The Metacognitive Therapy Institute® (MCTI®) is an international mental health company whose mission is to study, educate in, and safe-guard the correct delivery of metacognitive therapy (MCT). The company was founded and is run by Dr. Adrian Wells (originator of MCT) and by Dr. Hans M Nordahl, both of whom are clinical psychologists and university professors.
MCT is a highly effective evidence-based treatment for a range of mental health issues, including anxiety, trauma and depression. Due to its novelty and effectiveness there is a growing demand for training and treatment in this method. This has led to a number of practitioners and trainers offering MCT courses and treatment who have not completed MCTI® recognised training. To make matters worse some do not have a professional health qualification either. We consider this unacceptable and therefore recommend accessing training or treatment through MCTI® channels in order to be confident of the method. On this website you will find links to training, MCTI® registered therapists and other useful resources.
The MCT-institute works in accordance with the guidelines and ethical codes of the health authorities in the UK and EU in research and treatment. Only cognitive oriented treatments that are evidence-based for the various mental health disorders are supervised and disseminated.
by Adrian Wells
Attention Training Technique (ATT) is a specific treatment technique developed by Wells (1990) for use in metacognitive therapy. Whilst this technique was originally developed to be a component of treatment, experimental studies have suggested that it can in some instances have significant beneficial effects on anxiety and depression when practiced in its own right. However, we recommend that ATT is used in the context of a full metacognitive therapy treatment package for optimal effects.
The most reliable and objective way of determining the nature and cause of symptoms is through a complete diagnostic assessment. The first visit should be to the family doctor. There are many medical conditions that can give rise to depression, anxiety-like or other psychological symptoms and it is important to rule-out medical or biological causes before exploring a psychological explanation. Some medical conditions require urgent specialist treatment.
One in three patients with cardiovascular disease experiences increased anxiety and/or depression. However current treatments are limited in efficacy in reducing anxiety and depression. Wells et al (2022) evaluated the feasibility and acceptability of delivering assisted home-based self-help metacognitive therapy (home-MCT) to cardiac rehabilitation (CR)
We have three exciting Masterclasses open for registration for 2022 and 2023. Our new International Online Masterclass in MCT begins in September 2022. All sessions will occur online. More details can be found here. We are excited to announce a brand new Italian Masterclass starting
Capobianco and Nordahl (2021) recently published an article taking one through the history of Metacognitive Therapy. The article highlights how MCT was developed from cognitive science, backed by a theory and translated into clinical practice. The authors highlight how the development of MCT was based
