Change your thoughts and change your world…
Radical acceptance means that you learn to accept yourself and others without judgment. It is a skill that can be learned in an afternoon, yet take a lifetime to master, especially in Western cultures where we are conditioned to strive for certain ideals of perfection. We are told by the media that if we don’t … Read more
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) was developed as a method of introducing the techniques of Mindfulness into psychotherapy. ACT is based on Relational Frame Theory (RFT), which is a theoretical framework developed by Steven Hayes of the University of Nevada. RFT is a way of looking at how language influences behavior, and how behavior influences … Read more
In our ongoing effort to improve the quality of the courses we offer, we will be applying to the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC) to be able to provide LIVE continuing education opportunities in addition to our online offerings. As part of this process we are offering this FREE two-hour course on Ethics in … Read more
“God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.” -The Serenity Prayer of Reinhold Niebuhr Many of us are familiar with the Serenity Prayer. It deals with the dialectic of Acceptance vs. Change. This dialectic may be illustrated as … Read more
Mindfulness is the art of being effective. This simply means doing more of what works and less of what doesn’t work. As you continue to hone your ability to focus only on one thing at a time, this skill can be extended to problem-solving. When you become mindfully aware of a problem with the idea … Read more
I love strawberries. I can nibble on them all day long. There have been times when I have been engaged in other activities while eating strawberries. I may be sitting at the computer, typing away, blissfully chewing strawberries. As I munch away, with my attention on the computer and not on the strawberries, I am … Read more
Fully participating can be described as a state in which we are in the present moment, devoid of thoughts or anxiety about the past or the future. Fully participating is most closely associated with Baer’s “act with awareness” factor of the Five Factor Model of Mindfulness. To participate fully in any activity is to be … Read more
“Whatever you are doing, ask yourself, ‘What’s the state of my mind?’”– Dalai Lama, 1999 Baer et al (2006) described five factors associated with Mindfulness. These factors are: observe, describe, act with awareness, non-judge and non-react. These five factors can be measured by several instruments, and have been shown to be good predictors of psychological … Read more
The first ‘C’ of mindful mood management is ‘compassion.’ Compassion is a re-examination of our core values by asking ourselves two questions, and answering honestly. The two questions are: Emotionally aggressive people are passionate people. We care deeply. By channeling that passion into compassion, we can live the lives we were meant to live by … Read more
Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) is a blending of Mindfulness and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy techniques. It was developed in 2002 by Segal, Williams and Teasdale for the treatment of depression. It was specifically developed to prevent recurrence of depressive symptoms after a successful therapeutic intervention. MBCT is composed of eight sessions, or lessons. During the first … Read more