Experiential in Mindfulness, Yoga & Meditation: Applications for Mental Health Clinical Practice

CPD

Handouts

Speaker

Rick Nurriestearns Related seminars and products

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Rick NurrieStearns has co-led yoga retreats for 14 years. He has been immersed in consciousness studies, meditation and mindfulness practices for four decades. For 20 years, he was involved in publishing transformational books and magazines.

He was the publisher of Lotus and Personal Transformation magazines, and co-author of the books Soulful Living, Yoga for Anxiety, Yoga for Emotional Trauma and Yoga Mind, Peaceful Mind. He is a long time mindfulness student of Thich Nhat Hanh and a member of the Order of Interbeing.

Rick experiences chronic pain from an airplane crash and suffered from a tick borne disease. He relies on mindfulness practices for healing and has learned that you can cultivate happiness and inner peace even when you are hurting.

 

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Rick NurrieStearns receives compensation as a retreat facilitator. He is a published author and receives royalties. He receives a speaking honorarium, recording royalties, and book royalties from PESI, Inc. He has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Rick NurrieStearns is a member of the Order of Interbeing.

Mary NurrieStearns, MSW, LCSW, ACEP–EFT, C–C–IAYT, E–RYT 500 Related seminars and products

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Mary NurrieStearns, MSW, LCSW, ACEP–EFT, C–C–IAYT, E–RYT 500, teaches seminars and retreats to teach clinicians how to take mindfulness skills, brain based protocols for treating shame and office-based yoga back to their clients. These evidence based clinical interventions move therapy forward by improving emotional regulation, restoring healthy nervous system functioning and cultivating healthier thought patterns. Both mindfulness and yoga practices have brought healing and calm to Mary’s clients and students.

Mary provides participants with the latest research results and pulls together the work of experts in the mental health field who are proponents of both practices (i.e. Bessel van der Kolk, Jon Kabat-Zinn). She draws on 37 years as a mental health professional counselor and 27 years of meditation and yoga practice. She is a certified yoga therapist, seasoned yoga teacher and ordained member of Thich Naht Hahn’s Order of Interbeing. Mary is the author of Healing Anxiety, Depression and Unworthiness: 78 Brain-Changing Mindfulness & Yoga Practices (PESI, 2018), Yoga for Anxiety with Rick NurrieStearns (New Harbinger, 2010), Yoga for Emotional Trauma with Rick NurrieStearns (New Harbinger, 2013), Yoga Mind – Peaceful Mind with Rick NurrieStearns (New Harbinger, 2015), and Daily Meditations for Healing and Happiness: 52 Card Deck (PESI, 2016). Mary is the co-editor of Soulful Living (Hci, 1999) and former editor of Personal Transformation magazine. She has produced DVDs on yoga for emotional trauma and depression. Mary teaches across the United States.

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Mary NurrieStearns maintains a private practice. She receives compensation as a speaker, yoga teacher, and published author. Ms. NurrieStearns receives a speaking honorarium, book royalties, and recording royalties from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Mary NurrieStearns has no relevant non-financial relationships.

Objectives

1. Articulate the psychological impact and long-term effects of emotional trauma on a client’s mental health.
2. Analyze the effects of yoga and meditation on the triune brain and the applications for clinical practice.
3. Distinguish between the default network, salience network and central executive network and utilize this information for client psychoeducation.
4. Articulate the concept of negativity bias in the brain as it relates to clients who have experienced trauma.
5. Explain the social brain and use of interpersonal neurobiology to activate the affiliation system of the brain.
6. Utilize concentration, distancing, observation and distraction in treating depression producing thoughts.
7. Apply breathing practices, simple body movement and self-compassion for emotional regulation.
8. Describe how to incorporate an emotional freedom technique to help clients with emotional stabilization.
9. Demonstrate components of mindful self-compassion for treating unworthiness and confronting the “inner critic”.
10. Evaluate mindfulness techniques for helping clients address negative thoughts regarding chronic pain.
11. Decide effective ways to incorporate chants, mantras, and songs as parts of the healing process for clients.
12. Apply yogic interventions to assist clients in safely approaching distressing emotions.
13. Explain how to teach clients to dis-identify from a narrative of unworthiness.
14. Examine how to use yoga to heal the physiology of shame.
15. Implement yoga poses applicable to the clinical setting for depression and for emotional trauma.
16. Construct a life review/eulogy to help focus therapy on the client’s most important values.
17. Evaluate a mindful communications process for conflict resolution and emotional bonding.
18. Assess mindful eating for its usefulness as a therapeutic tool.

