By John Lee, LMHC, Post Traumatic Stress / Trauma Topic Expert Contributor

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Peter Strong, PhD. is an expert in the treatment of PTSD. His theory in the treatment of PTSD is “The key to changing habitual reactivity is to learn how to relate to the underlying emotional energy that compels you to react.” Peter also bases his practice near Boulder, Colorado on using core mindfulness in the treatment of PTSD.

Interestingly, Peter Strong PhD. and this writer make use of the mindfulness treatment strategy. For many years while treating people with schizophrenia I taught core mindfulness as part of my group therapy. Surprisingly, many who practiced learned to tune out the voices they were hearing. The first step what leads up to the reaction of hearing voices? And what many have said they have done. One popular technique many began to practice was using the self talk “Stop, This isn’t me, This is My Illness.” For a few this began to really work, and then the few who really applied it were ready to take it a step further. What I taught them next was the brain receives its information was through their five senses. What one saw, felt, heard smelled sometimes could trigger a reaction. Interestingly, this small group really got into this as they were realizing and experiencing saying “Stop, this isn’t me” seemed to help. I then would take them for a walk to get into the moment. By totally focusing on the experience of what the rose smelled like, what the trees looked like, what the chirping of the birds sounded like, and what the lemonade tasted like, people with schizophrenia began to experience the voices weren’t as loud. That by focusing on the experience of the moment they were also slowly training their minds new habits which could lead to tuning down the volume of the voices. Continuing to practice focusing on the wind against their chin and hearing the birds they slowly began to experience when they would even talk to another person their voices would become softer and not as noticeable. By learning to turn down the voices by practicing in the moment techniques, many began to stay out of the inpatient unit. Read the rest of this entry

By Becki A. Hein, MS, LPC, Anxiety Topic Expert Contributor

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You’re worried about money. You’re afraid you’ll catch the flu. You can’t sleep because you can’t stop fretting about… your children, your family, your job or lack thereof, the country/government, terrorists, the stock market, pollution, and on and on. Feeling overwhelmed? Anxious? Then it’s time to get back in the driver’s seat of your own mind! There are things you can do to take control and calm yourself. Did you ever notice that all your worries, no matter what you’re worried about, are about something that hasn’t happened yet? Something you made up in your mind. Anxiety is all about the future. But the only way the future exists is as a thought in your brain. When you are anxious, you are actually fantasizing the worst about some imaginary event and feeling actual fear about it. From a logical standpoint, that doesn’t make much sense does it? Sure, some of the things you are worried about may happen, but you’re using valuable energy to be scared about them. Energy that could be better spent planning, preparing, or paying attention to what’s going on around you right now. Read the rest of this entry

A GoodTherapy.org News Headline

Neurological exercises, logical thinking, and meditation are just some of the methods through which people regularly challenge their minds, whether as a necessity or by choice. Recently, a noted neuroscientist has predicted that by the year 2050, mental exercise will be as prevalent as exercise focusing on the physical body. Noting that benefits can range from greater memory recall to an increase in general well-being, the expert backs up his theory with research showing that those who participate in activities like meditation exhibit increased brain activity. As the popularity of mental exercise grows, the prediction may well turn out to be true, causing a boost to international mental health.

© Copyright 2009 by http://www.GoodTherapy.org Therapist Coral Gables Bureau - All Rights Reserved.

By Becki A. Hein, MS, LPC, Anxiety Topic Expert Contributor

Click here to contact Becki and/or see her GoodTherapy.org Profile

One of the most common requests I get from clients in my psychotherapy practice is “Please help me get rid of this anxiety!” I then get to explain the Bad news and the Good news. The Bad news is that you are not going to get rid of your anxiety. In fact, it would be harmful to not be able to feel anxious. Anxiety and fear come with being alive. Anxiety can be useful when it causes you to be extra alert or careful, such as when you are walking to your car in a dark parking lot or when you are taking a test. Human beings were designed to feel anxious when faced with danger or a challenge. The fight or flight response is triggered causing adrenaline and other chemicals to increase heart rate, blood pressure, and respiration, narrow our focus of attention, and enable us to do what we need to do to stay alive. However, human beings were not designed to be chronically anxious. Recent studies have shown that chronic anxiety plays a major part in either causing or exacerbating several physical illnesses, including heart disease, gastrointestinal disorders, and chronic respiratory disorders. Therefore, it is a good thing to learn to manage your anxiety. That brings us to the Good news. Read the rest of this entry

By Michael Etts, LMSW, NBCCH

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“Man’s task is to become conscious of the contents that press upward from the unconscious.” — Carl Gustav Jung

“If she walked into my life again” came onto the radio. He raised his hand as if in a silent request, then closed his eyes and dropped his head slightly to the right. His previously opaque face had become flush with emotion and I almost didn’t recognize him. It was clear that he had left his 82 year old body behind and was returning to a memory whose raw power was palpable. Everyone knew it was time to be quiet.

