Since 2010 I have offered mindfulness mediation through my work in the NHS, either assisting with groups or individually. In 2020 I completed a year intensive training through the much respected Sussex Mindfulness Centre, and qualified as a Teacher. Consequently I have run groups within the mental health services, and am now extending this out to the wider community which is you, either individually or within a group.
Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) or Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) Course -Groups are run with myself and a fellow mindfulness teacher Gemma. If you prefer individual sessions that will be with myself only.
What problems can MBCT/MBSR help with?
Many people find that worrying about the future or ruminating over past events can leave them feeling more anxious, stressed or low. Often this worry and rumination can feel very difficult to control, and may continue despite our best intentions to try to stop it.
Mindfulness meditation can help us learn ways to reduce the impact of worry and rumination, which can increase our mental wellbeing. Mindfulness can help by strengthening our ability:
- to notice when we are caught up in unhelpful thoughts;
- to let these thoughts go and bring our attention back to the present moment; and
- to relate to ourselves and our experience with greater gentleness and kindness.
In fact, it may well be that this final point is the most crucial element of Mindfulness meditation, because if we can learn ways to be kinder to ourselves, it’s likely that we’ll criticize ourselves less and will feel happier as a result.
In terms of the research evidence-base, there is evidence that MBCT/MBSR, and related mindfulness-based interventions, can help people with depression, some kinds of anxiety, physical pain and some other conditions.
What does MBCT /MBSR involve?
These courses teach a range of meditation practices and cognitive therapy techniques. It is important to realise that the approach is not about learning simple relaxation or becoming detached from painful experiences. It is being able to cultivate a gentle and compassionate curiosity to our moment to moment experiences. It is also about accepting things as they currently are and in this way increasing our level of choice. The approach works through practice, and benefits are usually felt by those who are able to commit to the daily practice at home and the integration of the practice into their daily lives.
The course will usually comprise an orientation session, followed by eight classes, each lasting about two hours occurring at weekly intervals. If you want to take up individual sessions, this will also be 8 weeks, and will last about an hour once a week.
Typically, each class will start with a meditation practice and this will be followed by a discussion of people’s experiences during the practice. You will be free to participate in the group in your way. For example, if you prefer not to speak in front of the whole group, but rather want to simply listen to what others have to say then that’s absolutely fine.
The size of the class will depend upon how many people are interested, but it is likely to be between 6 and 10 people of all ages. The course will also involve 30 to 40 minutes of home-work a day, including meditation practices and other exercises. This is an important part of the programme, so it is worth ensuring that you have the time available to do this, before you decide to come on the course.
When would it be best not to do MBCT/MBSR?
Becoming more aware of our present-moment experience can often reveal richness and pleasure in our lives that we may have been missing, through being caught up in worries and rumination. However, it can sometimes also bring us more into contact with difficult experiences that we may have been trying to avoid.
This can be valuable, because mindfulness can help us gradually develop our ability to relate to difficulty with gentleness and kindness. However, before you come on the course, it is worth thinking about whether you currently feel ready and able to become more aware of both pleasant and unpleasant experiences.
Also, if you are currently feeling particularly fragile or are in the midst of high levels of distress, depression or anxiety, now may not be the right time to start a mindfulness course. Rather, the course could be something to hold in mind for the future, when you’re over the worst of the current difficulties. The clinician, worker or therapist you have been working with should be able to advise you further in relation to this.
If you have any physical limitations that would make it hard to engage comfortably in a 2 hour group, this need not be a bar to attending, but please discuss this with the group facilitator.
If you’d like to read more about mindfulness to help you decide whether you’d like to join the course at this time then these are good books to try:
‘The Mindful Way Through Depression’ by Mark Williams and others.
‘Wherever you go, there you are’ by Jon Kabat-Zinn.
‘Mindfulness for beginners’ by Jon Kabat-Zinn.
‘Finding peace in frantic world’ by Mark Williams and Danny Penman.
When and where will the course be?
What happens next?
If you intend attending the 8 week course you may be invited to an individual or group orientation session, at which we’ll explain more about the course and answer any questions that you have. We look forward to meeting you.
Go Wild Stay Sane 