Original MBCT course manual: Segal, Williams & Teasdale (2002) – adapted manual shown

below. Adapted manual written by Joanna Mann, Willem Kuyken and Alison Evans who hold
the copyright.

Session 1: AUTOMATIC PILOT

THEME
Mindfulness starts when we recognise the tendency to be on automatic pilot in our
minds and as parents and make a commitment to learning how best to step out of it to
become aware of each moment. Practice in purposely moving attention around the body
shows both how simple and difficult this can be. Introducing the stance of acceptance,
compassion and nourishment within a busy life.

AGENDA
 Establish the orientation of the class
o Honour the commitment everyone has made
o Ask that people come and continue coming with an open mind and open
heart: “just do it and see what happens”
o Bring an orientation of care, acceptance and nourishment within a busy
life
o Set the ground rules regarding confidentiality, participation and time
keeping. Creating a safe place to work.
 Ask participants to tune in to their intentions for coming and then pair up and
introduce themselves to each other and then to the group as a whole. In pairs: (i)
name; (ii) why you have come; (iii) what you hope to get out of the programme.
Introduce myself: professional work depression, personal angle as someone who
is a parent and has benefited from mindfulness, empathy & respect for people
who suffer depression
 Raisin exercise
 Feedback and discussion of raisin exercise
 Body scan practice – starting with the short breath focus. Narrow (spotlight)
focus of attention!
 Feedback and discussion of body scan
 Homework: Discuss and assign for the coming week
o Body scan CD 6 days out of 7
o Mindfulness of your child when s/he is not aware you are watching i
o Mindfulness of eating
 Distribute CDs and session 1 participant handouts (including homework record
forms to be collected next week) There are 3 CDs to choose from (with different
length body scans). (For research groups the completion of measures). Explain
the differences in the lengths of the practices and emphasize the importance of
trying, as best they can, the longer practices. The importance of not feeling
guilty.
 Summary of session 1, using handout
 End the class with a short breath focus, 2-3 minutes on the breath
PLANNING AND PREPARATION

 In addition to your personal preparation before the class, remember to bring a

bowl with raisins and a spoon, as well as copies of the Body Scan CD and
copies of participants’ folders for the programme.
 Use PREVENT poster – of Niagara Falls
 Session 2: DEALING WITH BARRIERS

THEME
Further focus on the body begins to show more clearly the chatter of the mind, and how
it tends to control our reactions to everyday events. The stance is moving from “being
carried along by experiences” to “relating to experiences in the body with awareness.”
The focus is very much on direct awareness of experience in the body, building in the
attitudinal dimensions of acceptance and compassion.

AGENDA

 Body Scan Practice

 Practice Review
 Homework Review: (1) Body Scan, collect in forms; (2) Mindfulness of a
routine activity involving your children (3) Mindful eating. Discuss finding the
time for practice in often busy schedule.
 Thoughts and Feelings Exercise. ”You pick up your child from nursery/pre-
school/school and the teacher beckons you over as she wants to talk to you”
thoughts → feelings → bodily sensations; different when sad?; negative thinking
early warning sign?
 Ten- to 15-minute sitting meditation
 Distribute Session 2 participant handouts
 Homework assignment:
o Body Scan CD, 6 out of 7 days
o Pleasant Events Calendar (daily).This requires some extra time to
explain. Pleasant activities which focus on activities with the
child/children
o Mindfulness of a new routine activity involving your children. Some
examples include reading with your child, helping them to get dressed in
the morning, eating breakfast, the walk to school, or having a
conversation with your child.

PLANNING AND PREPARATION

 In addition to your personal preparation, bring a black or white board and

markers for the Thoughts and Feelings Exercise.

N.B Adding in more examples of noting bodily sensations, thoughts and feelings and
then examples of my thoughts are ‘this, this and this’, my feelings are ‘this, this and
this’ my body sensations are ‘this, this and this’
 Session 3: MINDFULNESS OF THE BREATH AND BODY

THEME
With a greater awareness of how the mind can often be busy and scattered, learning to
take awareness intentionally to the breath and body offers the possibility of being more
focussed and gathered. Continuing to cultivate the attitudinal qualities of acceptance,
patience, and a caring / responsive relationship to the body. Letting go of “shoulds.”

AGENDA

 Five-minute “seeing” or “hearing” exercise.

