MINDFULNESS BASED PSYCHOTHERAPY

Mindfulness is paying attention on purpose, fully to the present moment without judgment. The practice of Mindfulness or awareness offers us an opportunity to learn how to re-establish balance in our lives and re-connect with a lost sense of well-being. We begin to feel less reactive in difficult situations, better able to let go of the pain or stress we formerly held on to and increase control over our lives.

New research into the way our brains work has shown many positive effects of practicing mindfulness.  Practicing mindfulness has been shown to:

• Improve our ability to regulate emotion
• Improve patterns of thinking
• Reduce negative mindsets
• Enhance body functioning
  
• Improved healing ability
• Improved immune response
• Less reactive to stress
• Greater general sense of well being
• Improve relationships with others
• Help prevent relapse in cases of chronic depression
• Help prevent relapse in substance abuse treatment
• Improve treatment for a wide range of mental health conditions from eating disorders to anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder

--from The Mindful Brain, Dan Siegel