A closer look, side by side
There are a few issues that are better suited to psychotherapy, such as acute trauma and PTSD. A psychotherapy process may also better serve issues arising from attachment wounds, current addictions, grief, and some sexual problems.
If there are no contraindications in the picture, then choosing which approach largely comes down to personal preference. If you feel drawn to psychotherapy, that’s probably the right choice. If you know you want to learn mindfulness in a closely supported and individually tailored way, then therapist-assisted mindfulness training could be the one for you.
If you are drawn to both and are unsure which to choose, the information below may be helpful. As you read through, you may notice which approach feels closer to what you’re looking for.
Still undecided? Want more information? You will find a fuller comparison in the table below. Feel free to drop me an email with any questions you might have. If a longer conversation is needed, we can arrange an initial session so we can talk it through in more detail to decide which approach is best for you.
| Mindfulness training | Psychotherapy | |
|---|---|---|
| Session length and frequency | 75 minutes, online, fortnightly. SMS contact in alternate weeks. Usually over six months. Can be extended or expanded if desired. | 60 minutes, online, usually weekly. Frequency can be increased or reduced depending on need and availability. Duration is open-ended or time-limited, depending on needs and periodic reviews. |
| Structure of the process | Follows the MBCT curriculum, learning the principles of mindfulness and applying them to life. Adaptations can be made, but the focus stays on learning mindfulness. | Follows your formulation — a shared understanding of what’s driving your difficulties and why they keep happening. This guides sessions, not a set curriculum. |
| Primary focus in sessions | Learning mindfulness skills. The foundations of mindfulness are established, this is then used to turn towards difficulties and to meet them in a new way, and any learning is integrated into life. | Understanding and changing the psychological patterns behind client difficulties, drawing on a range of approaches such as parts work, trauma processing, or behavioural experiments, and the therapeutic relationship itself, depending on what’s needed. |
| In between sessions | Formal daily meditation practice, and different ways of learning mindfulness in daily life, such as taking a breathing space, noticing everyday events or doing a routine task mindfully. | Range of approaches to applying insights from therapy to daily life. This may include mindfulness meditation, but not necessarily. Other activities may be suggested to gather information, practice skills, do experiments and integrate learning. |
| The nature of the work and the relationship | Primarily educational: learning skills and applying them in life. It may be therapeutic, but it isn’t psychotherapy. The relationship is more teacher and student. | A relational process supporting change, healing and growth. What clients bring can be raw or vulnerable, and space is held for that. The relationship itself is part of how change happens. |
| Talking about one’s life, the past and the future | Less talking, but still individualised. There’s more scope for personal detail than a group course when it helps, but the focus stays on the present moment and mindful awareness. | More talking, though still embodied. Exploring your thinking, feelings and memories builds understanding, alongside somatic and behavioural work that keeps the process from staying ‘in the head’. |
| Best suited to | People who really want to learn mindfulness and are interested to do this with a therapist who can help them tailor the training to their particular needs. | People who are looking for a therapy process, to heal or ease an emotional or psychological wound that needs more than skills training alone, such as trauma, grief, shame, questions of identity, or relationship patterns. |
Any questions about these approaches and which is right for you? Please send me an email. I aim to get back to you within two working days.