 20-minute Sitting Meditation (settling into the body; awareness of breath and
body; what to do with intense physical sensations). Keep it simple.
 Practice Review.
 Homework Review (including body scan, routine activity, and Pleasant Events
Calendar, focussing on parenting).
 Teaching about the need to apply oxygen mask to ourselves before our children1
 3-Minute Breathing Space and review.
 Mindful stretching and mindful movement
 Practice review.
 Distribute Session 3 participant handouts.
 Unpleasant Events Calendar - unpleasant events which are linked to parenting
activities
 Remind the group that next weeks session is 2hrs 30mins.
 Homework assignment (in pairs how to fit it in):
o Sitting on days 1, 3 and 5.
o Mindful movement (or Body Scan) CD on days 2, 4, and 6. Consider
doing some mindful movement with their children
o Unpleasant Events Calendar, focussing on parenting and something that
parent finds difficult in their child’s behaviour (daily).
o 3-minute Breathing Space, three times daily.
o Continue to be mindful of a routine activity involving your children,
paying particular attention to any body sensations/feelings.

PLANNING AND PREPARATION

Personal preparation.

1
Adapted with permission from Susan Bogels Mindful Parenting Manual
 Session 4: STAYING PRESENT

THEME
The mind is most scattered when it tries to cling to some things and avoid/escape other
things. Mindfulness offers a way of staying present by giving another place from which
to view things: to help take a wider perspective and relate differently to experience. This
session is about bringing mindfulness to the “territory of depression,” with a spirit of
recognition, allowing, acceptance and enquiry.

AGENDA

 Thirty-minute Sitting Meditation - awareness of breath, body, sounds, thoughts

and choice less awareness.
 Practice Review
 Homework review (Mindful Movement and Sitting on alternate days (did they
involve their children?); 3-minute Breathing Space, three times daily; routine
activities with children). Unpleasant Events, focussing on parenting.
 Defining the “territory” of depression: Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire
 3-Minute Breathing Space and inquiry
 Slideshow of the Black Dog cartoons and inquiry
 Mindful walking and inquiry - 10 minutes
 Introduce idea of thoughts/feelings/body barometer
 Watch the first half of Jon Kabat-Zinn DVD of people going through MBSR
 In pairs “What did you identify with?” (If time permits).
 Distribute Session 4 participant handouts.
 Homework assignment:
o Sitting Meditation CD, 6 days out of 7.
o 3-Minute Breathing Space – Regular (three times a day).
o 3-minute Breathing Space – Coping (whenever you notice unpleasant
feelings).
o Continue to be mindful in routine activities involving your children,
extending this to something that you find difficult
 Note half-way mark and review practice so far: (1) Stepping out of automatic
pilot, (2) Staying with experiences; (3) Watching experiences as they transform.
Revisit Niagara falls
 Finish with quote from Sunbathing in the Rain

PLANNING AND PREPARATION

 This session requires an extra 15-30 minutes.

 In addition to your personal preparation, remember to bring the MBCT DVD,
Black Dog slides and the quote.
 Use PREVENT poster
 Session 4

Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire

Listed below are a variety of thoughts that pop into people’s heads. Please read each
thought and think about how frequently, if at all, the thought occurred to you over the
last week and how strongly you believe that thought when it occurs.

1. I feel like I’m up against the world.

2. I’m no good.
3. Why can’t I ever succeed?
4. No one understands me.
5. I’ve let people down.
6. I don’t think I can go on.
7. I should be a better parent.
8. I’m so weak.
9. My life’s not going the way I want it to.
10. I’m so disappointed in myself.
11. Nothing feels good anymore.
12. I can’t stand this anymore.
13. I can’t get started.
14. What’s wrong with me?
15. I wish I were somewhere else.
16. I can’t get things together.
17. I hate myself.
18. I’m worthless.
19. I wish I could just disappear.
20. What’s the matter with me?
21. I’m a loser.
22. My life is a mess.
23. I’m a failure.
24. I’ll never make it.
25. I feel so helpless.
26. Something has to change.
27. There must be something wrong with me.
28. My future is bleak.
29 I should put my child’s needs first
30. I can’t finish anything.
 Session 5: ALLOWING / LETTING BE

THEME
Relating differently involves bringing to experience a sense of “allowing” it to be, just
as it is, without judging it or trying to make it different. Such an attitude of acceptance
is a major part of taking care of oneself and others and seeing more clearly what, if
anything, needs to change. Accepting ourselves is the first step in accepting our children
as they are.

