Self-help mindfulness-based cognitive therapy

There are a number of obstacles to providing MBCT to all those who could potentially benefit from it, including cost, lack of MBCT teachers, and variable provision by healthcare organisations. Furthermore, even when MBCT is available, some people may choose not to attend for practical reasons or due to discomfort in group settings. Self-help MBCT has the potential to overcome at least some of these challenges, and to become a helpful complement to class-based MBCT that enables wider access. In this chapter we review five self-help MBCT interventions, some book-based and others multi-media/internet-based. These interventions provide audio or video mindfulness practice guidance, and attempt to compensate for the absence of the MBCT teacher(s) and class, through written, audio or video-based teaching, case vignettes and examples of dialogue from MBCT classes. While the current evidence-base is not yet sufficiently developed to confidently recommend self-help MBCT for specific clinical populations, it does suggest that this approach has promise, and further research is underway.