A lot of people have recently asked me about the use of mindfulness in therapy, so I wrote this quick post with some links to go deeper.
What is Mindfulness?
Mindfulness is often synonymous to a kind of meditation: you observe your own thoughts, sensations and general experience without judgement. Think about it as being the spectator instead of the actor in the film depicting your life.
For more information on mindfulness as a practice and its benefits, read this article.
Benefits of Mindfulness
Two decades of published scientific research indicates that the majority of people who learn and actively use mindfulness report:
- Lasting decreases in physical and psychological symptoms
- Increased ability to relax
- Reductions in pain levels
- Enhanced ability to cope with pain that may not go away
- Greater energy and enthusiasm for life
- Improved self-esteem
- Ability to cope more effectively with both short and long-term stressful situations
Mindfulness-Based Therapy in Denver
In the context of therapy, mindfulness is used as a tool that enables you to take some distance with your experience. You'll be able to describe it with a more objective perspective.
Mindfulness also help reduce the emotional charge some painful memories may have. Learning to explore one's experience from a safe distance can be particularly helpful when working on traumatic issues.
Mindfulness is used differently in therapy than in most meditation practices, so no meditation experience is necessary to benefit from it.
For more information on using mindfulness in therapy, and more specifically with a somatic approach, you can read this article on Hakomi Therapy.
And for simple ways to start incorporating mindfulness in your daily life, read my blog post "3 Quick and Simple Ways to Practice Mindfulness".
You can also download this free guided meditation to de-stress with basic instructions.
About the author: Valerie Abitbol, LMFT, owner of Flow Counseling, PLLC is a counselor and therapist in Denver, Colorado. She specializes in couples and women dealing with major life transitions. She helps them move from feeling scared and overwhelmed to finding balance and a new normal in their lives. Valerie also provides counseling to couples to help them heal, reconnect, and grow happiness.