AGENDA

 Thirty minute Sitting Meditation – awareness of breath, body, and then

difficulties.
 Practice review.
 Homework Review (including Sitting Meditation; 3-minute Breathing Space –
Regular; 3-minute Breathing Space – Coping, especially with parenting, Mindful
of routine activities with child including something difficult.
 Halfway review: What have I learnt? What do I hope to get out of the rest of the
course?
 Read out Vignette, note thoughts, feelings and bodily sensations.
 3-minute Breathing Space – Coping and Review
 Read Rumi’s Poem, “The Guest House” and “ The Warrior”
 Introduce the acronym RAIN (Recognise, Allow, Inquire, and thoughts are NOT
facts) and that this is an individual journey, depending on what you choose to
attend to and work with.
 Watch the second half of the MBSR videotape and discuss.
 In pairs, what did you identify with?
 Distribute Session 5 participant handouts
 Remind the group that next weeks session will be 2hrs 30
 Homework assignment:
o Sitting Meditation 6 out of 7 days (use CD days 1, 3, and 5; use no CD
days 2, 4, and 6, sit with silence).
o 3-minute Breathing Space – Regular (3 times a day).
o 3-minute Breathing Space – Coping (whenever you notice unpleasant
feelings).
o Continue to be mindful in difficult situations involving your child,
practising the use of the 3-minute breathing space

PLANNING AND PREPARATION

 In addition to your personal preparation, remember to bring the Healing from

Within video and the poem “The Guesthouse” to class and copies of the Mindful
Way Through Depression.
 Session 5: ALLOWING / LETTING BE
Vignette

It’s the early evening, the kid(s) are irritable, complaining of being bored, teething,
fussing, crying. I’m tired, trying to meet different needs, flustered, balancing, juggling,
thinking about dinner, on edge, I’m not coping, I’m feeling like I’m not a very good
parent ...
 Session 6: REACTING vs. RESPONDING

THEME
Negative moods, and the thoughts that accompany them, restrict our ability to relate
differently to experience and other people. It is liberating to realize that our thoughts are
merely thoughts, even the ones that say they are not. A wider view allows the possibility
of responding rather than reacting to inner experience and other people.

AGENDA

 Thirty minute Sitting Meditation – awareness of breath, body, difficulties and

choice less awareness.
 Practice review.
 Homework Review (including Sitting Meditation with and without CD; 3-
minute Breathing Space – Regular; 3-minute Breathing Space – Coping, using
this as a chance to work with parenting reactivity/responsiveness).
 Briefly mention preparation for end of course.
 Moods, thoughts, and alternative viewpoints exercise. Scenario A, then scenario
B.
 3-minute Breathing Space and review
 Discuss Breathing Space as the “first step” before taking a wider view of
thoughts. Revisit the RAIN acronym and acknowledge that allowing is not easy.
 Distribute Session 6 participant handouts and Further CDs
 Homework assignment:
o Practice with selection of practices for a minimum of 30 minutes a day.
o Continue to be present and mindful in routine parenting 1
o 3-minute Breathing Space – Regular (3 times a day).
o 3-minute Breathing Space – Coping (whenever you notice unpleasant
feelings).
o Activity and mastery / nourishment sheet
 Finish by reading “What is the sound of my child misbehaving.”

PLANNING AND PREPARATION

 In addition to your personal preparation, remember to bring material for

alternative viewpoints exercise and the additional cds to the class

1
Adapted with permission from Susan Bogels Mindful Parenting Manual
 Session 6

Situation Version 1

You are feeling down because you’ve just had a quarrel with a friend. Shortly afterward,
your child needs your attention. What would you think, feel, experience in your body?
 Session 6

Situation Version 2

You are feeling happy because you have just spent a really nice time with a friend. Your
child needs your attention. What would you think, feel, experience in your body?
 ‘Parenting Shoulds’

“I should have gotten them a healthier tea, I should have been at the playground earlier
to arrange a play date for this weekend, I should have answered all those emails, I
shouldn’t have lost my temper and shouted, I shouldn’t have had that extra 30 minute lie
in at the weekend, I shouldn’t have given in whining when I felt guilty ...”

These are just some of the “shoulds” that parents often describe. Shoulds can be a
tyranical part of the mind that have the effect of making us feel inadequate and under
pressure. By thinking about how things are different to how we think they should be,
they also by definition take us away from the here and now, from being fully present in
the moment. They also have a tendenecy to make us feel contracted, trying to make
things different to how they are.

The next time you notice yourself “shoulding,” perhaps just noting it, seeing the
impact it has, putting it down and coming into the present moment. If the shoulds are
particularly sticky, consider a 3-minute breathing space, some mindful walking or some
mindful stretches.

What is the impact of this shift from a mind in the grip of shoulds to a mind that is more
anchored in the present?
 Thoughts are not facts.

Question 1:
What is the sound of a bell ringing?

Answer:
The sound of a bell ringing is the sound of a bell ringing.

Question 2:
What is the sound of a child misbehaving?

Answer:
The sound of a child misbehaving is the sound of a child misbehaving.

Question 3:
What is the sound of my child misbehaving?

Answer:
The sound of “I cannot control my child”, the sound of “I should be able to”, the sound
of “I am a bad parent”, the sound of “I don´t know what to do”, the sound of “I hate this
child”, the sound of “I should not feel this way”, the sound of my failure.

