John Teasdale
Explained how mindfulness blocks depression relapse.
Co-developer of MBCT whose theory showed that changing one’s relationship to thoughts — not their content — prevents relapse.
terms
techniques
In mindfulness we pay attention to experience rather than being lost in it.
Who they were
John Teasdale is a British clinical psychologist and former research scientist at the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit in Cambridge. He is one of three co-founders of MBCT. His work on metacognitive awareness and decentering explained why observing thoughts as passing mental events, rather than facts, reduces depressive relapse. He is a Fellow of the British Academy.
Terms they cared about
Ideas worth knowing
Their techniques
How the work was done
Their big idea
Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Theory
Depression relapses when low mood reactivates old thought patterns; mindfulness changes that relationship.
The approach they founded
Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy
Blends cognitive therapy with mindfulness so you relate to thoughts and moods differently — and stop the relapse spiral.
Questions in their spirit
What they’d ask you
Sit with one. Answer online, or in the app.
Carry the idea forward
Teasdale — What they’d ask you
Psipas asks you one small, honest question at a time — and builds the picture from your answers.