Abstract
The so-called 'third wave' of behaviour therapies including Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) have been gaining increasing attention as alternative approaches to traditional Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) in the treatment of various mental disorders, including anxiety, depression, psychosis, obsessive compulsive disorder and borderline personality disorder as well as substance misuse, pain management and eating disorders. The National Institute for Clinical and Health Excellence (NICE) currently only recommends the use of such therapies for the prevention of relapse in chronic depression and for the treatment of borderline personality disorder (NICE, 2009a, 2009b). The current review attempts to explore how the 'third wave' of therapies emerged from the existing models of behaviour therapy and examine the philosophical distinction between the different approaches. The current applications of mindfulness based approaches in the treatment of mental disorders and psychological distress are reviewed with specific reference given to the current recommendations for depression and borderline personality disorder. Finally the well as the emerging evidence for the treatment of anxiety disorders was reviewed and possible implications for clinical practise were discussed.