[Rconnelly]

Question 1
It was very frustrating to not be able to shift position at first. It did shift towards accepting the discomfort and breaking it down into feelings. It is hard to be non-judgmental of feelings and the need to abate them (negative feelings) but I think this made it easier. I think riding out the urge is a good description as it seems to slip by and pass subsequently. Definitely very different from needing to “fix” everything and get rid of it. I think this would be helpful to allow tolerance of urges and to see them dissipate and that they can tolerate them, and they do not have as much power as thought for the client. This would be especially helpful with the urge to drink and with the urge to give in to compulsive pornography and escapism.
Question 2
In used thought diffusion specifically the “Leaves on a stream” exercise” because I have used variation and find water related visualizations as soothing and cleansing. I think that it allows the letting go of painful or difficult experiences and teaches that they are transient and can drift into nothingness as you do so. I think that connecting with a higher power for helping let go and for letting God handle the big problems that we have no answers for as helpful. I often tell clients that they can only do the reasonable best that they can and give the rest- the unknow- to God. This is freeing and really is all anyone would ask of a person. It is not de-motivational as there may be a lot in the front end but letting go of the things they can’t handle, or control anyway makes sense. While that is a more cognitive exercise than this one it seems to go along well with this. By accepting the feelings, urges, or negative thoughts and noticing them in a non-judgmental way it allows one to acknowledge them but not let their power overtake us either by trying to ignore them (rarely works) or by over-thinking them. I do feel that a more practical client might see this as not “solving” their problems it seems we are after the secondary and sometimes more debilitating associated issues (fear, anxiety, worthlessness, etc) by this technique. It doesn’t prevent problem solving. This is very different from western methodology.
Question 3
I think this has been very interesting. I have been already doing these strategies in vivo as they actually allow the client to relax. I sometimes feel that I am not doing enough- that it is too simple. But the clients don’t seem to feel that and enjoy this new experience for them. Due to time constraints, I am doing these studies at night and find I am tired and that is the predominant feeling I feel. They make me sleepy and nodding off doesn’t always help me capture the answer to the question!! But, I have noticed that I keep returning to them with various clients this week, saying to myself, “Oh what was that technique again about counting, etc.”. They can be applied with many different clients and situations at least as an adjunct. I think that a summary handout would be helpful to remember so I have bookmarked a lot of these techniques for use later. I think it can help me immensely as the strategies are very applicable to the various stresses and cares that we face at work and letting go of clients’ issues to maintain or own health. I find I am more resilient, and things don’t seem to bother me as much. I hope this is lasting. All in all, it has been interesting- a bit overwhelming in scope but very helpful and positive. Thank you.

[Rconnelly]

Question 1-
I was able to relax and found the focus on the soft belly interesting. I unfortunately did the exercise after a large meal and was pretty full so I think it would have been even better had that not been the case. The concept of “soft” somehow transferred into making it relaxed. This seemed to make the rest of my body relaxed seemingly there is a connection with the belly and breath with the rest of the body. I noted that I had a tightness in my chest when I started and that it relaxed even though I wasn’t focusing on the chest- just the belly. I am not so sure it fosters acceptance per se but it seems to prepare oneself for clarity of thought in a gentle way that allows me to just try and accept what comes up. I think my conclusion is that I just never stop to smell the roses- I am always intent on some thought, plan or worry and while this no doubt has benefits in problem solving in life it needs to be interspersed with times of relaxation and centering with unwinding and the acceptance that we are seeking. I am tempted to thin it might make me to be less motivated but that’s not the case as it is rejuvenating returning me to a place to do the former thinking and planning with less worrying better.

Question 2
While this was relaxing, I find telling myself a repetitive thing does no0t really help me think or feel it but makes me feel manipulated a bit. I didn’t really care for that and felt like I was trying to hypnotize myself. I think acceptance has to come from somewhere deeper and not just from the outside (verbalization) in by repetition with an altered state of consciousness. That one just was not really “my cup of tea.” But thank you for the experience.
Question 3
I actually think the soft belly exercise is excellent and would be a good starter for introducing mindfulness. Longer meditations seem hard to novices, and I think are not helpful in the beginning as people can hardly sit for 2 minutes without getting anxious or feeling they are wasting time. This stuff is effective, but at least with most of the clients I see, this has to be gradual. Perhaps with someone that has a hard time accepting themselves the second exercise would be helpful, but as stated earlier that one is not my favorite and I think a lot of clients would push back on having to push (yes, I know its gentle but it’s not their thought) a phrase upon them.

[Rconnelly]

Question 1
I noticed mostly that I have trouble shutting off after a busy day to do this. I get very impatient making myself slow down and want to speed up the exercise. I do notice different feelings ranging from nothingness to numbness to a tightness as I scan body parts. I found overall that until I did the exercise I did not realize how tense I was even hours after the workday ended although this has been a particularly bad week. I do think it is effective but I find I am too rushed as this is already a day late! I think the take away is you have ton really make time for this stuff… My bad.
Question 2
This was an interesting experience. I used a telephone hand set (wireless). It was interesting to use all the senses of smell and touch to really pause and attend to something and notice it. Having gone through the first exercise I think I was a bit in a better place especially as this was shorter. My mind didn’t wander as much as I thought it would. Just curiosity. Gentle observation- a biit impatient but not bad.
Question 3
This is different from what I do with clients as I do a type of body scan that is followed by relaxing the body part not just noticing it. I am a bit skeptical that they would tolerate that as its hard enough to have them do the exercise and relax. I think that the shorter exercise using the senses looking at an object would be a good way to introduce them to use all of their senses and to stop and really notice. I think it would be helpful and will try it as it is short.

[Rconnelly]

1. I seemed to drift less in the counting meditation. I felt better focused on the calm if that makes sense. The counting seemed to keep me on track especially as I counted for a while and got more used to it and my body relaxed. I am somewhat fearful of meditative practices being a Christian so I felt more control in the counting and able to stop if I wanted to. This may be a barrier to this class for me but I will attempt to utilize the skills. I am not sure it helped me to be more aware of the habits of my mind, perhaps because I didn’t do it longer. I would think repetition of this exercise would bring about a better analysis as starting anything new is a bit disconcerting as you are a “rookie” for sure!
2. I liked the female voice link (Univ. of Vt was it) better as it appeared less religious and I found I relaxed more into it. Ironically, even though it is short, I started to drift off and was awakened by the bell!!..
3 i think that the first exercise would be more useful to focus on a task and I felt my mind was more directed to the task ,probably due to the counting. I felt that In was holding on a little bit more than with exercise 2. I felt exercise 2 was one that allowed me to let go more and not focus as much. perhaps this is why i drifted towards a sleep state. Both were relaxing but I felt the second was better for me in that regard. I think that both could be useful adjuncts to trauma work and/or SU. I am curious what the effects would be for those with ADHD that seem to never be able to stop and smell the roses. the type of people when you talk about just sitting at the beach and being present and doing nothing look at you and say “i could never just sit and do nothing.” “How’s that working for you”? lol. That’s why this is helpful for them. Its usefulness for anxiety related treatments seems obvious.

[Rconnelly]

Hello. My name is Rich Connelly. I am an LCPC, CADC and work in private practice in Kittery and Kennebunk, ME. I work with trauma quite frequently and utilize EMDR. Grounding and mindfulness are critical to the safety and efficacy of trauma (and other MH) treatments. I utilize it as a front end to almost all of my therapy client treatment and especially for Tx for trauma and anxiety. I look forward to learning about other techniques and utilization of mindfulness in this class. Thank you.

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