Metacognitive therapy (MCT) is a modern and effective therapeutic form that does not focus on what you think, but on how you relate to your thoughts. If you experience that intrusive thoughts such as worry, rumination, obsessions, and self-criticism take up much space in daily life, MCT can help you take back control over your thoughts and your attention.
Many who struggle with anxiety, OCD, depression, or stress experience getting trapped in worry, rumination, or continuous analysis of their thoughts and feelings. Even though this is often an attempt to solve problems or create control, it can cause distress to persist.
In metacognitive therapy, you and the psychologist work on changing how you respond to your thoughts, rather than analyzing their content. You learn techniques that make it easier to let thoughts come and go without getting activated by them, and train to direct attention toward what matters to you. The goal is not to get rid of thoughts, but to reduce the time and energy spent on worry, rumination, and intrusive thoughts.
Through MCT, you learn to observe your thoughts so they no longer trigger a wave of stress and discomfort. Some examples of processes in metacognitive therapy include:
MCT has shown very good results in treating generalised anxiety disorder (GAD), social anxiety, depression, and OCD.
