What If You Could Learn To Observe Thoughts And Feelings Without Judgment?
Many of my clients experience feelings of overwhelm and emotional flooding, impacting their personal and professional lives. By incorporating mindfulness into counseling, we are able to restore a sense of internal calm and balance.
Mindfulness is defined as a moment-to-moment, nonjudgmental awareness of one’s experience. Human systems are deeply complex and intricate. In recognizing the relationship between physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual sensations, mindfulness acknowledges that health reflects the Whole Person—not just the physical body.
Mindfulness promotes:
Nonjudgmental awareness
Acceptance
Stress reduction
The ability to focus attention on our inner experiences
Additional perspective on our conscious selves
Enhanced peace and relaxation
While mindfulness is not a therapy, it’s incredibly useful when used in conjunction with other body-based methods. For example, Somatic Experiencing—used to adjust the body’s trauma response—is a therapy that requires strong attunement to bodily sensations. Similarly, mindfulness is beneficial in Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART), which uses eye movements to resolve disturbing thoughts and feelings. Depending on the needs and objectives of my clients, I will likely incorporate ART, grief recovery tools, and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) into mindfulness-based counseling.
How Does Mindfulness Work When Used In Therapy?
An inability to relax the mind and body creates anxiousness and compromises the immune system. This can inevitably lead to a wide range of physical, emotional, and cognitive symptoms, including:
Anxiety
Panic attacks (which may include heart palpitations and trouble breathing)
Difficulty concentrating
Chronic pain
Decreased productivity
By bringing conscious awareness to the body in therapy, mindfulness is a meaningful way to mitigate the physiological effects of stress.
Mindfulness can be practiced at any time and in any place. As a mindfulness-oriented therapist, I will guide you in becoming focused on what you feel in the moment—without a need for judgment or interpretation—so you can respond from a place of awareness rather than distress. Mindfulness-based therapy may also incorporate breathing and meditation techniques to promote relaxation.
Mindfulness At Discovery & Wellness Counseling & Consulting
Since 2014, mindfulness has been an integral part of Discovery & Wellness Counseling & Consulting. Recognizing the benefits of mindfulness in 2016, I received training in visualization and breath practices through Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) developed by its founder, Jon Kabat-Zinn.
As a specialist working with mindfulness, DWC offers seasonal group paddle board workshops, emphasizing the beginning practice of mindfulness in therapy and tools on how to increase its daily use in our lives. The intention of combining counseling approaches in the outdoor setting, such as lakes and rivers, aims to promote the use of mindful living, increased internal control, and recognize the healing qualities of nature.
The meditation and visualization practices associated with mindfulness are vital to increasing my clients’ control centers, mitigating fear and overwhelm in both everyday and high-stress situations. Whether my clients come to therapy with anxiety, depression, grief, relationship conflict, or work-related stress, practicing mindfulness has allowed them to understand and respond to their minds and body in a new, more nurturing way.
It's Normal For The Mind To Wander
Part of mindfulness-based counseling is acknowledging and accepting the humanity of a wandering mind and racing thoughts so that you can truly slow down to understand how the body is holding onto certain feelings and emotions. In interpreting the body’s messages through mindful focus, you can have a better idea of how to get your needs met.
Repeated mindfulness practice in therapy can ultimately decrease anxiousness and ruminations while enhancing your capacity for attention and awareness.
Mindfulness Is An Effective, Long-Held Tradition
Since its Western development, mindfulness has been a valuable tool in therapy, medicine, and other healthcare settings. Some studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of mindfulness when it comes to treating physical conditions like hypertension. In one such study, patients who used mindfulness techniques had comparably positive results to those who used medication and lifestyle changes to manage blood pressure.
In addition, mindfulness has been shown to promote emotional and mental wellbeing. There is a strong link between mind, body, and spirit, so stress reduction practices help target physical discomfort alongside symptoms of emotional distress, including those associated with anxiety, depression, trauma-related issues, substance abuse, grief and loss, and relationship conflict.
Learn New Ways Of Relating To Your Mind And Body
Mindfulness is an essential tool in my counseling and consulting practice, promoting calm, heightened awareness, stress reduction, and mindful living. To find out more about how I approach mindfulness in therapy, contact me.
