Comments on: Know Thyself: The Role of Awareness in Psychotherapy http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/mindfulness-in-psychotherapy/ Exploring Healthy Psychotherapy Fri, 10 Feb 2012 01:06:51 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Gary Seeman, Ph.D. http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/mindfulness-in-psychotherapy/#comment-19005 Gary Seeman, Ph.D. Thu, 11 Jun 2009 04:40:18 +0000 http://www.goodtherapy.org/custom/blog/?p=2215#comment-19005 To FMD: Thank you for your insightful comments, which I fully endorse. To FMD:

Thank you for your insightful comments, which I fully endorse.

]]> By: FMD http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/mindfulness-in-psychotherapy/#comment-19003 FMD Thu, 11 Jun 2009 04:14:30 +0000 http://www.goodtherapy.org/custom/blog/?p=2215#comment-19003 This sentence seems to summarize a big part of what my therapist is trying to help me with: "With awareness we gain increased ability to choose, becoming better able to observe our emotions and bodily states instead of being run by them." She encourages me to try to be "curious" about the feelings and thoughts that come up for me. I am finding that even if I pretend to be curious about them either by thinking or writing, "I'm curious about..." before my thought it has a bit of an "as-if" effect. So maybe eventually I will actually become more curious and less "run" by my feelings/states/judgments/fear/etc. Thanks for another informative article. This sentence seems to summarize a big part of what my therapist is trying to help me with: “With awareness we gain increased ability to choose, becoming better able to observe our emotions and bodily states instead of being run by them.”

She encourages me to try to be “curious” about the feelings and thoughts that come up for me. I am finding that even if I pretend to be curious about them either by thinking or writing, “I’m curious about…” before my thought it has a bit of an “as-if” effect. So maybe eventually I will actually become more curious and less “run” by my feelings/states/judgments/fear/etc.

Thanks for another informative article.

]]> By: Gary Seeman, Ph.D. http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/mindfulness-in-psychotherapy/#comment-18604 Gary Seeman, Ph.D. Sun, 31 May 2009 16:32:23 +0000 http://www.goodtherapy.org/custom/blog/?p=2215#comment-18604 I'm glad that therapy has been so helpful for those who have recently commented. Two themes emerge, increased awareness and strength. I believe these go together when a person opens up and grows in therapy and have recently written an article on this that's posted on my website: "The Psychology of Mental Toughness: How Therapy Makes You Stronger." That article can be found here: http://drgaryseeman.com/resources/Toughness.php I’m glad that therapy has been so helpful for those who have recently commented. Two themes emerge, increased awareness and strength. I believe these go together when a person opens up and grows in therapy and have recently written an article on this that’s posted on my website: “The Psychology of Mental Toughness: How Therapy Makes You Stronger.” That article can be found here:

http://drgaryseeman.com/resources/Toughness.php

]]> By: Summer http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/mindfulness-in-psychotherapy/#comment-18588 Summer Sun, 31 May 2009 05:17:39 +0000 http://www.goodtherapy.org/custom/blog/?p=2215#comment-18588 After being treated as a doormat for years, I mustered even self-confidence to hit therapy. I am a totally changed person today and very self aware of the person I am. After being treated as a doormat for years, I mustered even self-confidence to hit therapy. I am a totally changed person today and very self aware of the person I am.

]]> By: Joanne http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/mindfulness-in-psychotherapy/#comment-18302 Joanne Mon, 25 May 2009 19:58:47 +0000 http://www.goodtherapy.org/custom/blog/?p=2215#comment-18302 The greatest thing about therapy for me is that when I started I had no real awareness of who I was at all but now I am a completely changed woman. I know more about my past and how that affects my present than I could have ever known. Yes being self aware is important, but having the ability to become even more so is priceless. The greatest thing about therapy for me is that when I started I had no real awareness of who I was at all but now I am a completely changed woman. I know more about my past and how that affects my present than I could have ever known. Yes being self aware is important, but having the ability to become even more so is priceless.

