These days, many counselors, therapists, psychologists, and others in the healing profession are moving away from counseling and turning towards mindfulness to help their clients. The idea of mindfulness comes from many of the worlds ancient traditions where its more commonly referred to as meditation. Today, we are mostly familiar with meditation through Buddhism and Hinduism, but there are traditions and practices of meditation in the 3 Abrahamic religions - Judaism, Christianity and Islam - as well as many other cultures and practices around the world.
Each tradition has its own approach and path, but the underlying theme is the same: by learning to slow ourselves down and truly experience the moment we are in, we learn to understand and get in touch with our Self on a deeper level and connect more to the divine.
From a psychological perspective, the main focus of mindfulness is the knowing of Self and not the exploration of the great mystery. If at some point someone has done enough self work that they are open to greater vistas, the latter will naturally unfold. Using mindful practices is a great tool in helping one learn to deal with unending flows of feelings and thoughts within.
In our society we are trained to suppress and avoid our feelings, which actually causes much harm on an individual and collective level. There are so many ways to avoid - drugs, technology, food, sex, shopping, work - and our society encourages us to embrace these avoidances.
When an uncomfortable feeling arises, the norm is for us to run away from it because we are told this is okay. Run to that beer. Run to the mall. Run to Facebook. Make the pain disappear... But it doesn't disappear. It gets pushed farther down and deeper inside you. Then when that same feeling rises to the surface again it comes back a little stronger, urging you to notice and release it. But with no awareness and skill as to how to do this, it is impossible. So back we go to the avoidance. However now that the feeling has intensified and you have some tolerance to your escape method, you need more to help you numb - anything to make the feeling disappear (or give the momentary illusion of it disappearing).
Mindfulness teaches us to stay with the feeling. It teaches us to accept the difficult feeling as a momentary reality that is the truth right now, and that the feeling will pass quickly and fluidly if it’s experienced in the present. Every feeling we have ever had has come and gone. The one consistency in feelings is that they are constantly changing. No one is angry or sad or scared forever. When the feelings passing through are given their voice and are allowed to flow through, they pass and change easily.
It is a mixed blessing that so many therapists, counselors, social workers and others are embracing mindfulness in their practices. I outlined the benefits of using this tool but the mixed part comes in the inexperience of many therapists and counselors. While many practitioners are experienced in therapy and counseling, many have jumped on the bandwagon of mindfulness. It is a very fashionable thing right now due to its popularization by Oprah and other celebrities along with its frequent appearance in many prominent magazines.
The best way to know whether a counselor or therapist is qualified to teach mindfulness is to explore their experience and practice of mindfulness. You wouldn't go to a dance teacher that can only explain the dance to you but doesn't know how to dance. When seeking someone to guide you in mindfulness practices, make sure that they have a strong rooting in it themselves. With the right guidance, it truly is one of the best ways to bring you a greater sense of peace and connection to Self. Read another post here to understand how my path began.