by Jon Kabat-Zinn · 1990
The foundational MBSR text — the book that introduced mindfulness into evidence-based mental health care.
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Jon Kabat-Zinn developed Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center in 1979. Before MBSR, mindfulness was largely seen in the West as a spiritual practice; after MBSR, it became a clinical intervention with thousands of research studies behind it.
This book is essentially the MBSR program in written form. It's substantial — 600+ pages — and that's the point: developing a real mindfulness practice takes time. Kabat-Zinn is also one of the few writers who can convey what mindfulness actually is without falling into wellness-industry platitudes.
Samita draws on mindfulness-based approaches in her counselling work. This is the book we recommend when someone wants to understand mindfulness as a practice rather than as a consumer product.
A note. This is reading material, not clinical treatment. If you’re working through something difficult, books complement therapy — they don’t replace it. Book a session with our team for personalised support.
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Our team sees adults, adolescents, and children in person at Bella Vista and via telehealth across NSW. Medicare rebates with a GP Mental Health Care Plan; NDIS self- and plan-managed; private health depending on fund.