How might mindfulness be used to work with the withdrawn or difficult child?
The following essay will explore how the integration of mindfulness into the practice of psychotherapy can help to reach withdrawn or difficult children; young people who have lost their connection to themselves and others. The mindful therapist attends to what the client is communicating in the here and now, inviting the client to drop into being and shift their focus down from a mind that needs to get somewhere into the realm of the felt sense.
Entering into the young person’s world requires patience and one pointed attention on their emerging experiences; as they happen in the therapy room. This specific type of attention will be discussed within three states of being; openness, observation and objectivity or triception (Siegal, 2010:121). This triangle of awareness provides a stable base, a sort of viewing platform where one is able to monitor our internal experiences and adjust them accordingly, without judging. The therapist’s ability to self-regulate and attend their own internal world moment by moment, serves to generate a desire in the child to do the same, a desire to be open and curious, observing in the moment experiences as if through the fine lens of a camera, objectively and with clarity.
The withdrawn or difficult can be viewed as having lost touch with their inner world and stuck in repetitive cycles of difficult behaviour and rigid thinking. In this state the young person is out of balance with their mind and body and their ability to connect in relationships, the flow of positive energy is somehow blocked.
‘As this is a triangle of not just energy and information flow, but of well-being, triception is the way we perceive our states ...
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...e to the mind. However, distancing ourselves from these thoughts whilst remaining aware of the sensations we experiences can be a difficult balance.
Seigal points out that
‘objectivity taken to an extreme, has its downsides. It is important to mention here that this discernment, misused, can become a form of dissociation, as some individuals will distance themselves from their own rich inner world’ Seigal 43%
The practice of mindfulness meditation can be useful to encourage clients to connect to themselves in order to recognise that they can be separate from their thoughts and external events whilst maintaining a sense of self. Where clients have experienced a great deal of mistrust in people and adults in particular it is important to reassure the client that they will not disappear from themselves if they are indentified only by their thoughts and experiences.
A phenomenologist, David Abram, in his book The Spell of the Sensuous, discusses that human is “inter-subjective.” (Abram, 36) Phenomenology is a method of getting to truth through observing how phenomena present themselves to the senses and to the mind, as Abram defines, “phenomenology would seek not to explain the world, but to describe as closely as possible the way the world makes itself evident to awareness, the way things first arise in our direct, sensorial experience.” (Abram, 35) Phenomenology poses the terms inter-subjectivity to describe what is real. Subjectivity refers to the essence of the “I”—first-person perspective. Inter-subjectivity is the perspective developed between, called a kind of “We-ness”. In phenomenology, reality is a collective construction—it is not subjective to the individual or is objectively determined by things, but rather it is inter-subjective.
This is noted because the words for “mindfulness” themselves are varied and textured and come in many different definitions, as well as narratives. Having noted that, it is interesting to see that the same thing can be found in the Western tradition of understanding mindfulness in the third-wave psychotherapies.
Underlying each of these claims is the theme of the unification of body and mind into a state of consciousness which greatly facilitates clarity and order in one's awareness. Through the deep periods of rest achieved during levels of transcendental consciousness, t...
The clients will be asked as a group to recall any other times they have had these feelings, with the therapist validating and normalizing clients’ feelings, explaining interactions between childhood trauma and self-image, expectations of others (including difficulty trusting), and any feelings related to power (Slotoroff, 1994). The therapist will ensure that a thorough follow-up of intense emotional provocations is provided for each client for the rest of the sessions. A recorded musical listening exercise while painting or drawing will close this session, taking pieces that evolve from this potentially angry emotional place to a more contemplative, and then a more joyous
Mindfulness, as described by Langer, is “the continual creation of new [categories]” (Langer, 2014). In other words, mindfulness is the use of critical think in which people engage in creative solutions for everyday stresses. Throughout the novel, she summaries the results of numerous experiments she has conducted over the years. Each one offers insight into how one can become more mindful and how mindlessness can
The objective mind takes cognizance of the objective world. Its media of observation are the five senses. It is the out growth of man’s physical nece...
The desire to avoid dualism has been the driving motive behind much contemporary work on the mind-body problem. Gilbert Ryle made fun of it as the theory of 'the ghost in the machine', and various forms of behaviorism and materialism are designed to show that a place can be found for thoughts, sensations, feelings, and other mental phenomena in a purely physical world. But these theories have trouble accounting for consciousness and its subjective qualia. As the science develops and we discover facts, dualism does not seems likely to be true.
