Your metacognitive journey starts here

An extensive look into the evidence and method behind MCT, for those seeking a deeper dive.

1. The basics of MCT

MCT is a breakthrough method of psychotherapy based on over 30 years of research on the causes of mental disorders. It addresses the thinking styles and coping mechanisms that lead to emotional distress and mental illness.

2. Can MCT help with my problem?

MCT is especially beneficial for those struggling with persistent overthinking, and anxiety. It addresses the underlying processes that cause stress, sleeping disorders, depression, burnout, substance abuse, phobias, OCD, and more.

3. Nine key benefits of MCT

A practical, no-BS approach to therapy: It's short-term and cost-effective, and your progress is trackable as treatments focus on specific, quantifiable changes in your thoughts and emotional well-being.

4. How to find a qualified MCT therapist

Opting for a metacognitive therapist certified by The Metacognitive Institute ensures that you are in capable and qualified hands, which is essential for the best treatment outcome.

5. Inside the therapy room: What to expect

You can expect a structured, goal-oriented form of therapy with measurable progress. Treatment provides actionable changes in how you think, instead of talking through past experiences.

6. What are metacognitive beliefs?

Explore how metacognitive beliefs shape your mental health, influencing anxiety, worry, and rumination—and discover how challenging them can help you break free from cycles of overthinking.

7. CAS: The process behind mental distress

Learn how the Cognitive Attentional Syndrome (CAS) is a key driver in mental conditions, and how MCT interrupts harmful thinking patterns to restore self-regulation of the mind.

8. What is Detached Mindfulness?

Discover how you can use detached mindfulness to approach negative thoughts as passing experiences without engaging, reducing worry and rumination to improve your well-being.

9. Why MCT's trandiagnostic approach matters

MCT sees mental issues as more similar than they are different. By attacking their common underlying causes, there can be improvement across multiple diagnoses using the same treatment.

10. How meta-awareness impacts mental health

People often react to negative thoughts in a way that escalates anxiety and negative feelings, instead of in a way that deescalates. Meta-awareness makes it easier to break this cycle.

Essential series

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Your burnout isn't just work stress — here's what really causes it

Are we approaching burnout all wrong? For decades, it’s been reported that burnout is primarily a result of work-related stress, demanding hours, and minimal work-life balance. But emerging research challenges this assumption.

How to reclaim your life from emetophobia with Metacognitive Therapy

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What traditional therapy gets wrong about mental health, and the groundbreaking treatment that’s flipping the script

More people are in therapy today than ever before, but the mental health crisis continues to rise. What are we missing in common mental health treatments?

Break free from jealousy with a new therapy approach

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How to navigate love and dating with relationship OCD

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Break the people-pleasing cycle and learn to set boundaries with Metacognitive Therapy

Many people describe themselves as “natural people-pleasers,” and believe it’s just part of who they are. If you’re reading this, you might consider yourself one of them.

Overcome decision-making anxiety with a Metacognitive Therapy approach

We make thousands of decisions everyday—from the mundane to the life-altering, like what job to take, whether to stay in a relationship, where to live.

Are you always worrying about your health? Overcome health anxiety with MCT

If you find yourself worrying excessively about your health, constantly monitoring for signs of illness, you might be experiencing health anxiety.

Are you constantly worried about your mental health? Rethink mental health anxiety with MCT

Mental health anxiety, or being afraid of mental illness, is a common experience — though most people don’t realize how widespread a problem it is, or when they're engaging in it.

How to manage the mental health impact of tinnitus

Tinnitus is a common condition that affects roughly 10-15% of the population to some degree. It's especially common among older adults, particularly in those with hearing loss.

Are you scared of flying? Read this to overcome airplane anxiety

Fear of flying, also known as aerophobia, is a common phobia that affects up to 40% of people. And with more coverage of airplane issues in the news these days, that anxiety may feel more prevalent.

An effective new approach to Generalized Anxiety Disorder, using Metacognitive Therapy

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Navigating the news: How to manage anxiety during political unrest and global conflict

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A practical guide to overcoming impostor syndrome and self-criticism

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Answering your common objections to Metacognitive Therapy

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Overcome social anxiety in the workplace, with Metacognitive Therapy

If you’ve felt overly self-conscious or even ashamed at work, fixating on your shaking hands or stumbling on words, you know how overwhelming and paralyzing social anxiety can feel.

If you’re constantly bringing work stress home with you, read this

We’re constantly sold the idea of achieving work-life balance, but it can feel like chasing a moving target. Is it even possible? And how do we separate our work from our home life?

The real cause behind depression (and what to do about it)

Why do some people get depressed and others don't? While some experience a lot of pain in their life without it seeming to significantly affect them, others are depressed despite an outwardly good life.

Fusion beliefs and OCD: How they inform thoughts, behaviors, and rituals

Fusion beliefs are the mistaken idea that certain thoughts are intertwined with actions or outcomes. This can lead to someone feeling as if their thoughts have power or significance, and that their thoughts can potentially cause harm.

Metacognitive beliefs: What they are and why are they important?

What's the best way to deal with difficult thoughts and emotions? Should you focus more on your negative thoughts? Process them? Try to ignore them? Can you just leave them be? Is it helpful to worry? Can you even control your worry and rumination? Does rumination help you figure things out, or does it make you feel worse? And can you go crazy from worry?

