MBCT and me
My Story
Transformative | Life-changing
In December 2006 I was diagnosed with an incurable, life-altering neurological condition called axial dystonia which has resulted in a number of life-altering symptoms including: difficulty with walking & balance, chronic pain, involuntary muscle spasms and tremor, spine twisting and abnormal posture. By 2017 I had tried all of the established treatments for my condition – including having a Deep Brain Stimulator surgically implanted 2016. By now my career had ended. To support my mental health I completed two courses of CBT – first in a group setting, then one-to-one – unfortunately neither helped me find me a route out of the gathering despair. Just as I reached the end of the road I was offered a place on an 8-week MBCT course – in a group specially put together for patients with incurable long-term conditions, just like me…
The MBCT course was life-changing for me and gifted me with a completely new way of living – embracing life in the present and looking forward to a more positive future. After experiencing the benefits of MBCT first-hand, I resolved to re-train as an MBCT teacher myself, so I could offer help to other people who are suffering due to physical or mental health challenges and for whom evidenced-based MBCT courses, like the one I had been on, might also be transformative for them as it had for me. Since the Covid epidemic online-based MBCT courses have become commonplace and so the reach is truly global.
So, in December 2017 I graduated from UK College of Mindfulness Meditation with the British Psychological Society-approved Mindfulness Now license, and following nearly two years of study and supervision yith the Oxford Mindfulness Foundation awarded the Trained Teacher Certificate in MBCT in 2022. Since then I have been busy teaching MBCT in industry to groups of employees within Kyndryl – an offshoot of IBM with 90,000 employees globally. I have also been offering MBCT to clients at the Wellbeing Clinic in Headington – from where it is possible to arrange a free, no-obligation introductory chat with me.