Mindfulness

How I use mindfulness as a counsellor.

I draw on something called ‘mindfulness’ when working with people and tailor this approach to meet the unique needs of each person.

This means that as your therapist, I would encourage you to be reflective and to start listening inwardly to yourself, so that we could see more clearly what is important for you and what needs to be known. This process of listening inwards can be helpful in many ways - it can support you to make decisions in a clearer way in your life and allow you to reconnect to a fuller sense of who you really are.

If you are new to mindfulness, this is a way of noticing yourself now, in this present moment- just as you are. It is something you can practice and ‘grow’ - a different way of being aware of yourself and of noticing your life and the world.

I can help you learn how to develop mindfulness. This can be done by slowing down, noticing things more and by describing and accepting what you find. It’s not harsh or judgmental, it's an inner attitude of interest and curiosity, that welcomes and receives yourself and what you are perceiving.

Sometimes it is also described as like having an inner 'witness' inside yourself, that notices, names and acknowledges your emotional feelings, your thoughts and body sensations, without trying to change them.

Research has shown that practicing mindfulness can have a positive impact on steadying moods, (less ups and downs) and on our concentration. It can support better decision making and reduce impulsive behaviour, allowing us to make healthier choices around food, drink, relationships, our bodies and work.

Mindfulness is a capacity we all have, if we chose to shift in our focus and let ourselves slow down so we notice what is happening within us and outside of us.

The mindfulness teacher Christina Feldman, says that; 

 “Mindfulness has a flavor; it is not passive, resigned, or static, but alive, vital, receptive, and responsive. Within mindfulness there is a quality of wise acceptance and welcome… As we find the willingness within ourselves to turn our attention towards those things we most fear or dislike, we discover that one of the great mysteries of mindfulness is its power to turn our enemies into allies. The most direct path to transformation and wisdom is to turn our attention towards whatever we most deeply wish to flee from”. (The Buddhist Path to Simplicity)