So you want to start MCT — here is how to find the right therapist

Choosing a therapist is a significant decision in your mental health journey. Opting for a metacognitive therapist certified by The Metacognitive Institute ensures that you are in capable and qualified hands. This registration is not just a piece of paper; it's a promise of quality, ethical practice, and a commitment to the best outcomes in mental health therapy. Remember, when it comes to your mental health, the quality of treatment you receive can make all the difference.

Inside the therapy room: What to expect over the course of MCT treatment

Starting therapy can be both exciting and daunting. If you're just beginning your MCT journey, know that Metacognitive Therapy is a well-researched and effective approach that can provide rapid relief. Here's what to expect.

Panic disorder: 5 mistakes you make that worsen anxiety

Many of us will experience a panic attack at least once in our lives. But only some go on to develop a problem with recurring panic attacks, or a panic disorder. Did you know that strategies for avoiding a panic attack can actually sustain the disorder? Here's how to break the cycle.

Detached mindfulness: What it is and how it works

Every day, you have thousands of thoughts. Where do they all go? And what happens to the ones that you don't engage with? Most of them just pass through, like water through a strainer.

What is Metacognitive Therapy (MCT)

Metacognitive Therapy (MCT) is an evidence-based method of psychotherapy based on over 30 years of research on the causes of mental disorders and how the mind works. It's making major waves in the field of psychotherapy, as MCT represents a paradigm shift in how mental health disorders are understood and treated.

How meta-awareness (the recognition of your thought patterns) impacts mental health

If you're struggling with anxiety, overthinking, or mental health issues, a key step in improving your emotional wellbeing is becoming more conscious of how your own thinking patterns and mental activities are affecting you.

CAS: a key driver of mental distress

Have you ever found yourself stuck in a loop of negative thinking, where your negative thoughts seem to take over? This is a common experience that's a central concept in understanding psychological disorders. It all comes down to the Cognitive Attentional Syndrome (CAS), a key element in metacognitive therapy (MCT), and how it impacts mental health.

Can MCT Help With My Problem?

If you've explored therapy before, but you didn't feel like it helped resolve your issues, a revolutionary new approach called Metacognitive Therapy (MCT) may be the answer.

Does positive thinking help fix anxiety?

You’ve probably been told at some point to “just think positively” or replace negative thoughts and worries with positive ones. In recent years, there's been a major surge in positive thinking, uplifting mantras and affirmations, and reprogramming your thoughts to improve mental health.

Post-traumatic stress disorder: Which strategies help VS hinder recovery?

It's important to remember that after a traumatic event it's completely normal for you to have intrusive and unpleasant thoughts, images and memories. Bodily restlessness is also normal and expected in the first days and weeks after the event. When you're in pain it seems only natural that you come up with strategies to reduce the pain. But many common strategies that people use to deal with trauma are unhelpful and can even aggravate the problem, creating a self-reinforcing cycle.

Post-traumatic stress disorder: Why do some people develop PTSD?

If you've been through a traumatic experience, you might struggle with intrusive and unwanted thoughts or images from the event afterwards.

Why MCT can help more people with its transdiagnostic approach

Metacognitive Therapy (MCT) is revolutionizing mental health treatment by targeting the thought processes underlying a wide range of psychological disorders. Unlike traditional methods that focus on talking through specific thoughts or problems, dealing with them one at a time, MCT offers a unified approach to recovery. This transdiagnostic perspective shows more efficient and effective outcomes across multiple conditions.

7 tips to stop worrying (that actually work!)

If you're looking to take back control of your thoughts and reduce your worry, start with these seven tips, which are based on Metacognitive Therapy research, and our experience helping thousands of clients improve their anxiety and worrying. These tips have been proven to work, and can help change your relationship with worrying in as little as a few weeks.

Do you get nighttime anxiety? Here’s how to sleep without stress

Nighttime can be really challenging for people who worry a lot or experience anxiety. The isolation and stillness of the night can create more space for our worries, making it extra hard to sleep. During the day, distractions and activities can keep rumination at bay. But at night, our worries often catch up to us.

9 Game-changing benefits of Metacognitive Therapy

Imagine a therapy that helps you overcome overthinking... Metacognitive Therapy (MCT) is a refreshing new and effective form of psychotherapy that's rapidly gaining popularity, as it focuses on how you relate to your thoughts, rather than the thoughts themselves.

Do you wake up feeling anxious in the morning? Here’s what to do

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If you feel like you have no triggers for anxiety, read this

Learn to spot anxiety triggers and break the cycle using metacognitive therapy with actionable tips for managing your mental health.

Dealing with compulsive thoughts and OCD: a metacognitive perspective

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5 causes of anxiety and what you can do to get better

Can you have anxiety for no reason? No. There’s actually always a reason for anxiety — but it might not be what you think. Metacognitive Therapy (MCT) is a new type of psychotherapy that offers a fresh perspective on what causes and sustains your anxiety.

Are you excessively worrying? Why it happens and how to stop it

Do you overthink every concern that pops into your head? While it might feel impossible to stop, you're actually more in control of your worrying than you think. Read on to learn how you can start letting your worries take up less space.

Dealing with performance anxiety from a metacognitive POV

Performance anxiety can be crippling, often exacerbated by common coping strategies that increase self-awareness and insecurity. Shifting focus outward and limiting rumination are key to overcoming this anxiety. Discover effective techniques to transform your approach and enhance confidence in presentations and performances.

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