Willem Kuyken is a research clinical psychologist. He earned his PhD from the Institute of Psychiatry, Kings College London, and his Doctorate in Clinical Psychology from the Salomon's Clinical Psychology Training Programme. He learned cognitive-behavioural therapy over two years as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Center for Cognitive Therapy, University of Pennsylvania / Beck Institute, working with Aaron T. Beck. Since the mid-1990s, his training in mindfulness-based cognitive therapy has included: participation in MBCT/MBSR workshops and retreats; supervision with John Teasdale, Trish Bartley and others; and support of my mindfulness practice in the insight/vipassana tradition from Christina Feldman and Catherine McGee. 

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From 1999 to 2014, he worked at the University of Exeter, where he held a number of roles including heading up the doctoral clinical psychology training programme (2001-2004) and leading the clinical research group (2001-2010). During his time in Exeter, he co-founded the Mood Disorders Centre, directing it through its formative years (2004-2012) and co-founded (with Alison Evans) the Masters in Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapies (2008). Since 2014 he have directed the Oxford Mindfulness Centre. ​He was awarded the May Davidson award for clinical psychologists who "have made an outstanding contribution to the development of clinical psychology within the first ten years of their work as a qualified clinical psychologist." He was "grand-fathereded" as a Fellow of the Academy of Cognitive Therapy.