Mindfulness & Psychotherapy

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Course Description

Mindfulness training has its roots in 2500 years of Buddhist psychology and meditation practices. A variety of mindfulness oriented practices derived from contemplative religious and spiritual traditions have gradually found their way into contemporary forms of psychotherapy and the healing arts. Particularly in North America and Europe, mindfulness has become an integral part of the zeitgeist of clinical psychology, making important contributions to psychotherapeutic theory and evidence-based clinical applications. With this paradigm shift a number of forms of psychotherapy have adapted the core conceptual and experiential characteristics of mindfulness practices that add to their clinical utility in treating a wide variety of therapeutic issues. This workshop will present mindfulness as a meta-skill that can enhance therapeutic awareness and presence for both client and therapist, thereby increasing the probability of positive therapeutic outcome.

Course Objectives

  • Introduce foundational theoretical and experiential frameworks of mindfulness and their application to psychotherapy, behavioral health and well-being
  • Provide structured mindfulness exercises relating to body awareness, stress reduction, cognitive processes, emotional regulation and self-development
  • Describe, compare and discuss evidence-based applications of mindfulness-based psychotherapies found in :
    • Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy
      • Anxiety and Depression
    • Dialectical Behavioral Therapy
      • Core Skills Building (distress tolerance, emotional regulation, interpersonal effectiveness)
    • Psychophysiological (somatoform) Disorders
      • Stress (muscular tension, headache), chronic pain,, insomnia, gastrointestinal disorders, arthritis, fibromyalgia
  • Acceptance and Commitment Therapy

Course Outcomes

  • Participants will be able to:
    • Identify, describe, and discuss foundational concepts pertaining to mindfulness, mindfulness-based psychotherapies and structured mindfulness exercises
    • Discuss the application of mindfulness-based psychotherapy addressing a variety of clinical issues such as anxiety, depression, core skills building, and psychophysiological disorders
    • Demonstrate rudimentary skills in the application of mindfulness in psychotherapy through basic interviewing, role plays or evaluating case vignette
    • Demonstrate rudimentary skills in structured mindfulness practices:
      • Participants will have experienced structured experiential mindfulness exercises within the classroom setting
      • Participants will be able to incorporate structured mindfulness practices into their personal lives, tracking progress and growing edges through journaling and mindfulness logs

Workshop Dates

Workshop Dates

To Be Announced

Registration

As class dates are finalized, registration information will be made available.