3 Ways to Bring Mindfulness into Therapy
I’ve been practicing Mindfulness for my own well being for many years and have introduced it to my patients in both individual and group settings, so I’m excited to see how the practice is rapidly becoming a staple of therapy.As a recent article in Mindful magazine notes, “Mindfulness is now the fastest-developing area in mental health … Many therapists have come to regard cultivating moment-to-moment awareness as a curative mechanism that transcends diagnosis, addresses underlying causes of suffering, and serves as an active ingredient in most effective psychotherapies.”[1]Authors Susan M. Pollak, Ronald D. Siegel, Thomas Pedulla explain three ways that therapists can bring Mindfulness into our practices:
- Mindfulness can be a refuge for the therapist
- Mindfulness can deepen the therapeutic relationship
- Mindfulness can be a tool for our patients
I urge you to read the article in its entirety, which is excerpted from the authors’ new book: Sitting Together: Essential Skills for Mindfulness-Based Psychotherapy.I agree wholeheartedly with the authors that Mindfulness practice can help us to be fully present to ourselves and to our patients. It can help us to keep things in perspective, to cope with stress, and prevent burnout. The authors’ tip for using “anchors” to return to the moment when our mind wanders can be invaluable during a difficult therapy session.Another insight is that Mindfulness practice can help us develop the qualities that studies show form successful treatment alliances, in which “therapists are perceived as warm, understanding, and accepting, approaching their patients with an open, collaborative attitude.” [2]Because many therapists are empathetic to our patients’ pain and suffering, Mindfulness can also help to protect us by allowing us to stay in the moment and able to provide therapeutic services, without becoming overwhelmed by our own emotions.What’s good for the doctor is, of course, good for the patient! The authors offer several suggestions for making Mindfulness accessible to the widest range of patients. For skeptical people, they suggest presenting the practice as an experiment, and possibly sharing information from research studies verifying Mindfulness’s benefits.If the patient has a history of trauma, they wisely recommend starting with a gentle meditation “that focuses on sound and being present, rather than following the breath, which can be a trigger for trauma survivors.”[3]As the authors note, we may not turn all of our patients into dedicated meditation practitioners, but we can help them to “find balance, kindness, and fulfillment in their lives.”[4]Peace,Dr. Pamm
[1] Susan M. Pollak, Ronald D. Siegel, Thomas Pedulla, “3 Ways to Bring Mindfulness 1Into Therapy,” Mindful, November 2014.[2] Ibid.[3] Ibid.[4] Ibid.