Joan Borysenko – Personalizing Mindfulness Meditation Practice: Finding the Right Fit for Clients

As meditation practice is increasingly being integrated into psychotherapy, therapists too often see it as a one-size-fits-all remedy. But these practices actually include a range of tools that can be more effective when tailored to a client’s history, personality organization, religious or spiritual orientation, cultural background, and presenting problems. We’ll explore how to help assure the right fit among three different families of practices (categorized by Dahl, Lutz, and Davidson) to better address the problems clients present. You’ll focus on exploring:

• The different families of practice, including attentional approaches that strengthen self-regulation, constructive approaches that enhance emotional wellbeing and healthy thinking, and deconstructive approaches that lead to insight
• What kind of practices are most useful with various clinical issues, including stress-related disorders, addictions, trauma, anxiety, depression, and interpersonal struggles
• The distinctive clinical applications of concentration meditation, centering prayer, and mindfulness practices
• How to expand your personal understanding of meditation by directly experiencing a range of contemplative practices