Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for depression, anxiety and chronic pain.

Mindfulness therapy is not so much about directly solving your problems, but more about changing your relationship to those problems. As a result of mindfulness therapy, the problems recede to the background of your attention so that more mental and emotional space is available to enjoy the present moment and to develop the life, which is most valuable for you. The paradox of mindfulness therapy is that just because of this change in your mental attitude the problems often are reduced or dissolved altogether. As if this is the natural consequence of this change in attitude.

For whom?

This therapy is meant for those who are suffering from afflictions like:

  • Stress
  • Burn-out
  • Depression
  • Anxieties like panic, worry, social anxiety, obsessions, some forms of post-traumatic stress
  •  Chronic pain

For anybody who wants to improve the quality of his/her life in the direction of more valuable living.

INTAKE INTERVIEW

The intake interview is an opportunity to ask questions about this mindfulness based therapy. The therapy is on an individual basis.

LOCATION

Meerhuizenplein 38 of 11, Amsterdam­
(bij de Vrijheidslaan)

COSTS

The costs of the intake interview amount to 30 euro.

Mindfulness Therapy

Mindfulness therapy is not so much about directly solving your problems, but more about changing your relationship to those problems. As a result of mindfulness therapy, the problems recede to the background of your attention so that more mental and emotional space is available to enjoy the present moment and to develop the life, which is most valuable for you. The paradox of mindfulness therapy is that just because of this change in your mental attitude the problems often are reduced or dissolved altogether. As if this is the natural consequence of this change in attitude.

Treatment of depression and anxiety

Maybe your doctor has prescribed medicines for your depression and anxiety. Although these can be useful in lessening your symptoms, they do not offer a permanent cure. The effects continue as long as you are taking the pills. However, many people prefer other ways to deal with their depression and anxiety. In mindfulness-based cognitive therapy you will learn skills to help you deal with your thoughts and feelings in a different way. The same applies when you are suffering from chronic pain.

The basic skill we are going to develop is mindfulness. Mindfulness means paying attention in a different way than you are used to: namely being attentive with precision in the present moment in a nonjudgmental way regarding your sense impressions, your thinking, feelings and physical sensations.

This can be trained in different ways:

  • By insight meditation (sitting and walking postures).
  • By applying mindfulness to your automatic thoughts and to your basic assumptions about yourself and the world. We call this the cognitive part of the therapy.
  • When anxieties are bothering you,we use the method of mindful exposure. This means that you learn to expose yourself – in your imagination and live- to your anxieties.
  • By bodily exercises such as breathing exercises (Coherent breathing method), the body scan and yoga.This gives you a sense of relaxation.

In the cognitive part of this training we take a close look at which thoughts and assumptions maintain your depression, anxieties and make your pain worse. After having discovered these, we apply mindfulness to it. This combination is called mindfulness-based cognitive therapy. It is an evidence-based form of therapy. Yoga is also a way to increase your mindfulness regarding your bodily and indirectly your mental feelings. In addition to this, some other evidence-based strategies besides the strategies of mindfulness for increasing your happiness will be offered. Change can only occur when you make that which has been unconscious into a conscious experience, so that you get the freedom of a real choice how to deal with your experience.

Homework: the importance of practicing

Together we will work on changing patterns of the mind, which have become deep-rooted habits. However, changing this will only be successful if you want to spend time and energy in learning these new skills. This approach is completely dependent on your willingness to do home assignments between the sessions. It means that you do the given assignment during 6 days of the week for about 45 minutes a day during the whole course (about 8-10 sessions). These assignments include among other things performing the excercises by listening to the cd’s. Although you are probably busy, the assignments are an essential part of the training. Of course we can take a look together how to apply the “homework“ in your daily schedule.

Facing difficulties

The meetings and homework can teach you how to become more fully aware in each moment of your life. The good news is that – due to developing mindfulness – your life can be more interesting, livelier and more fulfilling. On the other hand, facing what is present in this moment, can be difficult and unpleasant. It requires courage to see difficulties, but if you have the courage to recognize and acknowledge what comes in your field of awareness, in the long term this is the most effective way to reduce your feelings of unhappiness. If you become aware of unpleasant feelings, thoughts and experiences in time, at the moment of arising, you will be better able to “nip them in the bud”, before they get more intense and persistent and progress into a new depression, a pattern of anxiety or makes your chronic pain more difficult to bear. In this therapy you learn to face the difficulties in a friendly way. The other good news is that these skills will be very helpful for further mental and spiritual development, beyond depression and anxiety. These are truly skills for life.

Patience and perseverance

Changing deep-seated patterns of the mind takes a lot of time and energy. The effects of it will not always be noted immediately. You can compare it with gardening: you have to prepare the ground, plant the seeds, ensure that they get enough water and nourishment and then patiently wait for the results. Maybe you are already familiar with this pattern when you took medication: the effects of it came later. We ask you to approach this training in the same way, with a spirit of patience and perseverance, committing yourself to put time and energy in this therapy, while accepting patiently that the fruits of your efforts will not show themselves immediately.

Results

Mindfulness therapy is not so much about directly solving your problems, but more about changing your relationship to those problems. As a result of mindfulness therapy, the problems recede to the background of your attention so that more mental and emotional space is available to enjoy the present moment and to develop the life, which is most valuable for you. The paradox of mindfulness therapy is that just because of this change in your mental attitude the problems often are reduced or dissolved altogether. As if this is the natural consequence of this change in attitude.

Of course there has been a lot of research and it is shown that mindfulness-based therapy leads to:

  • A reduction of your anxiety and depression symptoms
  • More effectively managing chronic pain
  • A better sleep quality
  • A better energy level
  • Being more able to enjoy the present moment
  • Better concentration
  • Better insight in your abilities and limitations
  • Higher self-confidence
  • Higher level of general well-being

Experiences

Recommendations of people who have done the training

When I began Peter’s mindfulness course my fundamental goal was to learn, in the practical sense, how to meditate. I had heard the term ‘mindfulness’ before, and was familiar with it, conceptually, but I had never understood that it was actually possible to improve your level of awareness. The course is very straightforward, and presented in a way that very much succeeds in bringing to life the real, tangible benefits of mindfulness training. Personally, I find that I am less anxious, and my creative productivity has noticeably increased as a result of this course.

Tina (artist)