The Art of Mindfulness in Counseling

1. The Art of Mindfulness in Counseling 2013 Ariya Consulting Services Use of these materials other than personal must have prior permission of the author.

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. Attunement • Emphasis on body sensation • Breath • Acknowledgement of emotions • Labeling thoughts

6. Mindfulness Defined A state of being aware, with acceptance of thoughts, emotions, and sensations as they arise.

7. 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

8. Self-Compassion • Warm and understanding toward ourselves • Common factor of being “human”, “inter-being” • Observing thoughts and feelings without suppression or denial • Non-reactive

9. 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

10. Metta Practice • For ourselves • For dear ones • For those in larger world • For those born and ready to be born • For all sentient being

11. 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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13. Therapists-in-Training study Mindfulness can • Increase therapeutic responsiveness, empathy and attentiveness • Decrease reactivity and defensiveness • Positive impact on outcomes Grepmair, et. al. 2007

14. 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

15. Mindfulness-Based Methods • Beneficial personally and professionally • “Mindfulness-Informed Psychotherapy” (Germer)