Ever wonder which types of patients benefit most from mindfulness?
As it turns out, it has a wide range of applications.
To show you the range of ways that practitioners are integrating mindfulness into their practices, we thought we’d share some inspirational stories.
We often highlight people who’ve written books or are on the lecture circuit, but this time we wanted to focus on your colleagues who are working with people daily to help them improve their lives.
The first story is from a practitioner working with a person suffering from anxiety disorder.
See how he slowly integrated mindfulness meditation into their sessions, and the impact it had on his patient’s life.
The video is just a minute long – check it out:
This example is one of many in which mindfulness has been used in the mainstream.
Soon we will be sharing the stories of more practitioners who are finding unique and creative ways to bring mindfulness to different populations, including some that might surprise you.
So keep an eye out for that soon.
And in the meantime, how do you use mindfulness? Please tell us your experience in the comments below.
Alright.
What about the degree/depth of the mindfulness.
Please compare and contrast mindfulness and focussed attention.
Mindfulness could have different types or facets.Look out for the cetasikas as well to make the mindfulness approach more potent/effective.
Is there a pdf that covers all aspects of mindfulness-based methods?
Hello All,
I am delighted to learn of Yoga in Prisons. I have a friend who has done this work here in Mass. It is wonderful.
My name is Cathy Rigali and I would love to share with you our work at the Hampshire County Jail in Northampton, Ma. We documented a 6-year odyssey of program development and labyrinth construction within the secure perimiter of this correctional facility.
You may view our film: Pathway to Change: The Jail Labyrinth Project at youtube videos or at the Veriditas website.
Bright Blessings,
Cathy
Hi David,
Thanks for the tips regarding anxiety– taking some time each session to meditate with the client and sending a homework assignment regarding meditation. Modeling and practice, two important pieces to change.
I teach mindfulness to clients when they are exhibiting symptoms of anxiety in session. I interrupt them and ask them to become mindful of their physiological symptoms. This usually helps. Or, become mindful of their environment by asking them to look at me and name the colors that they see on my articles of clothing, items around my office and name everything they see. I process this with the client and introduce it as a form of ‘mindfulness’. I have found that they are thankful for not continuing in their distress and have better therapeutic outcomes.
I teach mindfulness to all my clients who struggle with anxiety. It helps them all, but especially the major worriers. I point out that we always worry about something that already happened or something that’s going to happen, so to practice mindfulness and focus on the moment at hand takes their minds off of whatever they are worrying about. I encourage them to do it whenever they find themselves worrying or beginning to feel anxious.
At the Lionheart Foundation, mindfulness techniques are the cornerstone of all the emotional competence curricula we develop for underserved populations. Our most recent initiative, Power Source Parenting recently received NIH funding to examine the role of mindfulness training in helping at-risk adolescent mothers become more attuned and sensitive caregivers. In addition to more formal meditation practices, young mothers are taught to bring mindfulness to all of their daily parenting activities including washing, feeding, and dressing their children. Mindfulness activities increase parents’ ability to “tune into” their children, increase their patience, and strengthen the caregiver connection. Visit their website for more information.
I’m so gratefull about information but, most of all, shared experience from all the participants in this mindfullness series!
I’m in the turmoil of the doctorate selection process (gratefully almost done!), but I surely took a lot and began to put it into practice. The last three weekends I worked with young women and gave them a try about another kind of consideration of their relations with their mothers. It was worth every minute of the conferences.
Thank you all very much!
As a psychotherapist and a student of Hakomi, mindfulness is both a principle and a tool. As a tool, mindfulness is used for short periods in Hakomi during which little experiments are done, so that the client can study his/her own implicit beliefs in the form of automatic reactions to a verbal or physical probe. Ron Kurtz began using mindfulness since the early 1970’s and refined Hakomi all through his life making it a the powerful, informed and compassioned method it is today.
I’m almost systematically using “mindfulness” with my clients. At the end of my intake session, I take a few minutes to discuss the importance of the nervous system stabilisation and I explain how to practice “neurophysiological coherence”, that is, breathing 5 minutes 3 times a day at a rhythm of 0.1 hertz.
It is a good introduction to mindfulness practice. I also ask them to buy “The Mindful Way through Depression” which include a CD of “Guided Meditation Practice”.
When they come back the next week, I present “mindfulness as a way to manage attention and I explain the usefulness of practicing “mindfulness” using the CD between sessions. We begin each session discussing their discoveries and difficulties with their practice and during the session I continuously make links with the abilities they are developing by practicing “mindfulness”.
“Mindfulness” practice helps them to develop “psychological flexibility” and the therapeutic goals are reached much more rapidly. At the end of the treatment, they almost always evaluate “mindfulness” as the most precious tool they got from the therapy.
Who is the author of “The Mindful Way Through Depression” and how can one procure it?
The book, The Mindful Way through Depression, is co-authored by: Mark William’s John Teasdale, Zindel Segal, and Jon Kabat-Zinn. It includes a CD of about 7 mindfulness meditations, led by JKZ.
Enjoyed comments from colleagues!
I encourage my clients to identify an experience that when recalled takes them back to that wonderful feeling of joy and satisfaction….then have them pay attention to when their thoughts are NOT in a good place, and re-direct their thoughts to that wonderful feeling experience to better take control of thinking more positively. MY good feeling experience is of holding one of my 2 year old granddaughters while we are hugging each other….sends my good vibration through the roof…and THAT feels SOOOOO good–turns my day around! Thanks for the posts! I’m grateful.
