Client Resources

Mindfulness

Mindfulness means paying attention, in the present moment, with an attitude of openness and non-judgement.

We can “practise” being mindful in many different ways. We can also apply mindfulness to many situations in our life both to improve the quality and meaning of each experience and to help us to change our unproductive behaviour and habits.

This mindfulness handout provides a summary of what mindfulness is and how it can be practised. Download here.

To listen to mindfulness Mp3s, click here.

Self-compassion

Having compassion for oneself is really no different than having compassion for others. Kristin Neff defines self-compassion as three basic tenants:

1. SELF KINDNESS: Self-compassion entails being warm and understanding toward ourselves when we suffer, fail, or feel inadequate, rather than ignoring our pain or criticising ourselves.
2. COMMON HUMANITY: Self-compassion involves recognizing that suffering and personal inadequacy is part of the shared human experience – something that we all go through rather than being something that happens to “me” alone.
3. MINDFULNESS: Self-compassion also requires taking a mindful approach to our negative emotions.

To download a self-compassion handout, click here.

To listen to self-compassion Mp3s, click here.

Cognitive defusion: dealing with unhelpful thoughts

Cognitive fusion describes our tendency to get ‘fused’ with, tangled up in, or caught up with our thoughts. When we’re fused, we have no perspective on our thoughts, experience our lives through our thoughts and our thoughts control our behaviour.

Defusion helps us to let go of unhelpful thoughts so we can choose to act in more productive ways.

To download a defusion handout, click here.

To listen to the defusion Mp3 titled ‘Leaves on a stream’, click here.