]]> By: Julie http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/mindfulness-in-psychotherapy/#comment-18211 Julie Sat, 23 May 2009 12:27:39 +0000 http://www.goodtherapy.org/custom/blog/?p=2215#comment-18211 I would be completely baffled by anyone in therapy who truly did not want to make a difference for himself. I have been through therapy and believe me it was awful hard work to just be going through the motions. There were of course sessions that I felt like I got more out of than others but in the end the end result was that I was a much stronger and self aware person. Anyone who does not really want this for himself should just stay out of the therapy mix! I would be completely baffled by anyone in therapy who truly did not want to make a difference for himself. I have been through therapy and believe me it was awful hard work to just be going through the motions. There were of course sessions that I felt like I got more out of than others but in the end the end result was that I was a much stronger and self aware person. Anyone who does not really want this for himself should just stay out of the therapy mix!

]]> By: Gary Seeman, Ph.D. http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/mindfulness-in-psychotherapy/#comment-18195 Gary Seeman, Ph.D. Sat, 23 May 2009 04:38:11 +0000 http://www.goodtherapy.org/custom/blog/?p=2215#comment-18195 To Rita or anyone else who has serious mental health concerns about themselves or a loved one, it's good you're reaching out for help. It's essential, though, to do more than ask advice on a blog but to actually consult a qualified mental health professional in person, someone who can do a proper evaluation with treatment recommendations. The mental health professionals best trained for diagnosis are psychologists and psychiatrists. The best way to find a psychologist is to consult your county's psychological association, which can be found online or in your local yellow pages. (In my area, you would look for San Francisco Psychological Association, for instance.) The psychological association isn't a commercial referral service but is the official organization of psychologists in your area. To find a psychiatrist, contact your local medical association. If you have mental health coverage in your insurance, they can provide you with a list of local, qualified psychologists and psychiatrists who are on their provider panel. Finally, if you believe that the situation may be an emergency, it's best to call 911, contact your local law enforcement agency, or go to the nearest hospital emergency room. To Rita or anyone else who has serious mental health concerns about themselves or a loved one, it’s good you’re reaching out for help. It’s essential, though, to do more than ask advice on a blog but to actually consult a qualified mental health professional in person, someone who can do a proper evaluation with treatment recommendations. The mental health professionals best trained for diagnosis are psychologists and psychiatrists. The best way to find a psychologist is to consult your county’s psychological association, which can be found online or in your local yellow pages. (In my area, you would look for San Francisco Psychological Association, for instance.) The psychological association isn’t a commercial referral service but is the official organization of psychologists in your area. To find a psychiatrist, contact your local medical association. If you have mental health coverage in your insurance, they can provide you with a list of local, qualified psychologists and psychiatrists who are on their provider panel. Finally, if you believe that the situation may be an emergency, it’s best to call 911, contact your local law enforcement agency, or go to the nearest hospital emergency room.

]]> By: Rita http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/mindfulness-in-psychotherapy/#comment-18181 Rita Sat, 23 May 2009 03:38:17 +0000 http://www.goodtherapy.org/custom/blog/?p=2215#comment-18181 I am worried about my child who seems to be creating terabithia for himself. He lives in a fictional world and cant seem to relate to the reality around him. Is this too much of self awareness and too little of the world around him. Its almost like he cuts us off like some kind of static disturbance. He lives in a make believe fairy tale which seems to consume everything he is doing and thinking. I am worried about my child who seems to be creating terabithia for himself. He lives in a fictional world and cant seem to relate to the reality around him. Is this too much of self awareness and too little of the world around him. Its almost like he cuts us off like some kind of static disturbance. He lives in a make believe fairy tale which seems to consume everything he is doing and thinking.

