Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy In Austin, TX

What Is Mindfulness?

Mindfulness is the practice of being aware of your being in the present. Being mindful allows you to be fully present and understand how you feel, where you are, and what you are doing. This in turn allows you to not feel overwhelmed and react with a more present mind, bringing awareness and caring into what you do.

Mindfulness is innate, however, it’s not a trait that only few possess. It can be cultivated through a variety of techniques involving meditation and exercises. This can also include activities that promote a present mind such as yoga or sports. It’s a way of living, and not a simple exercise.

It does not require you to change. It simply recognizes who we are as persons and cultivates those qualities in a manner that allows you to grow as a person.

Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy incorporates mindfulness practices into cognitive therapy. This is achieved through the use of stress reduction activities familiar with mindfulness, such as meditation and the use of breathing exercises.

By using these tools, therapists who practice mindfulness-based cognitive therapy are able to offer treatment for a variety of concerns, including depression. This allows for the person in question to address their negative thought patterns before they spiral out of control.

What To Expect During Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy

Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy provides you with the tools you need to identify constructive ways in which you can properly respond to negative thought patterns. These tools can include learning meditation techniques which allow you to process your feelings in a constructive way. It also involves learning the basics of cognition and how your thoughts make you feel.

By learning these tools, you can move away from automatic responses that could be perceived as negative. In turn, this will allow you to take action when negative emotions start and provides you with the tools you need to replace those thought patterns with others which are more positive.

Phase 1: History Taking

Before beginning EMDR, your trauma therapist will get to know more about your experiences and symptoms. This step is for you to share about events in your past that may be affecting your current mindset.

Phase 2: Preparation

This stage is about ensuring your readiness for EMDR. Even though EMDR therapy for trauma is completely safe, it can be problematic for individuals who commonly experience dissociation. As a safeguard, your trauma therapist will work with you to create your own “calm place” to concentrate on if you feel distressed.

Phase 3: Assessment

It’s now time to choose a target to be reprocessed during your next few sessions. In doing so, you’ll need to identify a vivid image related to the memory, a negative cognition about yourself associated with it, and emotions and bodily sensations that accompany both. Your therapist will then have you challenge that negative cognition with a cognitive one. They will have you rate how true your positive cognition feels and how much distress the target memory causes you on a scale from 1-10.

Phase 4: Desensitization

This is where Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing comes into play. When you feel ready, your therapist will guide you to process your negative feelings and memories using bilateral eye movements to facilitate the brain’s healing process. This will help to ground you and take more directed focus on the thoughts, feelings, and images associated with your target. Every minute or so, your therapist will check in on what you’ve noticed and ask you to rate how much discomfort you’re now feeling. When you no longer report distress related to your targeted memory, you move onto the next step.

Phase 5: Installation

Next, your attention will be brought back to the positive cognition you identified earlier. Your trauma/PTSD therapist will recheck how true this belief now feels. The goal is to get this belief to feel like it’s 100 percent true.

Phase 6: Body Scan

You will now be asked to check your body for any areas of tension in your body caused by the target memory. Are your teeth clenched? Is your chest tight? Any uncomfortable physical sensations will be reprocessed using the same procedure as before until you can think of the target memory without feeling any tension.

Phase 7: Closure

At the end of every session, your trauma counselor will make sure that you are leaving feeling more relaxed than when you arrived. If you are feeling agitated, they will lead you through self-calming techniques until you regain your sense of control.

Phase 8: Reevaluation

At the beginning of each subsequent session, your therapist will ask you questions to ensure your positive beliefs have been maintained. This will also help them to identify any new problem areas that may need to be targeted.

EMDR therapy for trauma is considered a success once you are able to bring up memories of trauma without feeling the distress that brought you to therapy. Your trauma therapist will also provide you with the techniques and skills you need going forward to deal with upsetting feelings.

Who Is Mindfulness Therapy Useful For?

Mindfulness therapy is useful for those who have recurring episodes of depression or unhappiness. It’s effective at treating a myriad of conditions, including anxiety disorders and addictions. By providing you the tools you need to process your feelings, you will be able to regain a mindset that will help you regain the life you wish to live.

Phase 1: History Taking

Before beginning EMDR, your trauma therapist will get to know more about your experiences and symptoms. This step is for you to share about events in your past that may be affecting your current mindset.

Phase 2: Preparation

This stage is about ensuring your readiness for EMDR. Even though EMDR therapy for trauma is completely safe, it can be problematic for individuals who commonly experience dissociation. As a safeguard, your trauma therapist will work with you to create your own “calm place” to concentrate on if you feel distressed.

Phase 3: Assessment

It’s now time to choose a target to be reprocessed during your next few sessions. In doing so, you’ll need to identify a vivid image related to the memory, a negative cognition about yourself associated with it, and emotions and bodily sensations that accompany both. Your therapist will then have you challenge that negative cognition with a cognitive one. They will have you rate how true your positive cognition feels and how much distress the target memory causes you on a scale from 1-10.

Phase 4: Desensitization

This is where Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing comes into play. When you feel ready, your therapist will guide you to process your negative feelings and memories using bilateral eye movements to facilitate the brain’s healing process. This will help to ground you and take more directed focus on the thoughts, feelings, and images associated with your target. Every minute or so, your therapist will check in on what you’ve noticed and ask you to rate how much discomfort you’re now feeling. When you no longer report distress related to your targeted memory, you move onto the next step.

Phase 5: Installation

Next, your attention will be brought back to the positive cognition you identified earlier. Your trauma/PTSD therapist will recheck how true this belief now feels. The goal is to get this belief to feel like it’s 100 percent true.

Phase 6: Body Scan

You will now be asked to check your body for any areas of tension in your body caused by the target memory. Are your teeth clenched? Is your chest tight? Any uncomfortable physical sensations will be reprocessed using the same procedure as before until you can think of the target memory without feeling any tension.

Phase 7: Closure

At the end of every session, your trauma counselor will make sure that you are leaving feeling more relaxed than when you arrived. If you are feeling agitated, they will lead you through self-calming techniques until you regain your sense of control.

Phase 8: Reevaluation

At the beginning of each subsequent session, your therapist will ask you questions to ensure your positive beliefs have been maintained. This will also help them to identify any new problem areas that may need to be targeted.

EMDR therapy for trauma is considered a success once you are able to bring up memories of trauma without feeling the distress that brought you to therapy. Your trauma therapist will also provide you with the techniques and skills you need going forward to deal with upsetting feelings.

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Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy In Austin, TX

What Is Mindfulness?

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What To Expect During Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy

Phase 1: History Taking

Phase 2: Preparation

Phase 3: Assessment

Phase 4: Desensitization

Phase 5: Installation

Phase 6: Body Scan

Phase 7: Closure

Phase 8: Reevaluation

Who Is Mindfulness Therapy Useful For?

Phase 1: History Taking

Phase 2: Preparation

Phase 3: Assessment

Phase 4: Desensitization

Phase 5: Installation

Phase 6: Body Scan

Phase 7: Closure

Phase 8: Reevaluation

Let's Build A Unique Understanding Of Yourself

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