An adapted old saying

 Session 7:

HOW CAN I BEST RESPOND AND TAKE CARE OF

MYSELF?

THEME
There are some specific things that can be done when depression threatens. Taking a
breathing space will come first, and then deciding what action/response if any, to take.
Each person has his or her own unique warning signs of relapse which can also affect
their interaction with their children. Participants can help each other in making plans for
how best to respond to the signs of depression and their children.

AGENDA

 Thirty minute Sitting Meditation – awareness of breath, body, sounds, thoughts,

difficulties and choiceless awareness
 Practice review.
 Homework Review (including any of the CDs, body scan, movement, sitting,
silence; 3-minute Breathing Space – Regular and Coping. Drawing out examples
of reacting/responding to children).
 Review homework – nourishing and depleting activities
 Mindful stretching for 5-10mins
 Identifying relapse signatures for (1) depression and (2) interactions with
children
 Poem - Autobiography in 5 chapters.
 Identifying responses when warning signs are present. Link with the poem, how
to move from current chapter to the next. Including activities that improve
mood, ways of nourishing oneself when well and things that support responsive
parenting.
 3-minute Breathing Space as the “first step” before responding.
 Distribute Session 7 participant handouts.
 Homework assignment:
o Select from all the different forms of practice, a pattern you intend to use
on a regular basis.
o 3-minute Breathing Space – Regular and Coping
o Develop early warning system for detecting relapses.
o Develop response to be used in the face of lowered mood and ways of
looking after oneself and complete questionnaires / evaluation form
Ask people to bring in an object next week that connects in some way with
their learning over the 8 week course
 Read out ‘Alone Hat’ story.

PLANNING AND PREPARATION

 In addition to your personal preparation, white board and writing materials for
relapse signature, and response plan exercises. You will also need a copy of
Autobiography in 5 chapters, Alone Hat (Momfulness book) questionnaires and
evaluation forms.
 Session 7

Relapse Signature & Response

Well! 0

Early warning signs-1

… and then?- 2

… and then?- 3

… and then? - 4

Depression! - 5
 Responding

Action Plan (what actions can I choose to take that will lift my mood, give me energy,
give me a sense of mastery / satisfaction, nourish me and help me respond at times of
difficulty

When I am well?

When I am at minus 1 or 2?

When I am at minus 3 or 4?

When I am at minus 5?
 Session 7

Links between Activity and Mood

Take a moment to bring to mind what you do during a typical working day. If you spend
much of your day apparently doing the same thing, try breaking the activities into
smaller parts: talking to colleagues, making coffee, filing, word processing, eating
lunch.

Wake up
 Fall asleep

Now see if you can divide the list into:

(1) Those things that lift your mood, give you energy and nourish you. Mark these with
an “N.”
(2) Those things that dampen your mood or drain your energy. Mark these in the second
column with a “D.”
(3) Those things that are neutral. Mark these with a “-.”

Finally:

Of the nourishing activities: How might you change things so that you take more time to
do these things or become more aware of them? Are there any further activities that you
can add to this list?

Of the negative or draining activities: How might these best be done less often or more
skilfully? Are there any further activities that you can add to this list?
 Session 8: USING WHAT HAS BEEN LEARNED TO DEAL WITH FUTURE
MOODS

THEME
Maintaining a balance in life is helped by regular mindfulness practice. Good intentions can
be strengthened by linking such intentions to a positive reason for taking care of oneself.
“If there were a way to pull together the central ideas covered in the course, what would it
be? Perhaps it is this: that when relapse-related automatic thought patterns are triggered,
there are skilful ways of responding to them”(Segal, Williams, Teasdale, 2002)
(p.291)

AGENDA

 Body Scan Practice.

 Practice review.
 Homework Review (including individualized practice; 3-minute Breathing Space –
Regular and Coping)
 Early warning signs and Response plans. Integrate parenting into the draft plans.
 Read book Sometimes I’m Bombaloo
 Drop into positive intentions for attending MBCT classes and for continuing with the
practice. What are the things you most value in your life that the practice could help
you with?
 Discuss how best to keep up momentum and discipline developed over the last seven
weeks in both formal and informal practice, including using parenting as practice.
What supports and maintains practice?
 Review whole course: what has been learned – in pairs then go around the whole
group.
 Emphasise that people may want to continue meeting up regularly as a group, people
have done this in the past.
 Distribute Session 8 participant handouts and collect questionnaires/evaluations
 We have some resources that you may be interested in having a look at
 End the class with objects people have brought in linking with intention to continue
practice. Finish with short sitting and ‘The how to be a Kid’ poem from the session 8
handouts.

PLANNING AND PREPARATION

 In addition to your personal preparation, a white board may be helpful to record

participants’ choices for maintaining practice and relapse prevention plans. Poems
and book.