Dr Marcus Averbeck is a systemic psychotherapist and supervisor, trained in individual, couples and family psychotherapy. He is currently Head of Family Therapy in Oxleas Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust. He has trained as a Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy teacher. He is a Catholic Christian and a Zen practitioner in the White Plum Asangha.
MBCT is a treatment of choice for relapse prevention in depression. It is a class-based skills training programme which was originally designed to teach patients in remission from recurrent major depression to become more aware of their thoughts, feelings and bodily sensations. It is based on an integration of aspects of cognitive therapy for depression and components of the Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction programme developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn.
Marcus outlines the rationale for MBCT and shows the link between mindfulness in the mental health context and spirituality.