]]> By: Gary Seeman, Ph.D. http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/mindfulness-in-psychotherapy/#comment-18173 Gary Seeman, Ph.D. Fri, 22 May 2009 18:34:26 +0000 http://www.goodtherapy.org/custom/blog/?p=2215#comment-18173 To "Socrates had it partly correct," many people who don't know about CBT and its evolution think of it as a formulaic, symptom-based therapy only. I suppose that a beginning therapist using a cookbook CBT approach could offer a very limited means of therapy. As a therapist with an integrative approach, I find it useful to apply the therapeutic approach most likely to help a particular individual. For people who are overwhelmed by their emotions and who have difficulty implementing changes in their lives, cognitive therapy can be especially helpful, as it encourages them to challenge types of thinking that they may unconsciously be using to talk themselves in depression or anxiety that then makes it harder to cope with their real-life issues. The early promoters and researchers of cognitive behavior therapy weren't the first to call attention to the need for some to engage thinking and analysis to achieve more balanced lives and self-knowledge. The Socratic means of knowing thyself, for instance, is an early model for cognitive therapy, where Socratic questioning is a favorite tool. Scholars from the world's great religions issues commentaries to discern meaning and ways to apply scriptural teachings to daily life. In psychology, the Swiss psychoanalyst, C. G. Jung, discerned four personality functions: thinking opposed to feeling, sensation opposed to intuition as dialectical opposites to each other. Here again, if someone is overwhelmed with feeling, they would lack consciousness and need to explore the thinking function. Current cognitive therapists do case formulations that include feelings and bodily sensations as foci of change work (see the writings of Jacqueline Persons, Ph.D.). Dr. Marsha Linehan's Dialectical Behavior Therapy is described in her book, Cognitive Behavioral Treatment of Borderline Personality Disorder is a sophisticated and multi-faceted approach to helping those who are easily overwhelmed by strong emotional reactions and trauma responses and who can be self-destructive. It's not a cookbook approach by any means but is one of the most sophisticated approaches to therapy I've seen. You're right, of course, in challenging anyone who says that CBT is the only valid approach and who eschews attending to emotions, somatic feelings, and so on. As one who is very much into the healing "art" of psychotherapy, I've found cognitive approaches to be very helpful for some people. To Tiffany: I've found that some of my clients are able to benefit from meditation very quickly. They don't need to meditate to the point of great accomplishment to benefit from learning that they can start to direct their own attention even in the face of the feelings, thoughts and sensations that the mind constantly produces. Many pain management patients, for instance, gain significant relief in an 8 week course of mindfulness meditation, using the methods of Jon Kabat-Zinn. (I learned this recently listening to an audiobook, and the reference doesn't quickly come to mind.) To Shannon: A seasoned therapist observes small interactions and guides a person to attend to their experiences that may be discrepant with their personal narrative. With someone who is very narcissistic, the work is gentle and may take a long time and some of it takes place at the emotional level, letting the person be heard in safety, something they were deprived of in early life. As they relax, emotional issues surface for exploration, and they are encouraged to self-reflect. Dreamwork can also be especially helpful. To “Socrates had it partly correct,” many people who don’t know about CBT and its evolution think of it as a formulaic, symptom-based therapy only. I suppose that a beginning therapist using a cookbook CBT approach could offer a very limited means of therapy. As a therapist with an integrative approach, I find it useful to apply the therapeutic approach most likely to help a particular individual. For people who are overwhelmed by their emotions and who have difficulty implementing changes in their lives, cognitive therapy can be especially helpful, as it encourages them to challenge types of thinking that they may unconsciously be using to talk themselves in depression or anxiety that then makes it harder to cope with their real-life issues. The early promoters and researchers of cognitive behavior therapy weren’t the first to call attention to the need for some to engage thinking and analysis to achieve more balanced lives and self-knowledge.

The Socratic means of knowing thyself, for instance, is an early model for cognitive therapy, where Socratic questioning is a favorite tool. Scholars from the world’s great religions issues commentaries to discern meaning and ways to apply scriptural teachings to daily life.

In psychology, the Swiss psychoanalyst, C. G. Jung, discerned four personality functions: thinking opposed to feeling, sensation opposed to intuition as dialectical opposites to each other. Here again, if someone is overwhelmed with feeling, they would lack consciousness and need to explore the thinking function.

Current cognitive therapists do case formulations that include feelings and bodily sensations as foci of change work (see the writings of Jacqueline Persons, Ph.D.). Dr. Marsha Linehan’s Dialectical Behavior Therapy is described in her book, Cognitive Behavioral Treatment of Borderline Personality Disorder is a sophisticated and multi-faceted approach to helping those who are easily overwhelmed by strong emotional reactions and trauma responses and who can be self-destructive. It’s not a cookbook approach by any means but is one of the most sophisticated approaches to therapy I’ve seen.

