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Talk therapy aka
counseling/psychotherapy is a main component of how clients
utilize counseling/psychotherapy as an aid to assist in
their unique healing process. As the holidays near, more
clients reach out for counseling to help them process a past
trauma, stressors, losses associated with that time frame.
Mindfulness is part of a
therapeutic intervention of dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT).
It is used much like cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) in
helping clients change their thinking; it makes changes to
their feelings and that leads to a changed behavior.
Dialectical Behavioral
therapy is doing the opposite of what clients would normally
do if they feel they are not living a life with healthy
coping mechanisms. For example, if after hearing some not
so good news a person becomes angry, isolated, sad and
unmotivated, using DBT asks one to do the opposite: keep his
composure, go around friends and family, stay motivated and
think and feel more positive. No easy tasks and it takes
much practice. Mindfulness means to stay in the moment.
This year for Thanksgiving
instead of traditional family visits and food, I went on a
vacation, a sunny vacation. On the second day, my brother
texted me to say that our father had passed away. I still
had three days remaining on my vacation that had been
planned and paid for in advance.
I was most worried about
how to break the news to my nine year- old son who was also
having a great time in the sun. I decided to be mindful
and do my best to enjoy my vacation. At many moments I was
distracted by the warmth of the sun and when I began to
think too deeply, I did the opposite and stayed in my moment
and my place….vacation.
Take a mental health
moment and assess your ability to be mindful. As life can
be very unpredictable and not always what we want or expect,
you can be prepared with a strategy to keep you mentally and
emotional stable.
Bernadette Graham
is a Licensed Professional Counselor, National Certified
Counselor and Certified Grief Recovery Specialist. She is in
private practice serving as a mental health counselor and
available for presentations and speaking engagements on
mental health topics. For appointments or to provide
feedback you may contact her at graham.bernadette@gmail.com
or 419.409.4929.
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