Mindfulness Therapy

One of the most proven payoffs of mindfulness therapy is serious stress reduction. Focusing on the present moment without judgment lowers stress hormones and activates your body’s relaxation response. With regular practice, you’ll likely experience lasting decreases in psychological stress. Hello, sweet relief!

Our mindfulness therapy in Chicago trains your mind to focus on the present, which can improve concentration, attention span, and mental clarity. Studies show it can help folks with attention deficits too. Being able to direct your attention intentionally is an awesome skill for work, school, relationships - you name it!

Research shows mindfulness therapy can substantially reduce symptoms of anxiety disorders like generalized anxiety, social anxiety, panic attacks, PTSD, and depression. Mindfulness teaches you to respond to anxious thoughts and feelings with greater calm and acceptance. Nice!

Mindfulness helps you relate to your emotions in a healthier way. By practicing nonjudgmental awareness of feelings, you can better understand triggers and respond consciously instead of automatically reacting. You’ll gain more emotional flexibility and intelligence.

Through introspective mindfulness practices, you’ll develop stronger self-awareness. As you objectively observe your inner world, you’ll gain deeper insight into your own thoughts, patterns, values, motivations, and habits. This allows positive changes and breaking free of destructive cycles. Mindful presence fosters a secure sense of self.

- Mindfulness therapy in Chicago uses mindfulness techniques to help people understand and relate to thoughts, feelings, experiences in order to reduce suffering and improve mental health.

- Mindfulness meditation involves paying attention to the present moment to cultivate awareness and presence. Mental health benefits may arise, but that’s not the primary goal.

- Mindfulness therapy is guided by a trained mental health professional who helps integrate mindfulness into everyday life.

- Mindfulness meditation is often (but not always) a self-guided practice.

- Mindfulness therapy combines therapeutic techniques like CBT tailored to each client.

- Mindfulness meditation follows more structured practices like sitting meditation, body scans, or mindful movement.

- Mindfulness therapy takes place during private or group therapy sessions.

- Mindfulness meditation is usually a silent, solo practice, though sometimes taught in classes.

- Mindfulness therapy involves discussing problems, relationships, goals, and applying mindfulness to them.

- Meditation focuses internally on present moment experiences like breathing, senses, thoughts, emotions.

- A key goal of mindfulness therapy is integrating mindfulness into everyday life.

- Meditation focuses on formal practice, though practitioners naturally apply mindfulness informally too.

In summary, mindfulness therapy is an applied approach, while mindfulness meditation is primarily a formal practice. But they’re complementary and interrelated, sharing principles and techniques. Incorporating both therapy and meditation can provide maximum benefits!

You systematically turn attention to different body parts, noticing any sensations without judgment. This builds awareness of physical sensations and releases tension.

You closely follow the inhale and exhale of your breath during any activity. This anchors you in the present rather than ruminating or worrying. It’s also calming.

Mindfulness therapy integrates CBT to help you identify and reframe unhelpful thought patterns through tools like cognitive restructuring, behavioral experiments, and exposure therapy. You gain perspective on thoughts and make positive behavioral changes.

You practice mindfulness meditation while sitting, focusing on an anchor like the breath while allowing thoughts, emotions, and sensations to come and go nonjudgmentally. This builds your “mindfulness muscle” so you can access present moment awareness in daily life.

You closely pay attention to physical sensations while walking, like each foot hitting the ground. Thoughts and feelings may arise, but you keep returning focus to walking. You become more aware of this daily activity you often do on autopilot.

These evidence-based techniques help clients suffering from conditions like anxiety, depression, and chronic pain gain control over distressing thoughts while cultivating moment-to-moment awareness. With practice, you can generalize the mindfulness skills to daily life.

Apps like Headspace, Calm, and Insight Timer offer guided meditations that walk you through techniques step-by-step. Listen anywhere through your phone, tablet, or computer. Some have specialized meditations for conditions like depression, anxiety, and sleep struggles.

Take 5-10 minutes to solely focus on the physical sensation of your breath moving in and out. Sit comfortably with eyes closed if you like. Bring awareness to your inhale and exhale. If your mind wanders, gently return focus to your breath.

Eat a snack or meal paying close attention to each bite's taste, textures, smells, sounds, colors, and your body’s sensations before, during, and after eating. Chew slowly and thoughtfully.

Lie down comfortably and focus sequentially on each body part from head to toe. Notice any sensations, emotions, or areas of tension without judgment. Breathe into tight areas. Body scans promote deep relaxation.

Spend 5-10 minutes daily writing your mood, thoughts, and feelings without judging or editing yourself. Over time, you may notice thought/behavior patterns and mood fluctuations, allowing you to apply mindfulness techniques.

Practicing mindfulness exercises at home sustains your therapy benefits. Even brief daily practice can make a big difference in managing depression, anxiety, and stress. Be patient and kind with yourself as you build a mindfulness routine. You’ve got this!