Topic Tuesday // Mindfulness and CBT for carers // 21 March, 7 - 9pm AEDT

Hello all!

Welcome to tonight's Topic Tuesday on CBT and Mindfulness for carers, we're joined by our special guest, @snowlee127.

And to those who RSVPd @SkiBunny @Teapot @MissSlytherin @SJB @dpe @Orisha @Chuck1 @aliallyoop @AyersRockWalk @Breathe_Deep @soul @Determined @Former-Member @Bonnies @Annie11 @Former-Member @Marie7 @motherofthree @RMR @Tanoozle @Shaz51

@snowlee127, thanks so much for joining us tonight. I can see that we got a question from @MissSlytherin so let's get to that shortly, but before we answer it, it might be helfpul to first start with explaining to us what CBT is and mindfulness is? And how @MissSlytherin might be able to use either of these techniques?

Hello @CherryBomb, @snowlee127

Hi Cherry

Thank you for having me. Today we will be sharing our thoughts and knowledge on CBT and Mindfulness for carers from our service experiences. But first, a bit of background on CBT and Mindfulness?

Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT): CBT is one of the most commonly practiced psychological interventions used by psychologists. It is a goal-oriented talking therapy with established efficacy in the treatment of anxiety and depression, eating disorders, certain pain disorders, substance use disorders, and psychotic disorders.

CBT is an intervention that involves the therapist working with people to confront, challenge and modify unhelpful beliefs and thoughts. Maladaptive behaviors are those that prevent an individual from adjusting appropriately to normal situations, and which are considered counterproductive or not socially acceptable.1 The primary goal of CBT is to identify these maladaptive behaviors, recognize beliefs associated with those behaviors, correct any inappropriate beliefs, and replace those beliefs with more appropriate ones that will result in greater coping skills and adaptive behaviors.

The goals of most CBT approaches for depression have focused on instructing consumers about a cognitive approach to understanding the root cause and maintenance of mood disorders, applying specific skills to identify and modify unhelpful and automatic thoughts, as well as understanding maladaptive assumptions and beliefs judged as reflecting enduring thoughts and beliefs.

CBT may take place with individual clients or by within a group setting. Group-based CBT approaches have been found to be cost-effective and have achieved similar results to individual face-to-face approaches, which has contributed to the popularity of CBT as a treatment for depression

Mindfulness is a concept that has received exponentially increasing attention in psychological research and clinical application over the past two decades (Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) are becoming increasingly popular in both medical and mental health settings, and there is growing evidence on their efficacy. The origins of mindfulness interventions can be traced to Buddhist ideas and practices that date back over 2500 years.

The word mindfulness is often connected to the Pali (ancient Indian language of early Buddhist texts) term sati, originally meaning 'to remember,' but with a connotation of 'lucid awareness' of the present moment. One possible way to integrate these meanings is by thinking of mindfulness as the moment of remembering to return (one's awareness or attention) to the present moment.

Good evening all

Hello @Shaz51, Sydney is having a thunderstorm!

Hello everyone. I will be here as I can. But will read up later on anything I miss live.

Hi MissSlytherin @MissSlytherin

Thank you for your question and it is a very good question. We found it is a common challenge that many carers experience when trying to improve their own emotional wellbeing. It is also a risk itself for not having time to attend their mental heath. One thing that our mindfulness therapist teaches carers to do is to start from practicing breathing. Many carers have found it helpful by simply start with [stop and breath] while thoughts became overwhelmingly busy. The idea of 'being in the present' in the mindfulness practice is often about accepting we can only do one thing at a time.

You have also pointed out one important difference between CBT and Mindfulness practice. As we will be discussing the difference in the later conversation, feedback from one of our carer was that she found CBT was not practical for her as CBT is assuming the unhelpful thoughts came from a false underlying belief. In her situation, her son attempts to commit suicide almost every three months. She developed this phobia for incoming phone calls. It gives her a biological anxious reaction every time her phone rings. She is aware that her underlying belief is that ‘this phone call may be the call that tells her, her son has passed away, ’ and for her, the threat is real. The trauma and fear happen on a regular basis. She has found mindfulness practice more practical for her. She started by practicing breathing technique and simply being more aware of her thoughts instead of judging them she found it beneficial for her.

I'm curious if anyone has ever tried mindfulness and CBT?

I use it all the time. Well the principles of it.