Clinical issues. Mindfulness as a practice to prevent compassion fatigue, using mindfulness with clients
Our deeper nature usually prevails, and what a relief when it does. Remember the big hair of the 1980s? It was a time when young men and women alike where subjecting themselves to a head full of chemicals followed by gobs of sticky, slimy, hair gel. Madonna or Michael,…
What is your favorite kind of trance??? Yesterday we talked about getting sucked into drama as a way of avoiding the reality of our own present moment. What else puts you in a trance? With all of the distractions available how can we even tell the difference between zoning out,…
We humans will go to great lengths to stay out of the present moment. The present moment terrifies us. We can be very ingenious with the variety of drama we create and cling to in order to stay away from the here-and-now. Today’s letting go exercise: What kind of drama do you create…
We all have them, habits that get in our way of reaching our full potential. At it’s heart, mindfulness is about changing habits – habits of the mind that feed into unskillful action. In our mindfulness practice we work with unproductive, habitual thoughts – for this is the start of any…
Some life events cause a distinct chasm – on one side stands “before,” on the other side “after.” The deeper the chasm, the more desperately we my try to get back to “before.” Chronic illness, a break-up, addiction, the death of a loved one. When we can’t accept a situation…
Compassion fatigue, also known as secondary trauma, burn-out, vicarious trauma, or empathetic strain is an occupational hazard for therapists, health-care professionals, parents and other care-givers. It’s a catch-22 that only deeply caring people are susceptible to compassion fatigue, and only deeply caring people become care-givers. Compassion fatigue is a physical, emotional or…
It’s easy to get caught up in feeling powerless. Even if things are going pretty smoothly in your personal life, you might feel deflated by global events, take the current refugee crisis in Europe for instance. The ramping up of the presidential campaign can also stir up a sense of powerlessness. With each…
Just for now – want nothing Don’t wish to be someplace else Be where you are Don’t wish for more energy, or less Watch your breath rise and fall and watch your energy settle to where it needs to be Stop planning and remembering let thought disperse Like autumn leaves…
Are you a news junkie? Do you feel like you are going to miss something important if you don’t read a paper every day? Observing how much time you spend each day ingesting negative, upsetting, and just plain scary news is a great mindfulness exercise. Whether it’s the New York Times,…
Envy is a really tough emotion – a cross between a yearning for the good fortune bestowed on another and hostility toward the individual for having the good fortune. Even if the lucky one is a good friend, irrational though it is, envy sometimes runs the show. “It’s not fair…. why me…. why not…
Some day you will have a perfect job. Some day you will be twenty pounds lighter. Some day, your kids will all be independent and you can spend your days as you please. Some day your spouse will be able to read your mind and fulfill your every need without…
You might be wearing a heavy coat of armour. It may have served you well in the past. Perhaps you had to protect yourself from unreliable caregivers, or the disappointment of untrustworthy friends. It was quite brilliant of you to don this armour under these circumstances. But the…