In my silence, I began to wonder about his life choices and his regrets. And more generally, what causes people to make regrettable choices and what makes good choices possible? And all I could think was how it all leads back to the unconscious. Although I feel in control when I have my hands are on the steering wheel, I believe that it is my unconscious which actually makes the turns. The task then, of a fully conscious person, is to uncover those unconscious motivations so that fully informed choices are possible. Read the rest of this entry

A GoodTherapy.org News Summary

Most people who have engaged in psychotherapy sessions will report that the atmosphere of a therapist’s office, and the calm direction and safe space created therein, are key components of the healing process. Indeed, the ability to slow down and take a kind of break from the activity and interactions of the day is valuable for a majority of clients. This concept is being brought outside the office, as well; meditation and mindfulness practices are rapidly gaining momentum as a popular way to relax amid the financial stress present for many people these days, as well as its many ramifications. A recent survey reported that over 20 million Americans had tried meditation, a steep increase over previous years. As many therapists begin to incorporate mindfulness principles into their work, the benefits are showing great promise.

© Copyright 2009 by http://www.GoodTherapy.org Therapist Colorado Springs Bureau - All Rights Reserved.

By Gary Seeman, Ph.D.

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Awareness is Ever-Present

To be aware is to witness. And our witnessing selves are always there when we dream, [1] in daily activities, when feeling emotions, and in states of excitement or distress. We are constantly aware, though our focus may be clear or muddled. Without awareness, there is no consciousness. But awareness is hard to see. It is ever-present, like the air we breathe.

Although always present, awareness may not be remembered. For example, we may walk around a table while moving from one room to another. But we let our perception of the table recede from consciousness without storing memories that are easily retrieved. The encoding of memory depends in part on the intensity of experience, whether this intensity is influenced by the strength of a sensory perception or an emotional response.

We are self-aware when we attend to representations of experience – whether drawn from memory or visualizing a possible scenario. In psychotherapy, we train awareness on our lived experience to realize our hopes and goals and live more satisfying lives.

Every form of psychotherapy has methods to enhance awareness. This reflects the central role of improving the quality of awareness in the process of mental healing. Read the rest of this entry

By Lori Granger, LMFT

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Mindfulness is everywhere, and it seems to work like magic for everything from high blood pressure to low self-esteem.

You read about it in the last edition of this newsletter, last month’s Psychology Today, you may even have casually caught Jon Kabat-Zinn – the father of mainstream mindfulness – on Oprah a few months ago guiding a meditation for millions.

You may even have heard Jon define mindfulness as “paying attention, on purpose, in a particular way and non-judgmentally”. You may have read the outcome research on the effectiveness of mindfulness interventions in reducing stress, chronic pain, lowering blood pressure, increasing immune system function, reducing heart disease and alleviating GAD, panic, depression, mania and preventing relapse from addictions. Thinking “…wow! I’ve got to try this!” you may, in fact, now guide your clients in short mindful exercises that you learned in a day long seminar for CEU’s. Read the rest of this entry

By Sherry Gaba, LCSW

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You may be a single parent by choice, divorced, widowed, never married or thinking about what parenting would be like without a partner. Many of the single parents who enter my office are often overwhelmed, stressed out, guilt-ridden, and full of angst. Mindfulness single parenting allows you to parent in the moment in a non-judgmental way on purpose with grace, wisdom, and compassion for yourself and your children. Guilt melts away into un-conditional acceptance that your are doing the best you can. Becoming reactive when your child misbehaves is replaced with seeing clearly what is really going on underneath the surface of your child’s acting out. You become more attuned with what your child is truly feeling. By parenting consciously and looking at your child’s point of view, you let go of your own agenda. You begin to see that sometimes your children’s behavior could be a manifestation of feeling different. Instead of labeling yourself as “less than” because you are a single parent, you surrender to the loss without trying to fix or enable your child’s discomfort so that you can run away from the pain. You face the truth with your child head on with self love and empathy. You cultivate an acceptance of what you and your child are experiencing right now in the present moment. Read the rest of this entry

By Sarah Jenkins, MC, LPC

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“When I counted up my demons I saw there was one for every day. But with the good ones on my shoulder, I drove the other ones away.” – Coldplay

Riding the Train

I stood on my yoga mat, the sound of my breath pounding in my ears like the thunderous sound of a train in transit. Each wayward thought competed to hijack the breath and the mantra of “peace” that I started my yoga practice with that day. My sense of calm desperately clamored to stay onboard, while my thoughts gallivanted about like wild monkeys wrestling to derail it. “No, lets go here.” “Yep, wander off. Get distracted” And witnessing it, with loving kindness, I would have to bring myself back to my breath. I would find “peace” in the spaces in between the thoughts; they were heavenly “stops” where my “monkey mind” would just rest and let me focus on riding the breath. Course, they started again. You know they always do. But those moments were magnificent, and the very essence of “peace” that I sought. I just had to trust that more stops would come. And they do. So, I returned to my breath, and followed it, back to true myself again. And the journey continues.

Showing Up

So, lets just put this out there; anyone who says that mediation, yoga, or other activities that promote mindfulness are “easy,” just haven’t experienced them. You and I both also know that it can initially take a greater sense of effort to just “be in the moment” than to just allow the monkey like thoughts to take over. But, many find that the benefits of showing up for such practices can far outweigh the effort that it can take to just get on the mat in the first place.

Don’t get me wrong; I am no yoga instructor, but I am a trauma counselor who cherishes yoga, especially what it offers clients and myself. I especially encourage my clients with trauma histories to consider a yoga practice as part of their daily living, and here is why. Read the rest of this entry