Mindfulness: What it is, Why it Works, and How to Use It

Speaker: Roger Nolan, M.A., LMFT

Summary:

Mindfulness can be defined as the awareness that emerges through paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally to the unfolding of experience moment by moment. We are usually not paying attention to the present moment. We go on auto pilot, and are often thinking about the past or worrying about the future. Mindfulness practices help us to disengage from all the thoughts and worry about the past and future to concentrate on the present moment.

Mindfulness has been around for thousands of years, as it is a staple in the Buddhist philosophy, which is a 2,600 year old practice. Although mindfulness comes from Buddhist philosophy, it is important to understand that mindfulness is not a religious practice. Mindfulness can best be described as secular interventions with many great mental and physical health benefits that can be incorporated into daily life.

Mindfulness works by helping us to cultivate a new relationship with everything that happens in our lives, thoughts and events alike. So when we change our relationship with our thoughts, they change and cause us to have less unnecessary distress in our lives.  In the human brain, the amygdala is constantly looking for threats (both actual and possible threats) around us with the purpose of keeping us safe, which is known as the fight or flight mechanism. Mindfulness allows us to tune into the amygdala, and get the prefrontal cortex back to thinking clearly.

Objectives:

To enable participants:

1. To more clearly understand what mindfulness is.

2. To comprehend the mechanism of mindfulness that makes it work.

3. To immediately use at least two safe, practical and effective ways to apply mindfulness in one’s clinical practice.

4. To be familiar with major mindfulness-based interventions, particularly the use of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy with a depressed client.

Bio:

Roger Nolan, M.A., is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in private practice in South Pasadena. A meditator since 1973, Roger currently leads groups in Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) for depression and anxiety. He helped develop Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention (MBRP) for addictive behaviors. An alumnus of Pacifica Graduate Institute, he is a member of the Adjunct Faculty at Antioch University Los Angeles, where he teaches the adaptation of mindfulness practices in clinical settings. Roger has been leading meditation groups in the Pasadena area for more than 10 years, and in 2006, his classes were named “Best for Beginners” by Los Angeles Magazine. He facilitates MBCT and MBRP classes at Insight L.A. in Santa Monica and Pasadena. In recent years, "mindfulness" has become a hot topic in psychotherapy, especially as more and more studies validate its effectiveness as a therapeutic tool. The workshop will combine useful information and experiential practice in a lighthearted and engaging format.