Outline

Reduce Anxiety, Depression, and Unworthiness

Neuroscience – Psychoeducation and Practices

• Neuroplasticity – your brain’s ability to organize and learn
• The triune brain
• Primary emotional motivators
• Negativity bias of your brain
• Savouring the good and affiliation system of the brain
• Social brain: causes and conditions
• Default mode network, salience network and central executive network of the brain
• Neuroscience exercises for clinical use
• Use of art expression to personalize learning
• Use of small group sharing (not therapy) for learning
• Exploration of emotional motivators, social brain and savouring the good to personalize learning and small group sharing

Reduce Feelings of Overwhelm, Dissociation and Shame

Lead Clients to Emotional Stabilization

• Emotional stabilization skills
• Body scan and sensory input for stabilization
• Mindful breathing practices
• Impact of yoga on nervous system
• Emotional Freedom Technique
• Mindful walking
• Clinical examples of emotional stabilization skills
• Practice emotional stabilization skills

Teach Clients to Observe and Choose Thoughts

Experience the Impact of Thoughts

• Nonjudgmental observing of thoughts
• Naming – write thoughts down
• Recognize, distance and dis-identify from narrative of self-identity
• Relate to the voice of the inner critic
• Address negative thoughts regarding chronic pain
• Store consciousness/mind consciousness and therapeutic implications
• Use of chants, mantras, songs for healing
• Nourishing wholesome thoughts – use of repetition and concentration
• Habit tendencies and neuronal pathways
• Accessing beneficial memories
• Clinical examples of relating to thoughts therapeutically
• Exploration of observing and choosing thoughts to personalize learning and small group sharing

Help Clients Approach and Alleviate Distressing Emotions While Cultivating Emotional Aliveness

Treat Distress with Mercy

• Be there for grief
• Comfort pose and self-love mantra
• Emotional Freedom Technique for client self-care
• Yoga for emotional trauma/anxiety
• Yoga for depression
• Clinical examples of treating distress with mercy
• Activity to personalize the client’s experience
• Exploration of approaching and alleviating emotions to personalize learning and small group sharing

Promote Self-Compassion and Increase Emotional Resilience and Self-Acceptance in Clients

Why Kindness to Self at Times Cause Distress

• Who has seen your goodness? – restoring trust
• Teachers of compassion
• The voice of the inner friend
• Three-part self-compassion note
• Offering loving kindness to any inner aspect that feels not deserving
• Compassion for the inner critic
• Tonglen practise – receiving suffering and sending compassion
• Clinical examples of utilizing self-compassion
• Exploration of compassion practices to personalize learning and small group sharing

Resources to Regulate Nervous System and Restore Self-Worth in Clients

Causes of Unworthiness and Shame

• Impact of shame on brain – default network and pain system
• The physiology of shame
• Differentiate among shame, defiance, and noble posture
• Simple yoga for healing the physiology of shame
• Narrative of unworthiness
• Create a new narrative of self
• Life review/eulogy to discover true values
• Clinical examples of treating unworthiness and shame
• Write eulogy to discover true values and small group sharing

Mindfulness Applications for Specific Clinical Use

Mindfulness Communications Process for Conflict Resolution and Emotional Bonding

• Mindful eating practice and research on mindfulness for overeating
• Learn and practice leading mindful exercises and yoga for emotional trauma/anxiety and depression

Target Audience

• Counselors
• Social Workers
• Psychologists
• Marriage and Family Therapists
• Addiction Counselors
• Occupational Therapists
• Occupational Therapy Assistants
• Case Managers
• Psychotherapists
• Psychiatrists
• Nurses
• Other Mental Health Professionals

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