
The Art of Mindfulness in Counseling 2013 Ariya Consulting Services Use of these materials other than personal must have prior permission of the author.
The Art of Mindfulness in Counseling • Why mindfulness? • Therapeutic presence • Bringing one’s whole self to the moment • Working alliance • Evidence-based practice: relationship and attributes of the counselor Campbell and Christopher, Teaching Mindfulness to Create Effective Counselors
Objectives • Explore relevance of mindfulness in the counseling relationship • Consider integration and applications of mindfulness techniques and practices • Benefit for clients and practitioners • Supervision and training needed to incorporate mindfulness into counseling practice
Why Mindfulness • Those trained in use of Mindfulness-Based Stress-Reduction (MBSR) with clients and patients: • Decreased anxiety and depression • Increased empathy • Decrease in impact of stress, negative affect, rumination • Increased positive affect and self-compassion Shapiro, Brown & Biegel, 2007
Attunement • Emphasis on body sensation • Breath • Acknowledgement of emotions • Labeling thoughts
Mindfulness Defined A state of being aware, with acceptance of thoughts, emotions, and sensations as they arise.
Compassion/ Empathy • Compassion- sympathetic feeling towards another without attempting to know their feelings or even understanding the intensity of their sufferings • Empathy – trying to imagine another’s problem coupled with strong feeling for that person, understand his problem and share the feelings Read more: http://www.differencebetween.com/difference-between-empathy-and-compassion/#ixzz23IlMS1Wd
Self-Compassion • Warm and understanding toward ourselves • Common factor of being “human”, “inter-being” • Observing thoughts and feelings without suppression or denial • Non-reactive
Self-Compassion and Well-being • Recognize strong inner critic • Errors are part of being human • Shame and belief of basic flaw • Productivity and sense of well-being strengthened by compassion
Metta Practice • For ourselves • For dear ones • For those in larger world • For those born and ready to be born • For all sentient being
Mindfulness in Helping Professions • Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) • Full Catastrophe LivingJon Kabat-Zin: • Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Depression; Segal, Williams, Teasdale
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Therapists-in-Training study Mindfulness can • Increase therapeutic responsiveness, empathy and attentiveness • Decrease reactivity and defensiveness • Positive impact on outcomes Grepmair, et. al. 2007
Formal and Informal Mindfulness Practice • Formal: • Structured meditation, sitting in meditation for 20 minutes daily or several times a week • Sustained, disciplined introspection • Informal • Bringing mindfulness to ordinary daily activities • Self-regulation of senses through observation
Mindfulness-Based Methods • Beneficial personally and professionally • “Mindfulness-Informed Psychotherapy” (Germer)