Meditation is an age-old practice that has renewed itself in many different cultures and times. Despite its age, however, there remains a mystery and some ambiguity as to what it is, or even how one performs it. The practice and tradition of meditation dates back thousands of years having appeared in many eastern traditions. Meditation’s ancient roots cloud its origins from being attributed to a sole inventor or religion, though Bon, Hindu, Shinto, Dao, and later, Buddhism are responsible for its development. Its practice has permeated almost all major world religions, but under different names. It has become a practice without borders, influencing millions with its tranquil and healing effects.
As one can see, meditation is a sacred act that can have endless benefits. As well as being a physical act, activities such as transcendental meditation can also be fulfilling spiritually and mentally. Through deep concentration and relaxation, meditation becomes an altered state of consciousness. This essay has shown many ways as to why this is so. Through the simple acts of letting one’s mind go, there are endless possibilities that can happen. Without meditation and altered states of consciousness, the world as we know it would be completely different.
If asked to picture a therapy session, what does your mind conjure up? If you are like most people you have probably depicted a scene where a therapist is sitting in a chair listening as a client rambles on about their problems, but what happens if the client is still learning how to form sentences and talk about their emotions? For children the “classic therapy session” might not always be possible, and because of this therapists began to look at therapy in new ways. As the saying goes, “actions speak louder than words,” and depending on the client, sometimes that is all the therapist has to go off of. That is why Hermine Hug-Hellmuth created a new form of therapy known as play therapy. Even though the guidelines for play therapy are continuing
Meditation is an important psychological practice that protects the brain against aging as well as enhancing an individual’s ability to learn new things. This practice achieves this through sharpening focus, lessening stress, lowering blood pressure, and relieving chronic pain. Generally, it helps a person to experience greater calm, connect with deepest feelings, and challenges tendencies of self-judgment. Consequently, meditation leads to open doors for actual and accessible happiness for an individual. According to Salzberg (2011), meditation is basically training an individual’s attention in order to become more aware of inner workings and external incidents (p.7). After becoming more aware of inner workings and external incidents, a person can choose his/her actions towards things that are visible. While each global religion incorporates some kind of thoughtful exercise, meditation in today’s world is usually practiced separately from any belief system.
In my opinion, one of the most powerful strengths of this therapy is the wide realm of psychological mechanisms in which the therapist can educate the client to see unhealthy development and false mental representations that have been affecting their relationships for a long time. For several individuals, coming to the realization that their childhood object relations have had a terrible impact on their motivations, drives, feelings and relationships can bring peace, maturity, freedom and acceptance of themselves. A person who sees others more realistically and integrates good and bad aspect of internal object can gain an authentic existence. In the therapeutic exchange - with transference and countertransference – clients may have the unique opportunity to find new internal skills and strengths that can be used to relationships outside of the counselor office.
Three interrelated attitude of the therapist are central to the success of person-centered therapy, this include: congruence; unconditional positive regard; and empathy (Corey, 2010). Congruence represents the openness and geniuses of the therapists. Therapists who function this way does not hind behind a professional façade, and are willing to share significant emotional reactions with their clients. Unconditional positive regards refers to the therapist accepting the client totally as she or he is without disapproving particular behaviors, believes, feelings or characteristics. Therapists convey this message by their wiliness to listen without being judging, or directive. The therapist who creates a nonthreatening context allows the clients to explore and share their true feelings without fear of being judged. Empathy is the third necessary component of a therapist’s attitude. The therapist should try to see through client’s point to view, and show understanding and sensitivity to client’s feeling throughout the therapy session. When these three attitudes are conveyed by a therapist, according the Rogers, the client can freely express themselves without afraid of being
Sigmund Freud's model of the mind can be likened to an iceberg, where the tip is visible above the water and the rest is hidden below the water unseen. The visible part is likened to our conscious mind from where we have our sensa...
But, “human persons have an ‘inner’ dimension that is just as important as the ‘outer’ embodiment” (Cortez, 71). The “inner” element cannot be wholly explained by the “outer” embodiment, but it does give rise to inimitable facets of the human life, such as human dignity and personal identity. The mind-body problem entails two theories, dualism and physicalism. Dualism contends that distinct mental and physical realms exist, and they both must be taken into account. Its counterpart (weak) physicalism views the human as being completely bodily and physical, encompassing no non-physical, or spiritual, substances.