Mental Well Being Program

Mindfulness

• In a lay man’s term, mindfulness is the practice of focusing on the present moment. Very few know that mindfulness has roots in Buddhism but most religions include some pryer or meditation that helps shift your thoughts away, here one learns to make a deliberate attempt to free your preoccupied mind toward an appreciation of the moment and a larger perspective on life.
• Mindfulness can help relieve stress, hypertension, lower blood pressure, reduce chronic pain, improve sleep pattern, and alleviate gastrointestinal difficulties.
• Mindfulness Therapy helps you savor the pleasures in life as they occur while you fully engage in the activities in life. By focusing on the here and now, numerous people who practice mindfulness find that they are less likely to get caught up in worries about the future or regrets over the past are less preoccupied with concerns about success and self-esteem.

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is one of the most common and best-studied forms of psychotherapy. It is a combination of two therapeutic approaches, known as cognitive therapy and behavioral therapy. Which method of treatment is applied depends on the problem that needs to be addressed and treated. The basic principle behind CBT is always the same:

• What we think, how we feel and how we behave are closely connected – and all of these factors have a decisive influence on our well-being. has been demonstrated to be effective in a range of problems including depression, anxiety disorders, addictions, eating disorders and severe mental illness. Choosing a certain kind of psychotherapy completely depends on the goals.
• And CBT differs from other forms of psychotherapies in its problem-oriented strategy. It focuses on current problems and finding solutions for them. For example, unlike psychoanalysis, it does not deal primarily with the past and is much more concerned with dealing with current problems. The most important thing is helping people to help themselves such that they should be able to cope with their lives again without therapy. This does not mean that CBT completely ignores the influence of past events. But it mainly deals with identifying and changing current distressing thought and behavioral patterns.

Principles of Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)

• Psychological problems are based, in part, on faulty or unhelpful ways of thinking. Hence treatment usually involves strategies to change thinking patterns. These strategies might include learning to recognize one’s distortions in thinking that are creating problems, and then to evaluate them in light of reality; Gaining a better understanding of the behavior and motivation of others; Using problem-solving skills to cope with difficult situations; Learning to develop a greater sense of confidence is one’s own abilities.
• Psychological problems are based, in part, on learned patterns of unhelpful behavior. CBT treatment also usually involves efforts to change behavioral patterns like facing one’s fears instead of avoiding them; using role-playing to prepare for potentially problematic interactions with others; Learning mindfulness practices to calm one’s mind and relax one’s body.

What is very important to this process is that you and your psychotherapist have a close and trusting working relationship. Hence it can sometimes take a while to find the right therapist but it’s a very essential part of the therapy. Mostly in the first session, you will explain your current or ongoing problems and outline your expectations. That forms the basis for discussing the goals of therapy and the therapy plan. The plan, however, can be adjusted if your personal goals change over the course of therapy. CBT is generally a short-term treatment. But there is also no standard length of cognitive behavioral therapy. Some people already feel much better after a few sessions, while others need treatment for several months. This depends on the kind and severity of the problems, among other things. Also, CBT should ideally be used with other relaxation exercises, mindfulness practices, stress and pain relief methods, and certain problem-solving strategies for a more pronounced and long-lasting effect.

Frequently asked questions

• What if I am undecided about therapy?

  If you are undecided about therapy, think about the following:

  • You don’t need to make a commitment to any minimum number of sessions. Some patients find even a few therapy sessions useful and then choose to continue working on their own.
  • Realize that there is no big risk. If it’s not helpful enough, you can stop, but the potential benefit might be great. It would be a shame if you decided not to try something that could really make a difference in your life.
  • It’s normal to have concerns! You may worry whether therapy can help or you may feel hopeless about it. If you’re predicting that nothing will make you feel better, you may be wrong.

• What about medication?

  Cognitive therapists should be able to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of medication with you. Many patients are treated without medication at all. Some disorders, however, respond better to a combination of medication and cognitive therapy.

• How can I make the best use of therapy?

  The first way to do this is to ask your therapist how you might be able to supplement your psychotherapy with cognitive therapy readings, workbooks, client pamphlets, etc. Also prepare for each session, thinking about what you learned in the previous session and jotting down what you want to discuss in the next session. Furthermore, in order to maximize the benefits of therapy make sure that you try to bring the therapy session into your everyday life.

• How will I know if therapy is working?

  Many clients notice a decrease in their symptoms within just a few weeks of therapy, or even sooner if they have been faithfully attending sessions and doing the suggested assignments between sessions on a daily basis.

• How do cognitive behavioural therapists help clients become their own therapists?

  At each therapy session, the therapist helps the client specify the problems they have encountered during the week or that they expect to encounter in the current week. They get clients actively engaged in deciding where to start working. Together, they develop an “action plan” or homework for patients (to do during the week) to implement solutions to problems or to make changes in their thinking and actions. This process gets clients actively involved in their own treatment; they begin to recognize that the way to get better is to make small changes in how they think and what they do every day. When treatment ends, clients are able to use the skills and tools they have learned in therapy in their day-to-day lives.