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Question 1: The Urge Surfing meditation was timely for me as I had just had an exchange with my adolescent daughter that created tension for me. Although I wasn’t necessarily having an addictive urge in the moment and I did have an impulsive urge to address an issue with her and I knew the timing wasn’t in the moment when I was agitated and she was overwhelmed. What I noticed for physical sensations prior to listening to the guided video was that my heart was racing and my forehead felt tight likely with a frown. It took me about 10 minutes before I felt my body physically let go, my heart rate slowed and the tension in my head went away. In terms of the impulse and how it felt to refrain from acting on it I found the immediacy of the audio useful in that it kept bringing me back and I am not sure if I would have done that as well on my own. In terms of the usefulness of “riding it out” it was effective for me and I liked especially that it was just an audio. It’s a resource that I think will be helpful for several of my clients who are in a preparation phase of their recovery and experimenting with abstinence. I have had DBT training over the course of my career and really love the Surfing metaphor. Much of my practice is working with people struggling with binge eating and I often reference riding the wave. For my clients who as well are doing 12 step work they have shared that this skill also gives them time to remember what they value. It’s hard for me to be more specific than that!
Question 2: I chose the Leave on the Stream exercise because I have been thinking a lot about cognitive diffusion since starting this course. I recently went back into private practice and have noticed that so many of my clients are struggling with Anxiety some of which I am noticing has to do with an idea that if they reach their goals life will bring them happiness. What I am seeing consistently is that life is messier than that and that there isn’t a perfect outcome. Pause…just got out of a session mid answer to this question and had an opportunity to practice leaves on a steam with my client. It helped my client who has a constant conversation with herself about what she “should” be doing or how she could have done something better, she was able to put some of the chatter on leaves. I feel like I need more practice myself bringing this into the therapy space more deliberately and this course has given me more confidence to do so.
Question 3: As I reflect on this course I feel a lot of gratitude and I have appreciated the opportunity to practice Mindfulness again. I have my own recovery story and wanted to say that I love how in this last section you were able to draw parallels between the slogans in 12 step programs and mindfulness. I have always believed that this was true and it was described beautifully in your story. I feel like the perspective of how Mindfulness and AA or other 12 step programs have common spiritual messages is going to be very helpful with clients who may be more open to mindfulness or vice versa. The common denominator of present moment awareness resonates with me. I feel like ethically I have to bring this more deliberately into my practice which means being deliberate about incorporating Mindfulness into my own life. It feels fundamental to my values and beliefs about how I can be part of healing some of the human suffering (including my own) in the world.
Question 1~ I listened to Dr.James Gordon while doing this meditation which was helpful for me. The physical experience I had following this meditation was surprising. I felt tension in my head that I now realize had been there all weekend dissipate and when I opened my eyes I felt more visual clarity it was almost like I had new perspective on my space where I work. The soft belly concept made me realize that I tend to ignore my belly and if anything I can be at war with it which was why the audio of Dr. Gordon was helpful as I had a hard time doing it on my own. With that said I was able to soften my belly and have tenderness for myself.
Question2~ I listened to the audio recording for the Acceptance Exercise and was surprised about the feelings that came up for me. My physical experience was peaceful and I was able to sink into the the phrase “May I accept myself completely as I am right now.” What came up for me were feelings of both peacefulness and sadness. I think saying the phrase repeatedly reminded me how I at times run low on self compassion. In some ways it felt like I was talking to my inner child that person who is free of spirit, creative and unencumbered by to do lists and all those things I think I “should” be doing. I am going to hang onto this meditation and keep practicing it. It feels essential if I am going to bring the spirit on non judgement into therapy I need to always start with myself.
Question 3~ This is a good question I would like to integrate meditation into my work with people with addictions. I have a number of clients who are in various stages of sobriety. Last week I had a client who I did not know had a substance abuse problem reveal that he had a serious problem and was in the throws of extreme shame and despair. I use MI in my practice consistently so I am fairly consistent in my spirit of deep respect and suspension of judgement so I worked to create this space. I found the reading about the “good” and “bad” dichotomy very compelling and it resonated with what I observed with my client and with many of my clients who are new to considering recovery and are in this shame narrative. I think the Mindful Acceptance exercise is one that I could practice with my client and others who are suffering with shame. I also recognize I need to keep practicing myself so I have congruency with my own self compassion. I don’t think I can truly bring what this unless I am practicing myself.
