Victoria Fontana

Certified MBSR Instructor & MBCT instructor
Certified Compassion-Based Resilience Training (CBRT) instructor
Adjunct professor with the IE University Center for Health, Wellbeing & Happiness

What course do you teach at Mindfulness and Health Institute?

• A Mindful Approach to Depression and Anxiety (MBCT)

What drew you to mindfulness?

I, like many, was searching for something to make my life better. I knew that I was suffering a lot and always felt like that was a huge mystery to solve, and actually felt like it was too big for me. As I began to discover contemplative practices, like mindfulness and compassion practices, as well as yoga, I slowly began to feel better and see my agency in my own wellbeing. I felt how these practices were bringing a lot more peace and resilience to my life, and were giving me choices that I could not see before. I had a lot of thought patterns that were keeping me stuck in victimhood, anxiety, fear and limitation. Mindfulness gave me a gentle and kind way to open to all of that and work with it in a way that not only has empowered me, but also supported me to transform all of that into more of a stance of thriving. I wouldn’t say it was “easy” but the journey has been so rewarding, it has inspired me to want to share it with others.

What would you like potential students to know about you?

Oftentimes we think mindfulness or contemplative teachers are above it all. I think it is important to know that I continue my journey of  practice and work hard at my own wellbeing, I still have to navigate thought patterns and work with the ups and downs that are a normal part of life.

I don´t like to present mindfulness as some sort of panacea for everything. We all have a journey, and unique vulnerabilities and I try as best as I can to honor that as I share these practices, and invite participants to trust in their own wisdom. I am not coming to class from a place of knowing what is right or wrong for you, but as a fellow traveler. I do my best to cultivate a safe, inclusive space where everyone can show up authentically.

What do you enjoy about teaching A Mindful Approach to Depression and Anxiety (MBCT)?

I really love sharing MBCT (Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy) with others, because I know how much it has made a positive impact on my own life. It is a truly special experience to walk alongside others with the shared intention of cultivating more inner peace and wellbeing. I often have the privilege of seeing participants come to realizations and gain insights, as well as tools to create more wellbeing in their lives.

MBCT is accessible for both beginners and experienced mindfulness practitioners, and has practical and impactful home practices and in-class exercises. I enjoy the group dynamic as well, where we all can learn from each other’s experiences with the practice, which adds a lot of dimension, feeling less alone, and even having some lightness or fun to the whole process of self-exploration.

What makes A Mindful Approach to Depression and Anxiety (MBCT) especially impactful for participants?

MBCT in particular, supports us to bring clarity to the way our minds work and provides us ample opportunities to practice decentering from our thoughts so that they no longer hold such a grip on us.

We learn to cultivate a more fluid and flexible way of relating to our experience by bringing friendly awareness to all of the mental chatter, judgements and opinions that show up as patterns in our minds. By exploring how thoughts, body sensations, emotions and moods interrelate, and by meeting our experience with presence, kindness and non-judging, participants can cultivate wise and nourishing responses and action in the face of negative thoughts and emotions. Over time, participants may notice greater access to their resources for resilience and wellbeing.

In what ways does A Mindful Approach to Depression and Anxiety (MBCT) uniquely support someone's practice?

MBCT anchors learning with daily home practices and resources for reflection that turn each week’s theme into a lived experience. We go step by step. In class, guided inquiry and group dialogue enhance each participant’s personal practice by learning from each other, hearing about how others are experiencing the practices and supporting each other along the way. The emphasis on kindness supports a friendly approach to one’s practice. Portable brief practices like the 3-step breathing space help weave mindfulness into daily life, where the rubber meets the road!

What distinguishes A Mindful Approach to Depression and Anxiety (MBCT) from Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)?

While both Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and A Mindful Approach to Depression and Anxiety (Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy, MBCT) train participants in mindfulness practice, MBCT was based on Jon Kabat-Zinn’s MBSR program. Zindel Segal, Mark Williams and John Teasdale combined MBSR with cognitive-behavioral practices, originally to support participants with the specific vulnerabilities common to depression and anxiety.

The combination of mindfulness practices and cognitive behavioral therapy exercises differentiates MBCT in that there is greater emphasis on recognizing and understanding unhelpful thought patterns as they arise and learning to relate differently to these. In MBCT we learn to meet our present-moment experiences with kind awareness by shifting from the autopilot “driven doing” mode of mind into “being” mode. Being mode implies sensing into our bodies, recognizing thoughts not as facts but as mental events, and reengages our ability to choose conscious and helpful responses and actions.

MBCT shares many practices with MBSR and also incorporates some brief mindfulness practices that can be used in the moment to support our ability to practice this shift in awareness in our daily lives. Although MBCT can be offered in clinical settings, at Mindfulness and Health Institute (MHI) we offer it to the general public, as it is an excellent program for anyone feeling stuck in rumination, anxiety or stress and/or who would like to cultivate more resilience, wellbeing and a lighter, more present way of living.

What is your favorite food?

I love pizza! It is the edge to my ability to eat mindfully! ;)

If you had a superpower, what would it be and why?

At the risk of sounding cliché, if I had a superpower, I would wave a magic wand and dissolve any source of suffering in the world, and create a place where all beings were happy from the inside out, healthy, lived in peace and had what they needed to thrive. Even if that meant I’d be out of a job. =)

Do you have any hobbies outside of mindfulness?

I enjoy creating art. I studied art at a studio in Madrid for many years, mainly painting, and currently this has taken shape in the form of tapestry weaving, which I am in the midst of learning.

How have the tools, resources, or practices from A Mindful Approach to Depression and Anxiety (MBCT) influenced your own life?

This course has supported me to become much more flexible with how I interpret life events and my place in them. It allows me to see many possibilities, and discern when thoughts are not being helpful, such as overly self-critical thoughts or anxious ruminations, and has given me the tools to not only see this but make helpful shifts in my perceptions and interactions with others. It has created space to not be hijacked by unconscious habits and become proactive in cultivating nourishing habits that over time have increased my wellbeing. It was a true liberation when I began to free myself from patterns that were no longer serving me.

Is there a fun fact about yourself you’d like to share?

I lived in Madrid, Spain for over 25 years. =)