Ok… well when someone presents with pain and requires chiropractic and because I work as a remedial massage therapist, I do a number of things depending on the client/patient… (I trained as a beauty therapist many years ago too and learned a wonderful facial massage known as the Viennese facial massage and I have also studied acupressure..) so. I will often end a treatment with a shoulder massage and then following on with a facial massage including some facial acupuncture and movements of the Viennese massage… Sometimes this is in total silence and sometimes I make quiet suggestions regarding relaxation – such as asking the patient to really give me the weight of the head (which is around 10lbs) and one feels the neck muscles release instantly… within ten minutes one can assist the patient into a state of complete relaxation….
If I am teaching the Alexander Technique – I often give a gentle ‘talk through’ whilst they lie in semi-supine position on the floor into becoming fully present through listening to my voice or the ticking of the clock and sensations in their body while I gentle move their limbs or head etc….. I call both these things Bodymindfulness – using the bodily senses to become present. It is an additional therapeutic process which my patients/Alexander students or massage clients enjoy – and I also ‘touch base’ when I administer this too :)! It’s a win/win 🙂 x
My client had been on antidepressants > ten years. For two years following voluntary cessation of her medication, which happened very slowly over a six month period, she suffered chronic feelings of panic in the pit of her stomach which would wake her up every night, in the middle of the night, without fail. She also suffered these attacks randomly throughout the day with no apparent triggers. She was seriously lacking restorative sleep and found it very difficult to function normally. Eight months ago she began and continues to practice simply focussing on her breath (feeling the cool air of the in-breath and the warm air of the out-breath); consciously coming back to the breath when her mind wanders. After a few weeks she was able to extend this practice by consciously breathing into the area within her body where and when she felt her “panic attacks”. She is currently getting 5 – 7 hours sleep per night, instead of 2 – 3; her “panic attacks” are virtually nil. Her level of depression, generalized anxiety and social phobia are also significantly reduced. Her self report: “I feel calm for the first time in my life and I feel like I might actually have a future!”
“The Universe is asking us to ‘let go’ of all false gurus and doctrines, and embrace our personal power as Masters of Joy. There is a growing awareness of the rampant parasitic consciousness that is pervading our entire collective field of reality. Our bodies are infested with virus/bacteria/parasites, our emotions are triggered by negative electromagnetic frequency generators, and our minds are invaded by debilitating fear/scarcity programming. The truth must be revealed so that we can disentangle from the contagion of dark forces hosting on our life force.” Meg Benedicte
I teach mindful eating & breathing techniques to my clients who see me for emotional eating issues. And for the others, I teach breathing and mindfulness techniques. I start most sessions or groups with breathing and ‘dropping’ into the body. It is very satisfying and helpful to clients.
A simple tool stored right in my brain…its quick, powerful, calms my pain…
I work on site to heal my “SELF”…. I’m in the “NOW”, meds reshelf
Abra cadabra change thoughts to here…right now… All free, up to me… lift a finger…tap a brow…
My personal antidote to combat anxiety … One,two,three all for FREE… your GIFT…right here…right Now!
It’s just in your head…you are not dead..
WOW… ZOW… CALICO COW … Belief in “SELF”…… watching “ELF” …keeping both sides balanced…. Take care… all by Myself… Yippee ki ya… Have a great day ….. for Dr Ruth… for Dr.Goldstein
You reached me…thank you… That’s what I have to say….for now! Ciao
video not displaying.. so disappointing but I know you will fix. You just needed to know right?
To Claire and Dianne…first time i’ve needed to do this, but at first the video wouldn’t load. Went back to Ruth’s initial message and clicked back in again, message on my screen from my computer asking if I wanted it to download all of the msg and notified me of the ‘risks’…I clicked yes, and the video appeared. Hope this helps! b
I could not access the web page. Right below your comment that it is a one minute video the message said
“Navigation Cancelled”
Two forms of mindfulness I find the most effective.
One: when I catch myself mentally screaming criticism or ridicule inside, I simply notice it, and realize that voice is not mine, it’s my mother’s and my brother’s and I truly do not accept that abuse any more. When I’m particularly frustrated with my slowness, I think about the concept of being GENTLE with a small child.
When self-consciously activated in a group, I eventually realize I have defaulted to the primitive vagal branch, because I can’t think and go into a dazed glaze-over, so I literally try to think/realize that I’m not thinking and breath! But truly this is difficult because the realization IS delayed. It would help to have a side-kick to communicate what just happened!
The next step in this process will be to learn to focus on individual faces in a group rather than close them out of my visual field.
My view from the other side of the couch is that meditation has been the most helpful part of my journey from wellness to living with incurable illness. It doesn’t necessarily give me longevity but it has enriched what days remain. I am eternally grateful to those mental health professionals who have participated in mini meditations in session with me.
Mary,
I just “lost” my original posting to you, so here it is again- your comments about meditation practice and how it has helped you really caught my attention. Would you be willing to say more about that? I have been using breath and meditation techniques in my practice and feel it is an essential part of our work. I would love to hear about how you have worked with it.
Thank you and best to you,
Joanna C.
Thank you for a very useful video from David. It confirms my own use of meditation with people suffering from anxiety and depression. I have been teaching clients the focused breathing meditation approach. This can quickly shift their autonomic nervous system into relaxation, distracts them from anxious and depressing thoughts and, when practiced fairly frequently, enables them to permanently overcome their anxiety and depression. The process is very quick and easy to teach, easy for the client to remember, and can be used in stressful situations without others being aware that it is being used.