The Purpose of Mindfulness in Counseling

In the world of counseling psychology and therapy, the concept of mindfulness has been growing in both popularity and interest over the last several decades. As this trend has grown, researchers have brought additional evidence to support the use of mindfulness practices in counseling and therapy sessions.

In this article, I’d like to bring attention to the effectiveness of mindfulness, some of the clinical evidence that supports its use, as well as some practical techniques, trauma-informed applications, and how we can integrate mindfulness practices into our Christian spiritual formation.

Before we dive into some of the particularities of mindfulness, let’s first answer the question, “What is mindfulness?”

Mindfulness is a practice that asks the participant to deliberately and intentionally focus his/her attention on their present experience in a nonjudgmental way. Furthermore, mindfulness is a state that helps individuals become more aware of physical, mental, and emotional conditions without judgment. In other words, it can be described as a state of focused attention, paying particular attention to the moment, in a nonjudgmental way.

Clinical Evidence for the Use of Mindfulness Techniques

Research done through the American Counseling Association found that mindfulness is used in the treatment of a variety of mental-health concerns such as intellectual disorders, autism spectrum, trauma, eating disorders, anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, and sexual dysfunction disorders. Additionally, mindfulness techniques can be paired with different therapeutic modalities to enhance the healing process and spur on deeper transformation.

An article published by Positive Psychology states that mindfulness (through mindfulness-based interventions) changes neural pathways in the brain related to rumination, worry, self-regulation, compassion, attention, emotional reactivity, and affect.

Put more simply, clinical evidence shows that the practice of mindfulness helps change your brain’s thinking patterns. Furthermore, it changes the structure of your brain’s neural pathways, which ultimately allows you to change what you think about and how you think.

In my own work with clients, mindfulness practices have started to become a regular part of my practice. By facilitating a moment to pause and bring attention to the moment by noticing breathing patterns, what sensations are occurring in the body, and what emotions are present, clients commonly express experiencing a greater depth of calm.

This is because mindfulness techniques and practices not only impact the brain, but also the sympathetic and parasympathetic branches of the nervous system. These intricate internal systems are also responsible for connecting to deeper sensations of relaxation and stress relief.

Practical Ways That Mindfulness Can Be Used

Some of the most common mindfulness practices and techniques involve your attention and your breath. Since we live in such a fast-paced world, it can be easy to lose sight of the moment. Our minds are constantly thinking about “the next thing.” Or we’re scrolling on our phones, responding to texts, emails, or social media posts. With our attention consistently being drawn elsewhere, mindfulness seeks to slow us down (in a positive way).

Our breath is an easy access point or signal to our internal states, or what’s happening inside of us. Our breath is also always with us (thank God) and isn’t something we have to dig for. By beginning to focus attention on the breath, the mind can begin to settle, not rushing from one thing to another. Your breath is present with you. Your body is present with you. God is present with you.

As mentioned earlier, focused and nonjudgmental attention are two major tenets in mindfulness practices. We are often our harshest critics. When the inner critic becomes too loud, mindfulness can help you reset your thoughts and feelings to help you not get stuck in your head. Here is a basic outline you can use:

Breath Take one minute and focus on your breathing pattern. What characteristics do you notice? Is your breathing shallow or is it deep? Don’t try to change your breathing; just notice it.

Action Ask yourself the question, “Is there a particular action that my body is wanting to do right now?” As you sit with your breath and this question, notice what comes to mind.

Sensation Continuing to breathe, ask yourself, “What sensations am I experiencing in my body right now?” Take a minute to notice these sensations and where you feel them.

Emotion Continuing to breathe, take one more minute to notice what emotions you’re feeling on the inside. Joy? Frustration? Sadness? Again, you shouldn’t be judging what you’re feeling, simply noticing.

An exercise like this can be done in about 4-5 minutes, get you in touch with your body and your nervous system, and promote a deeper sense of regulation.