You’re right, of course, in challenging anyone who says that CBT is the only valid approach and who eschews attending to emotions, somatic feelings, and so on. As one who is very much into the healing “art” of psychotherapy, I’ve found cognitive approaches to be very helpful for some people.

To Tiffany: I’ve found that some of my clients are able to benefit from meditation very quickly. They don’t need to meditate to the point of great accomplishment to benefit from learning that they can start to direct their own attention even in the face of the feelings, thoughts and sensations that the mind constantly produces. Many pain management patients, for instance, gain significant relief in an 8 week course of mindfulness meditation, using the methods of Jon Kabat-Zinn. (I learned this recently listening to an audiobook, and the reference doesn’t quickly come to mind.)

To Shannon: A seasoned therapist observes small interactions and guides a person to attend to their experiences that may be discrepant with their personal narrative. With someone who is very narcissistic, the work is gentle and may take a long time and some of it takes place at the emotional level, letting the person be heard in safety, something they were deprived of in early life. As they relax, emotional issues surface for exploration, and they are encouraged to self-reflect. Dreamwork can also be especially helpful.

]]> By: Shannon http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/mindfulness-in-psychotherapy/#comment-18157 Shannon Fri, 22 May 2009 11:46:13 +0000 http://www.goodtherapy.org/custom/blog/?p=2215#comment-18157 What happens when people have such a distorted image of who they are and all the while thinking they are self aware but really all they are aware of is the fictionalized version that they have created for themselves? Are most therapists trained to see beyond that? Because otherwise they would just be treating a lie. I don't know what good that would do for the patient but I can really see some people going through therapy, lying the whole time and coming out no better for it in the end. Seems like a waste of time and money on their part to me but I know that there have to be people who are narcissistic enough to do that. What happens when people have such a distorted image of who they are and all the while thinking they are self aware but really all they are aware of is the fictionalized version that they have created for themselves? Are most therapists trained to see beyond that? Because otherwise they would just be treating a lie. I don’t know what good that would do for the patient but I can really see some people going through therapy, lying the whole time and coming out no better for it in the end. Seems like a waste of time and money on their part to me but I know that there have to be people who are narcissistic enough to do that.

]]> By: Tiffany http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/mindfulness-in-psychotherapy/#comment-18145 Tiffany Fri, 22 May 2009 09:47:22 +0000 http://www.goodtherapy.org/custom/blog/?p=2215#comment-18145 This was a very nice article. Very informative. About the kundalini yoga, I think very few of us are actually successful with any kind of meditation technique. It takes years and a lot of time to master this. This was a very nice article. Very informative. About the kundalini yoga, I think very few of us are actually successful with any kind of meditation technique. It takes years and a lot of time to master this.

]]> By: Socrates had it partly correct! http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/mindfulness-in-psychotherapy/#comment-18131 Socrates had it partly correct! Thu, 21 May 2009 22:19:40 +0000 http://www.goodtherapy.org/custom/blog/?p=2215#comment-18131 an unexamined life is a life not worth living...Socrates i think...maybe Plato. how true...but isn’t it just as equally about examining our emotions and somatic feelings, as it is our cognitions...i'm so sick of cbt this and cbt that...it's a very limiting approach and only referenced over and over because its been over researched exclusively by PhD professors who know how to teach psychology, but don't know the art of doing therapy. anyhow,,not to poo-po your article, it's a great article and i appreciate you mentioning the other types of therapy...but cbt, what a superficial bore lacking long term results for most people...i would guess. an unexamined life is a life not worth living…Socrates i think…maybe Plato. how true…but isn’t it just as equally about examining our emotions and somatic feelings, as it is our cognitions…i’m so sick of cbt this and cbt that…it’s a very limiting approach and only referenced over and over because its been over researched exclusively by PhD professors who know how to teach psychology, but don’t know the art of doing therapy. anyhow,,not to poo-po your article, it’s a great article and i appreciate you mentioning the other types of therapy…but cbt, what a superficial bore lacking long term results for most people…i would guess.

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