Re:Mindfulness & Acceptance in Psychotherapy

Having seen a therapist "trained" in meditation, and being a meditator myself, I've often had the same questions.

I think anyone can teach anyone the principals of meditative practice... which, with discipline, will lead to mindfulness, detachment and inner peace. But one cannot "give" a person discipline... no more than a therapist can "make" a client do cbt homework.

If meditative techniques work, either by calming certain affect or allowing persons to "sit" with their experience, then that is a positive. The same techniques, presented as a "cureall" can be very damaging.

And lastly, I think teaching dissociative/traumatized clients meditation has to be done very carefully... to ensure that they are not simply being taught another way to dissociate. There is a thin line between "mindful" altered (or "higher") states of consciousness and "mindless" numbing out. It takes good communication between client and therapist to investigate which is occurring.

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