MINDFULNESS BASED THERAPY
Mindfulness is bringing awareness to oneself and the moment (Davis, & Hayes, 2011). There are different types of Mindfulness-Based Therapy; Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction involves exercises such as yoga and meditation where clients focus on their body and breathing. Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy is like Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) because it focuses on thoughts but instead of changing the thoughts, it is accepted, similar to acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), as ACT is also about acknowledging thoughts and emotions and finding peace with it (Pratikta, 2020). Mindfulness, CBT, and ACT are all modalities’ therapists at Vaughan Counselling and Psychotherapy Inc. are familiar with.
Mindfulness will build one's capacity for attention, making one less reactive, and giving them the time to seek more than one understanding and conclusion. Clients become more understanding and open with themselves and others, creating a better state for the individual and their relationships.
As thoughts come up whether good or bad, clients acknowledge them and then not judge but rather simply accept them, this decreases negative thoughts cycling in the mind and therefore helps with anxiety and depression (Davis, & Hayes, 2011). Mindfulness also helps decrease the chance of relapse into depression (Hofmann, & Gómez, 2017).
Moreover, the maintenance of awareness in mindfulness exercises allows one to focus on the matter at hand and act less out of emotions; this helps one stay less angry and stressed in conflicts. There is a study, where participants are shown emotional clips and those who practised mindfulness were less emotionally affected.
The understanding and openness and decreased reactivity from mindfulness also help in relationships to hear the other person out and clearly express one’s own emotions and thoughts, which is why mindfulness can be a great modality for couples counselling, which is offered at Vaughan Counselling and Psychotherapy Inc.
Maria, Himel, Juanna, Gauri, Stefan, Svetlana, Rupika, are all therapists at Vaughan Counselling and Psychotherapy Inc. that do Mindfulness Therapy. Interestingly, mindfulness even helps therapists as the focus allows them to focus on the clients during the sessions and get a better idea of the emotion’s clients are experiencing (Davis, & Hayes, 2011).
Some great mindfulness exercises that can be practised with your therapist, other than yoga and meditation include:
Given- People can get caught in their routine that their thoughts and responses are automatic; they don’t give time to think about why they have certain thoughts or assumptions. Given involves acknowledging basic assumptions one holds and being open to discussing the assumption with their therapist.
Taking care of business with gratitude – This puts acceptance into play. Clients are asked by therapists to think of a hard time. With their therapist, they can get closure and change their attitude towards the situation.
Using a strength approach to build perspective-taking capacity – Clients are assigned a strength and scenario, in which clients navigate and try to understand their role in the scenario based on their strength. This allows them to learn and become more aware of the situation around them, themselves, and their strengths.
(Miller, 2021).
Our student interns (Cara, Melissa, Rasha or Angela) along with other Registered Psychotherapists can explore mindfulness based therapy in depth/ For more information, and to book an appointment with a therapist please give us a call at 647-267-9853 or email us info@vaughanpsychotherapist.com
References
Davis, D.M., & Hayes, J.A. (2011). What are the benefits of mindfulness? A practice psychotherapy-related research. American Psychological Association. 48(2), 198-208. DOI: 10.1037/a0022062
Hofmann, S. G., & Gómez, A. F. (2017). Mindfulness-Based Interventions for Anxiety and Depression. The Psychiatric clinics of North America, 40(4), 739–749. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psc.2017.08.008
Miller, K.D. (July 13, 2021). What is Mindfulness Therapy and How to Apply It? Positive Psychology. Retrieved from https://positivepsychology.com/mindfulness-therapy/
Pratikta, A.C. (2020). Mindfulness as an effective technique for various psychological problems: A conceptual and literature review. Journal of Professionals in Guidance and Counseling, 1(1), 1-13. DOI Prefix10.21831