Trauma-Informed Applications of Mindfulness Practices

For someone who has experienced trauma, one of the most important things in recovery is helping the person to be grounded in the moment. Traumatic events commonly cause someone to flee from the moment.

This is because their body (aka their nervous system) had a sense that being present in the specific trauma would have been too painful for them to bear. However, when the person is no longer in that specific traumatic moment, their nervous system may still be holding onto the belief that anywhere is safer than the moment.

This is why mindfulness practices can be so incredibly effective and helpful in trauma recovery. By practicing mindfulness – a state of focused attention, paying particular attention to the moment, in a nonjudgmental way – the person is essentially retraining their own nervous system to trust that the moment is safe.

The purpose of helping those who have experienced trauma be grounded in the moment is to anchor them back into reality. When a person is legitimately triggered, their brain and nervous system cannot tell the difference between the present and the past.

Often the person begins to act, feel, and think as if they’re actually back in the traumatic situation. As they become flooded with distress, their nervous system begins to kick into overdrive, propelling them to try anything and everything to get back to a place of safety both emotionally and physically.

Using mindfulness practices in this instance helps the person orient themselves to the reality they’re actually in. Some of these include the 5-4-3-2-1 Method, which invites the person to look around them and name five things they can see, four they can touch, etc. Another includes a breathing method like the 4-7-8 technique. Each exercise is designed to ground the person in the present and reduce distress in the nervous system.

How does mindfulness integrate with faith in God?

There are many contemplative Christian spiritual practices that can be intertwined with using mindfulness in counseling and throughout the day. The majority of these practices revolve around prayer. Two examples of this are what is known as Listening Prayer and Meditative Prayer (Christian Meditation).

It is important to note here that secular mindfulness practice often focuses on emptying the mind in order to find or attain peace. Christian meditative practices, however, focus on stilling oneself in the presence of God to be filled with His presence and listen for His voice. The goal of each is the same: hear God’s voice and be filled by Him.

Listening Prayer is exactly what it sounds like: a posture of prayer where someone is listening for God’s voice. Jamie and Donna Winship are an excellent resource if you’re interested in learning more about this practice. Here is a simple four-step model you can use to start out or grow in this practice:

Be still Quiet yourself in the presence of God.

Be looking Look for a vision or pictures in your mind as you pray and seek God.

Be listening God’s voice often comes as the free flow of thoughts that light upon your mind as you’re focusing your attention on Jesus.

Be writing Write out the free flow of thoughts, pictures, images that come as you’re focusing on Jesus.

Again, the emphasis here is that attention is being focused on Jesus. This is not an exercise to empty the mind, but rather to shift focused attention and train our hearts and minds to seek Jesus.

Christian Meditation is another prayer model used with the goal of quieting ourselves in God’s presence to hear from Him and be filled by Him. This is ultimately to grow closer to God. Hallow is an app that helps people walk through the practice of Christian Meditation. Here are some of the steps they have outlined:

Find a comfortable place to pray God meets us where we are – it doesn’t have to be perfect. Just make sure you feel like you can be yourself with God in this place, whether you’re alone or in public.

Prepare your heart and mind for prayer Think about your prayer before starting to pray. Is there anything on my mind that I want to offer to God in prayer? Are there things preventing me from resting with God?

Select a prayer, verse, or word to meditate on In Christian meditation, we always meditate on something holy that will fill our hearts and bring us closer to God.

Let God fill your heart Remember: it’s not as much about what we say in prayer but how well we prepare ourselves to listen to God’s voice in the silence.

End with thanksgiving and gratitude Conclude your time in prayer by thanking God for this time with you.

As we come to the end, I hope that you’re leaving with a better understanding of the usefulness of practicing mindfulness and how it can be applied in various aspects of your life. As a counselor, these are tools I enjoy integrating into my work with clients.

If reading this article sparked your interest or curiosity, I would love to hear from you! I am currently taking on new clients in both Green Lake and Bothell locations, as well as online throughout Washington State.