Mindfulness-integrated CBT for Well-being and Personal Growth (eBook)

DR BRUNO CAYOUN is Director of the MiCBT Institute and a clinical psychologist in private practice in Hobart, Australia. He is the principal developer of Mindfulness-integrated Cognitive Behavior Therapy (MiCBT) and has been teaching this approach to mental health professionals internationally since 2003. He has practiced mindfulness meditation for over 25 years and has undergone extensive training in France, Nepal, India, and Australia. Dr Cayoun supervises mindfulness research at the MiCBT Institute and in collaboration with several universities in Australia. He is the author of Mindfulness-integrated CBT: Principles and Practice (Wiley Blackwell, 2011), as well a range of MiCBT resources for professionals.

About the Author vii

Foreword viii

Acknowledgements ix

Introduction 1

Step 1 Personal Stage 7

1 Committing to Learn and Change 9

2 Week 1: Establishing Self-Care and Feeling Grounded 22

3 Inheritance and Maintenance of Unhappiness 30

4 Integrating Western Science and Eastern Wisdom 45

5 Week 2: Regulating Attention and Gaining Mastery Over Your Mind 60

6 Learning About Your Mind 81

7 Week 3: Understanding and Regulating Emotions 92

8 The Deeper Nature of Your Emotions 108

9 Week 4: Applying Mindfulness Skills in Daily Life 119

Step 2 Exposure Stage 145

10 Week 5: Regulating Behavior to Overcome Avoidance 147

11 Week 6: Improving Self-Confidence 168

Step 3 Interpersonal Stage 187

12 Week 7: Improving Relationships with Interpersonal Mindfulness 189

13 Week 8: Improving Relationships with Mindful Communication 212

Step 4 Empathic Stage 233

14 Week 9: Feeling Compassionate and Connected with Others 235

Shaping Your Future 263

15 Maintaining Well-Being and Personal Growth 265

Index 289

"This is a beautiful book. Bruno Cayoun has distilled the deepest wisdom of an ancient Buddhist meditation tradition and combined it with the best modern clinical science to offer this program. As he says, with mindfulness training, you can tune your attention so that you can perceive your experiences, understand them and respond to them without needing to react in order to change them. He explains clearly, guides gently, and answers questions skilfully. Using problems as tools through which to learn, he shows you a way to respond wisely to difficulties that can destroy the quality of your personal, family and working life. With this book as a trusted guide, he invites you to discover how you can let go of suffering, restore equilibrium, and rediscover peace. Teachers, students and practitioners everywhere, whether new to or experienced in the practice of mindfulness, will greatly value this book." --Mark Williams, Emeritus Professor of Clinical Psychology, University of Oxford, and Co-author of The Mindful Way Workbook

"Bruno Cayoun is a master of mindful living. Here he skillfully blends age-old wisdom, recent research, and practical methods into four essentially helpful steps for all who wish to live a fulfilling life. I have learnt heaps from it - and am sure you will, too." --George W Burns, Adjunct Professor of Psychology, Cairnmillar Institute, Melbourne, Australia, Author of 101 Healing Stories and Happiness, Healing, Enhancement

"This book marries powerful tools from Buddhist meditative practice with contemporary behavioral science for a comprehensive look at transforming suffering. The result is an important contribution to a growing interdisciplinary field." --Sharon Salzberg, Co-Founder of the Insight Meditation Society and author of Real Happiness at Work

"What an amazing book! I could feel the years of wisdom and practice flowing out of each chapter. Mindfulness-integrated Cognitive Behavior Therapy is a jewel that honours both the Buddhist and Western psychological traditions of turning suffering into well-being. You will treasure what Bruno Cayoun offers whether you are looking for a way through personal distress or wish to learn how to bring the elements of Buddhist Psychology into your professional work. Each chapter clearly describes how to cultivate the ancient practice of meditation and supports the practice with solid science. The "question and answer" sections are informative, gentle and direct their guidance making them indispensable to novice and ongoing practitioners alike. You will find this book opens the gate to a sustainable way of living with challenges and a quiet, composed approach to life as it presents itself to you, moment by moment. All you have to do is walk in." --Lynette Monteiro, PhD, Co-Director of Ottawa Mindfulness Clinic, Clinical Professor, University of Ottawa, Co-Author of Mindfulness Starts Here: An eight-week guide to skillful living

At last! A self-help book incorporating mindfulness that does not treat the reader as a simpleton. Dr Cayoun carefully explains the science behind practicing mindfulness combined with right thinking to live a happier and more satisfying life. It is highly practical with easy exercises and lots of guidance from a perspective informed by Buddhist spirituality and Clinical Psychology.--Dr Bruce A Stevens, Associate Professor in Clinical Psychology, University of Canberra, Co-author of Happy Ever After? A Practical Guide to Relationship Counselling for Clinical Psychologists