1. I enjoyed the body scan meditation and took time in the middle of my work day to lie down which in itself took some effort as I have such a hard time giving myself permission to stop “doing” in general. I was initially overcome with just the sensation of my back against the floor. I chose to not listen to the audio and instead with my eyes closed started with the top of my head and worked my way down my body purposefully breathing and noticing my body and noticed tension that seemed stuck for lack of a better word in my neck and shoulders. I was able to just notice and let go and move on to other areas of my body. I have been anxious about how sedentary I have been during the pandemic and that it is too easy to just ignore my mind/body connection. I revisited my neck and shoulders after 10 minutes and spent time breathing through the sensations and did my best to just notice the feelings as opposed to diagnosing them or worrying about what is wrong. This meditation was effective for me and I noticed that when I returned to back to my clients I felt more present.
2. I really loved the DBT meditation exercise and it felt very different than the body scan meditation and honestly I think what I like about this is that it seems so accessible at any given time for myself and clients as well. I chose to focus on a small blue soap stone heart I keep on my desk. I don’t have a strong emotional attachment to it but it reminds me of love and caring. It was my first experience focusing in with my sight and taking in every aspect of this little stone and then to pick it up and feel the cool and smooth surface I found the transition from sight to feeling the stone very grounding. I noticed my entire body relax and noticed that my breathing became less shallow. I found this exercise nice in that I was able to sustain my focus without too much cognitive effort which is appealing me. My mind did not wander much in this exercise (which did happen with the body scan) I am not sure why that is but I seemed able to focus. This exercise was very effective for me how I evaluated this was how I noticed that my breathing became deeper and I felt overall a reduction in stress which I had been feeling over the course of the week.
3. In regards to how I envision bringing the body scan into clinical practice I think this could be especially useful for many of my clients. I have never done a lying down meditation with a client but I could imagine depending on the clients sense of safety this would be very helpful. I do a lot of work with eating disorders and have clients who are very disconnected from their bodies and are speak harshly to themselves and their bodies continuously. I think this exercise might be useful to help my clients cultivate self compassion and tenderness towards their bodies.
In regards to the single object mediation I couldn’t help but think of one client this week who during our session was having intense shame about his substance use disorder. In our session he was struggling to breathe and talk about what was going on for him. After this meditation I think this is something I may bring to our next session as I think it might help calm the shame voices in his head. With other clients as well I think this is very useful! I am currently doing all my clinical work on ZOOM and this particular exercise would be very easy to do remotely.
Thank you for all the resources!
1. This was my first time doing a Breath Counting Meditation, I have counted before while exhaling and inhaling but not for an extended period of time. I have always found counting peaceful so I found myself gravitating towards the meditation. Physically what I noticed is that I had a few days of difficulty sleeping so I have been overtired and what I noticed is that it actually gave me a calm steady energy and I felt less stress and fatigue and more focused. The counting helped with my minds tendency to wander which at times is really good for me.
2. The Basic Mindfulness Meditation I returned to this week starting with 5 minutes and now at 10 minutes every day. This is my preferred meditation practice and what I find is that the habit of gently noticing and not judging my thoughts has a profound impact on me personally and professionally. In order to be effective therapists it is important to listen deeply from a non judgmental stance the same goes for parenting. I find if I can do this with myself in meditation I am more able to bring this into my sessions with clients and into my interactions with my family. There is so much shame and judgement in our culture to have a place to cultivate something different is a gift.
3. To compare and contrast feels hard but the difference for me to some degree is about what works when. I used the counting meditation while waiting in a parking lot to pick up my daughter and felt more present for her when she leapt into my car to report on the details of her day. It seemed like something I could use anywhere and it also seems like a great way to introduce meditation to clients who have never had a practice or even just to do in the moment with a client who is struggling with fear or anxiety. I do bring mindfulness theory into my practice and would like to actually do more in terms of using it in session as a way to get settled in the room even as a brief ritual.
Hello everyone, my name is Sarah Ferriss I am an LCSW in private practice in Portland. About 15 years ago I took a course in MBSR and then about 7 years ago I started a more steady mindfulness practice in response to some stress I was experiencing in my life. I am hoping this course will inspire me to be more consistent in my own mindfulness practice and share these skills with my clients.
