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Mindfulness & CBT Essentials

Tools for Calm, Clarity & Control

Created byMark Paddock

Last updated 9/2025

English

What you'll learn

Mindfulness & CBT Skills (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy)
The learning outcomes for this course are:
- Understand the key principles of Mindfulness, its benefits to our wellbeing, and its effects on stress, anxiety and other mental health issues
- Learn Mindfulness techniques and therapies that can be applied when required in the workplace or at home and in daily life.
- Understanding the definition and principles of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy.
- How CBT techniques will benefit the wellbeing of the learner and build the positive psychology habits and practices to combat negative emotion
- Learn CBT techniques and therapies that can be applied in the workplace or at home and in daily life.

Course content

11 sections • 18 lectures • 1h 27m total length

Introduction2:54
Hello and welcome to this course on Mindfulness and CBT Skills. The course is designed for Individuals, businesses and organisations to gain the skills to stay calm, productive and in control during difficult situations. Controlling anxiety, negative thinking and stress does not come easily to everyone.
This course will provide the learner with the knowledge, skills and understanding to be able to use mindfulness principles and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) techniques to manage their negative thoughts and emotions. The course also helps the learner master skills to manage stress, anxiety and other prominent mental health issues that can occur at any time.
By understanding and learning mindfulness and cognitive behavioural therapy techniques we can learn to manage our anxious feelings, negative emotions and handle the adversity that we can all experience in the workplace and in daily life.
The learning outcomes for this course are:
• Understand the key principles of Mindfulness, its benefits to our wellbeing, and its effects on stress, anxiety and other mental health issues.
• Learn Mindfulness techniques and therapies that can be applied when required in the workplace or at home and in daily life.
• Understanding the definition and principles of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy.
• How CBT techniques will benefit the wellbeing of the learner and build the positive psychology habits and practices to combat negative emotion.
• Learn CBT techniques and therapies that can be applied in the workplace or at home and in daily life.

MINDFULNESS & CBT CONTENTS
1. Introduction and Learning Outcomes of the Mindfulness & CBT Course
2. Definition of Mindfulness
3. Why Practice Mindfulness
4. Core Mindfulness Skills
5. Noticing
6. Describing
7. Acceptance
8. Forgiveness
9. Applying Mindfulness - Mindfulness Applications in Daily Life
10. Applying Mindfulness - Mindfulness for the Workday
11. Definition of CBT
12. Cognitive Distortions
13. Using CBT Techniques - The Cognitive model process
14. Cognitive restructuring or reframing
15. Journaling and thought records
16. Behaviour activation and activity scheduling
17. Relaxation and stress reduction techniques
18. Overcoming difficulties in Practice.
19. Reflections
Definition of Mindfulness4:14
WHAT IS MINDFULNESS?
Mindfulness is derived from Buddhism and is a term used to describe a method of thinking, and noticing thought itself. Throughout the course we will explore the many facets of mindfulness, but to summarise, the general areas are:
• Meditation or relaxation therapy
• The mindfulness ways of self-observation: being gently aware of our own thinking
• The qualities of thinking that bring holistic peace and happiness
• The negative traits that can detract from our thinking

WHAT KIND OF PROBLEMS ARE HELPED USING MINDFULNESS?
It can be especially helpful to introduce mindfulness into your job, which can be the source of significant stress. Workplace stress is now becoming all the more consuming, with email, internal-office chat and social media constantly competing for our attention, and often bleeding into the hours that historically gave you a break. One way mindfulness can help is simply by allowing us to improve our focus. When we constantly flit from one task to another, the quality of our work can suffer.
By practicing mindfulness — simply coming back to the present moment over and over again — we can train ourselves to become more focused, productive and centred. Physical problems known to have behavioural, lifestyle or emotional links can be potentially helped to a degree with mindfulness, especially if combined with other practices. Emotional problems lend themselves very well to mindfulness assistance, whether severe or mild.
Mindfulness and cognitive behavioural therapies have an important place in medicine. In particular it has been noted that mindfulness is helpful in specific types of mental health issues that can not be simply ‘fixed’ or ‘treated’. Classic examples of these are the types of illness that become labelled as a ‘syndrome’, ‘disorder’ or ‘learning disability’.
Learn more in this section.
Why practice Mindfulness?2:54
WHY DO WE PRACTICE MINDFULNESS?
Mindfulness means maintaining a moment-by-moment awareness of our thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations, and surrounding environment. When we practice mindfulness, our thoughts tune into what we are sensing in the present moment rather than reliving the past or imagining the future. Mindfulness therefore involves acceptance; which means paying attention to our thoughts and feelings without judging them—without believing, for instance, that there’s a “right” or “wrong” way to think or feel in a given moment.
MENTAL & PHYSICAL EFFECTS OF MINDFULNESS PRACTICE Our physical health is greatly determined by our mental and emotional disposition. In fact research has shown many of the leading causes of ill health are often linked to chronic stress – heart disease, stomach and gastrointestinal issues, high blood pressure, lung ailments, accidents, liver cirrhosis, suicide and more. However, practicing mindfulness has numerous positive knock-on effects for our physical health.
Learn more in this section.

