Mindfulness a strategy for maintaining mental wellness

Abstract:

Mindfulness is the awareness that emerges from paying attention in the present moment with a non-judgmental and curious attitude. Learning to be more mindful, allows us to counter many of our everyday stresses that over time have a health cost. Mindfulness is not a relaxation strategy. It becomes a transformation of how we see the world and operate in it; relaxation is secondary to practice of mindfulness.

Mindfulness increases our resilience, counters stress, burnout, cognitive fatigue and with practice, physical pain. It also ensures increased mind/body connection which often gets ‘severed’ in our busy cognitively demanding lives. In this presentation, physical and mental health research outcomes of mindfulness will be briefly presented as this is well documented and established. Most of the session will be interactive, focused on explaining and demonstrating practical mindfulness techniques and ways for you to incorporate mindfulness into your daily life.

Speaker’s Profile:

Cheryl Cornelius B.Sc. App; B. Psych (Hons); D. Psych (Clinical) is member of the Australian Psychological Society College of Clinical Psychologists and the Australian Clinical Psychologist Association and has over 15 years clinical experience. Cheryl was employed in a psychological capacity in the public sector prior to opening her private practice in 2006. She utilises various psychological therapies including CBT and extension therapies of CBT including Compassion Focused Therapy (Prof. Paul Gilbert, UK), Schema Therapy (Dr. J. Young) and is well trained in Mindfulness strategies.  Cheryl is also trained in EMDR a treatment modality recommended as a first line treatment for PTSD and a treatment for complex trauma.

One aspect of working with trauma is that the clinician needs to have good strategies for managing their own mental health or they are vulnerable to vicarious trauma symptoms. Cheryl uses mindfulness strategies to manage her own mental health. Cheryl is well trained and experienced in mindfulness and has attended workshops and retreats with world leaders in the field such as Prof. Jon Kabat-Zinn and Prof. Daniel Seigel.