Visvanathan, P. D. (2016). Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Insomnia. Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy, 19-29. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-29866-5_3

Thompson, N. J., McGee, R. E., & Walker, E. R. (2016). Distance Delivery of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy. Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy, 7-18. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-29866-5_2

Victor G. Carrion, M., & John Rettger, P. (2019). Applied Mindfulness: Approaches in Mental Health for Children and Adolescents. American Psychiatric Pub.

WELCH, S. S., RIZVI, S., & DIMIDJIAN, S. (2006). MINDFULNESS IN DIALECTICAL BEHAVIOR THERAPY (DBT) FOR BORDERLINE PERSONALITY DISORDER. Mindfulness-Based Treatment Approaches, 117-139. https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-012088519-0/50007-1

Wisner, B. L. (2017). Mindfulness and Meditation for Adolescents: Practices and Programs. Springer.