Metacognitive Therapy

Metacognitive therapy (MCT) is a psychotherapy focused on modifying the metacognitive beliefs that perpetuate states of worry, rumination and attention fixation. It was created by Adrian Wells based on an information processing model developed by Wells and Gerald Matthews, and is supported by scientific evidence from a large number of studies. MCT first discovers what patients believe about their own thoughts and how their mind works, then shows them how these beliefs lead to unhelpful responses that unintentionally prolong or worsen symptoms, before offering alternative ways of responding to thoughts to reduce symptoms.