Core Mindfulness Skills6:23
CORE MINDFULNESS SKILLS
There are 7 Key Principles of Mindfulness that inform the now developed mindfulness techniques that are applied in practice.
1. Non-Judging
2. Patience
3. Beginners Mind
4. Trust
5. Non Striving
6. Acceptance
7. Letting Go
KEY MINDFULNESS TECHNIQUES AND QUALITIES Based on the seven foundational principles, there are now developed techniques of learning and practising mindfulness skills which encompasses these concepts. Practice ‘'Noticing' and 'Describing' experiences whilst cultivating the key mindfulness techniques that will help you in your life.

MINDFULNESS TECHNIQUES:
• Noticing
• Describing
• Acceptance without Judgement
• Forgiveness
• Fully Present & One Focus
Learn more in this section.
Noticing7:36
NOTICING - SWITCHING OFF THE AUTOMATIC PILOT
What do we mean by using “noticing” as a mindfulness technique? Have you ever driven home from work and not been able to remember much (or any) of the journey? Have you ever been in a conversation with someone and suddenly realised you have not heard or been paying attention to what they have said? If the answer is YES to any of these questions then this is probably an example that you have been in ‘Auto Pilot.’ Auto pilot is common in many of our lives due to the high demands on our time from work and busy family life.
Learn more in this section.
Describing6:16
HOW TO ‘MINDFULLY’ DESCRIBE
By learning to notice and observe our experience, we can then mindfully describe it. Describing something mindfully is simply making a factual statement or commentary about what we notice. The key to mindfully describing is to keep it factual and specific and not to get caught up in the content – call a thought just a thought, a feeling just a feeling without getting into having a further thought or opinion about it.
DESCRIBING VS JUDGING
Mindful describing is done without judgements. A judgement is labelling something as good or bad, valuable or not, worthless or worthwhile etc. It is having an opinion on what you notice or observe. For example, “that film was terrible,” “people shouldn't smoke,” “the train was uncomfortable” etc.
A description of these examples above would involve specifics and not opinions, for example, consider what the facts are. To mindfully describe the examples above more factually we might say “That film seemed to be quite low budget ” or “cigarettes contain chemicals that cause cancer,” “the train seats were ripped and broken”
Learn more in this section.
Acceptance6:14
ACCEPTANCE
Acceptance requires the approach of being okay with an outcome you neither really wanted, nor probably expected. In order to use the practice of mindful acceptance therapeutically, we first need to learn to divide issues into the following categories:
• What can be changed or affected
• What can NOT be changed or affected
The distinction is often more based around what it is appropriate to try to change, rather than what we can change. Often it is possible to have an effect, or to make changes that actually make things worse, or more complicated, thus not an appropriate change. Therefore the need is to be able to tell which things it is appropriate to try and change. If we identify a situation where it is NOT appropriate to try to change things, then acceptance is the most appropriate response left to us.
Learn more in this section.
Forgiveness3:34
FORGIVENESS
Forgiveness in mindfulness is completely different from what is generally thought of as “forgiveness”. Mindfully forgiving is recognising that hate, desire for revenge and maintained anger are terribly destructive forces.
QUESTION: If you feel vengeful anger towards someone without expressing it through word or deed to their face, who suffers? Holding anger and resentment only hurts the person holding that set of emotions. It does not affect the person you feel anger towards. It is a sad fact that many people who have been genuinely wronged, are often hurt twice – once by the deed itself, and then again by living in vengeful anger for a prolonged period of time.
Learn more in this section.

Applying Mindfulness - Mindfulness Applications in Daily Life8:11
MINDFULNESS APPLICATIONS IN DAILY LIFE
In the previous modules we have focused on how to develop mindfulness skills using the five senses. Our senses are the source by which we ultimately experience the world and therefore underpin all mindfulness exercises.
In this module we will build upon the skills you have already started to develop and teach you how to apply mindfulness more widely in your daily life through a variety of different applications. We have so far focused on developing 'Noticing' and 'Describing' skills separately, whilst encompassing the key qualities of 'Acceptance and Forgiveness with One Focus and being 'Fully Present.' In the exercises which follow, we will progress to incorporating and integrating these skills together and using them in the workplace and daily life.
Learn more in this section.
Applying Mindfulness - Mindfulness Applications in the work place5:04
MINDFULNESS AND CBT FOR THE WORK DAY
There will be opportune moments in your daily busy schedule to bring in and integrate various mindfulness practices. For instance;
TAKE 5 Take 5-30 minutes in the morning to be quiet and meditate: sit or lie down and be with yourself, gaze out of the window, listen to the sounds of nature or take a slow quiet walk.
MINDFUL DRIVING If you are driving, take a minute to quietly pay attention to breathing and allow yourself to become aware of any tension in the body and consciously release and dissolve that tension. Choose perhaps to drive without the radio on and just be with yourself. Experiment a little with your driving; try driving a little slower than you might usually. Wherever you are, pay attention to your breathing, to the sky and trees or your mind when you stop at the traffic lights.
Learn more in this section.

