Introduction to Mindfulness_349810_bookemon_ebook.pdf Coaching and Practising Mindfulness | Page 40

disorders, depression, PTSD, OCD, substance abuse, and borderline
personality disorder.
Mindfulness approaches work best with people who are not caught
up in a severe crisis.

Practical Applications of Psychotherapy
Psychotherapists are incorporating mindfulness into their work in
many ways. We might imagine these on a continuum, from implicit to
explicit applications—from those hidden from view to those that are
obvious to the patient.
On the most implicit end is the practicing therapist. As just
mentioned, when a therapist begins personally practicing
mindfulness, his or her capacity for emotional attunement seems to
increase. Regardless of theoretical orientation,
models of psychopathology, or modes of intervention, the therapist
seems to be able to more carefully attend to and empathize with a
patient’s experience. The therapist’s need to “fix” problems
diminishes as he or she cultivates the capacity to be with another’s
pain. Therapists feel closer to their patients, develo ping compassion
both by becoming aware of the universality of suffering, and by
seeing more clearly their interconnection with others. Research in this
area is just beginning (Grepmair, Mitterlehner, Loew, & Nickel, 2006;
Grepmair, Mitterlehner, Loew, & Nickel, 2007)
Next along the continuum is the practice of mindfulness-informed
psychotherapy (Germer, Siegel, & Fulton, 2005). This is treatment
informed by the insights that derive from Buddhist psychology and
mindfulness practice. The therapist’s understanding of
psychopathology and the causes of human suffering change as a
result of observing his or her own mind in meditation practice.
Insights such as understanding the arbitrary and conditioned nature
of thought, seeing the counterproductive effects of trying to avoid
39