Mindfulness andThe Therapeutic Alliance

SPACEDr Frank CT VoonBIPT 11 & 13 June 2009 Awareness Place & Phor Kark See, Singapore

The Alliance is The Experience of The Journey

Experience =

Intellect +

Emotions +

Spirit

Body Mind

Doing

Having Thinking

Tangible

Intangible

Being

Sanctuary

A safe settingStructure

Physicalcomfort – seating, view, place for bagsrestful, quiet conversation, peacefulease of access and exit

Time and boundariesagreed and adhered toflexibility to extendprocess the end in mind – self work

Peace

Pedagogy and psychology

Education of the therapist on the self

Education of the person on the self

Education of the person by the self

When the Student is ready,

the Teacher appears.

The centrality of the Therapeutic Alliance

Attention

Authenticity

Trust

Respect

Integrity

Mindfulness

Known to self

Known to others

Unknownto others

Unknownto self

Being

Compassion

The importance of communication skills

Collaborative

Dialogue, not a debate

Understanding each other

Understanding others

Transfer of communication skills

Experience

Engaging the self

Enlightenment

Eureka moment – Aha!

The Self

The Force

The Shadow and the Dark Side.

The Therapeutic Journey

1st step Mountain

2nd step No mountain

3rd step Mountain

Physical

Intellectual

Emotional Spiritual

Being Human

Feeling

Doing

Thinking

Being

Feeling

Doing

Thinking

Being Feeling

Doing

Thinking

Being

A safe SPACE

Sanctuary – the Middle Ages

Sanctum – an open clearing of light and possiblity in a dense jungle of overgrowth

Open mindedness

Acceptance

Confidentiality

Safe exploration of issues

The warrior mind – no fear of nominal errors

The Practice

Setting

Techniques

Organisation

Reflection

Mastery

The Storm

Stages

Therapy

Order

Resilience

Mindfulness

Practice

Perfection

The slight edge, 80/20 Pareto

The difference that makes a difference

Warrior – Chef – Therapist

Marbles, draft presentations, quick starts

Golf – Tiger & #50

Clinical & administrative practice

Olympics – 4 years in under 10 secs

The 5 Things

FoodSweetSourSaltyBitterPlain

ArtsClayPaintStoneWordsSounds

LifeChangePainHopeFairnessLove

Embracing the reality of the 5

Change Begin with the end in mind

Pain There is pain in happiness

Hope Nothing ever goes according to plan

Fairness All’s fair in love and war

Love In love all the time?

MindfulnessOn YouTube, there are a number of Google Tech Talks that you might find useful.

Jon Kabat-Zinn Mindfulness Meditation Mindfulness Stress Reduction and Healing

Alan Wallace Towards the First Revolution in Mind Sciences The Conscious Universe: Where Buddhism and Physics Converge

Bob Stahl An Introduction to Meditation for Healing and Stress Reduction

Matthieu RicardChange Your Mind Change Your Brain

Philippe Goldin Cognitive Neuroscience of Mindfulness Meditation

Thanks to Mr Wee Sin Tho