Cognitive Restructuring or Reframing4:07
COGNITIVE RESTRUCTURING OR REFRAMING
Thoughts play a powerful role in determining how we feel and act. If we think positively about something, we’ll probably feel positively about it. Conversely, if we think negatively about something—whether or not that thought is supported by evidence—we will feel negatively.
Cognitive restructuring is the therapeutic process of identifying and challenging negative and irrational thoughts, such as the sales pitch example. These thoughts are the cognitive distortions (as discussed in the Cognitive Distortions module). Although everyone has some cognitive distortions, having too many is closely linked to mental health difficulties such as depression and anxiety.
Cognitive restructuring simply refers to the process of challenging thoughts—it isn’t a single technique. There are many techniques that fall under the umbrella of cognitive restructuring. Cognitive restructuring involves taking a hard, objective look at negative thought patterns.
Learn more in this section.

Behaviour activation and activity scheduling3:42
BEHAVIOURAL ACTIVATION AND ACTIVITY SCHEDULING
Behavioural Activation (BA) is a specific CBT skill that can be a treatment all by itself, or can be used alongside other CBT skills such as cognitive restructuring. Behavioural activation helps us understand how behaviours influence emotions, just like cognitive work helps us understand the connection between thoughts and emotions.
Behavioural Activation involves:
• Understanding the “vicious cycles” of negative thoughts
• Monitoring our daily activities
• Identification of progression towards goals
• Building an upward spiral of motivation and energy.
• Problem solving around potential barriers to activation
• Reducing avoidance • Consistently making gradual, systematic, sustained progress.
Be patient as this will take time.
Learn more in this section.

Requirements

There are no course requirements or prerequisites

Description

Controlling anxiety, negative thinking and stress does not come easily to everyone. This course will provide the learner with the knowledge, skills and understanding to be able to use mindfulness principles and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) techniques to manage their negative thoughts and emotions. The course also helps the learner master skills to manage stress, anxiety and other prominent mental health issues that can occur at any time.

By understanding and learning mindfulness and cognitive behavioural therapy techniques we can learn to manage our anxious feelings, negative emotions and handle the adversity that we can all experience in the workplace and in daily life.

The learning outcomes for this course are:

• Understand the key principles of Mindfulness, its benefits to our wellbeing, and its effects on stress, anxiety and other mental health issues.

• Learn Mindfulness techniques and therapies that can be applied when required in the workplace or at home and in daily life.

• Understanding the definition and principles of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy.

• How CBT techniques will benefit the wellbeing of the learner and build the positive psychology habits and practices to combat negative emotion.

• Learn CBT techniques and therapies that can be applied in the workplace or at home and in daily life.

MINDFULNESS & CBT CONTENTS

1. Introduction and Learning Outcomes of the Mindfulness & CBT Course

2. Definition of Mindfulness

3. Why Practice Mindfulness

4. Core Mindfulness Skills

5. Noticing

6. Describing

7. Acceptance

8. Forgiveness

9. Applying Mindfulness - Mindfulness Applications in Daily Life

10. Applying Mindfulness - Mindfulness for the Workday

11. Definition of CBT

12. Cognitive Distortions

13. Using CBT Techniques - The Cognitive model process

14. Cognitive restructuring or reframing

15. Journaling and thought records

16. Behaviour activation and activity scheduling

17. Relaxation and stress reduction techniques

18. Overcoming difficulties in Practice.

19. Reflections

Who this course is for:

This course is for anyone who would like to learn Mindfulness and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy in order to gain the skills to stay calm, productive and in control during difficult situations

Mindfulness & CBT Essentials

What you'll learn

Explore related topics

Course content

Introduction3 lectures • 10min

Core Mindfulness Skills5 lectures • 30min

Applying Mindfulness - Mindfulness Applications in Daily Life2 lectures • 13min

Definition of CBT1 lecture • 3min

Cognitive Distortions1 lecture • 6min

Using CBT Techniques - The Cognitive model process1 lecture0

Cognitive Restructuring or Reframing1 lecture • 4min

Journaling and Thought Records1 lecture • 2min

Behaviour activation and activity scheduling1 lecture • 4min

Relaxation & Stress Reduction Techniques1 lecture • 10min

Requirements

Description

Who this course is for: