Mindfulness

Mindfulness is a therapeutic technique that helps you to focus your awareness on the present moment, while calmly and without judgement acknowledging your feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations. Mindfulness creates room for you to make clearer choices, feel more in control of your life, be calmer and make healthy decisions, and ultimately find more joy by noticing the positive details of our life and relationships.

By using Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) I will help you to change the way you think (cognition) which will change the way you act (behaviour). CBT looks at ‘negative spirals’ where your dysfunctional thoughts lead to feelings and physical sensations that then lead to destructive actions. Changing these cycles means that anxiety and depression become more manageable. So CBT sets out to help you manage your problems in a more positive way by identifying and changing unhelpful thinking patterns.

During the therapy we will question all negative assumptions. So by changing your thoughts, you are changing your feelings, mood and physical energy for the better.

You will learn how to to think with a wider and more positive perspective over always thinking the worst, or always indulging in the extremes of ‘black and white’ thinking.

I also use Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) to help you to manage stress and anxiety. Instead of trying to push the negative thoughts you are having out of consciousness, MBCT leads you to accepting them without judgement and letting them drift from your mind without attaching too much meaning to them.

Clients that have learned mindfulness through cognitive therapy (CBT and MBCT) report to experiencing long-lasting physical and psychological stress reduction, positive changes in well-being and a much lower likelihood to get stuck in depression and exhaustion, and are better able to control addictive behaviour.