The use of Mindfulness to help with stress
Apr 10, 2020 9:33:42 GMT -8
Chris Renee, michael, and 1 more like this
Post by michelleml on Apr 10, 2020 9:33:42 GMT -8
Mindfulness can be a very effective tool to help clients when they are dealing with anxiety, especially if it is causing an increase in voices and/or anxiety during stressful periods. It can be taught over the phone, if this is not something that has been worked on prior to social distancing. Here are some examples:
There are a multitude of different ways that mindfulness can be taught to our clients, and they tend to need to be tailored for each client. While the above are just a few suggestions, what type of mindfulness activities have you tried with clients. What's worked? What hasn't worked?
- Mindful Walking: Encourage client to pay attention to the ground under their feet, the wind on their faces, the sounds they hear, the plants coming alive since it's spring. I've always encouraged clients to look for animals, such as birds, because they have to pay attention to find them.
- Listening To Music: A lot of clients listen to music, but don't always spend the time REALLY listening to it. Encourage them to spend time in a relaxing position and encourage them to close their eyes and really just focus on what they are hearing. This can also be done with nature sounds.
- Adding Mindfulness To A Daily Routine: I've talked with multiple clients about adding mindfulness into their morning routines. They can then take an activity, such as drinking coffee or tea, and sitting outside. From there they can be encouraged to really savor their drink, listen to the morning sounds, pay attention to the smells around them, and notice the small things within their line of sight.
- Providing Education To Natural Supports About Mindfulness: Teaching natural supports about mindfulness, and encourage them to engage with their family member, can be a great way to help relieve stress for the natural support and the client. I've done sessions with a parent, and their adult child, and taught them mindfulness together since they frequently take walks together. This can then be reiterated to the natural supports, and they can practice this together since they may not be social distancing from each other.
- Mindful Coloring: Coloring is one of those things that most, if not all of us, enjoyed doing as children. I've had clients where, in the beginning of session, we would spend 15-20 minutes coloring, at the beginning of the session, to set the tone of the session. While this can't be done in person, at this time, it is something that can be encouraged. Clients can do this listening to music or silently. Remind them that it is about the process and not the result. Coloring sheets can be printed out for free on the internet. I used to keep a coloring book or two with me and then would make copies from those books. If budgets allow, color pencils or crayons can be purchased and given to clients as well. These items can be dropped off for clients and no contact has to be made. This may even be something that can be encouraged while talking on the phone together. Even when this isn't used as a mindful task, it's been found to be helpful for some of the clients who may struggle with eye contact, as it gives them something to focus on and can help them feel more relaxed.
- The 5-4-3-2-1 Grounding Technique: This can be taught over the phone and the client can even do it while talking with you. This can then be utilized as an ongoing coping skills. This link can provide a more detailed description of this technique if you are unfamiliar: 54321 technique
There are a multitude of different ways that mindfulness can be taught to our clients, and they tend to need to be tailored for each client. While the above are just a few suggestions, what type of mindfulness activities have you tried with clients. What's worked? What hasn't worked?