Boulder Counselor and Therapist | David Robbins, MA, LPC

Often when the subject of psychotherapy comes up one thinks of rehashing the past and analyzing the current situation using the conceptual mind. As if we can think our way out of different emotions. The mindfulness approach to working with the condition we call anxiety would be very different than this. As a therapist who utilizes mindfulness I encourage experience – meaning we directly contact our body and sensations associated with an emotional experience. We don’t think about them – we tune in and feel them directly as they are happening in the present moment. With anxiety these sensations are often quite unpleasant – a lump in the throat, tightness in the chest, difficulty breathing, perhaps tremors in the body, sweating, clenching the jaw, flushed skin, etc. With a mindfulness experience in psychotherapy we learn how to contact and direct our concentration and awareness to be with these sensations without being overwhelmed by them. Breaking them up into manageable pieces instead of one chunk of overwhelming anxiety that feels as if its going to break us apart or send us into panic. There is of course a mental element to this experience as well – often the mind is teeming with negative dialogue – perhaps worries or fears, or potential negative outcomes. For many people who experience anxiety there is also an inner dialogue of self-hatred. With a mindful approach to psychotherapy we also learn how to look at and witness these thoughts directly – we do not fight them as often we attempt to do to make unpleasant thoughts go away. Thoughts are often an unconscious battle or an attempt to distract us from the unpleasant sensations in the body. If the sensations in the body can be observed and stayed with – using an unconditional awareness they naturally resolve and integrate. Often our thoughts are so strong they move us out of the body and into the mind, and we get overwhelmed with the content of these thoughts. These thoughts are overwhelming us and also interrupting an organic experience of emotion in the body. If this experience can be tracked with awareness – it often resolves into a healing, releasing and integrative experience. As an experiential psychotherapist it is my job to facilitate and teach you how to be with your emotional experience this way. With mindful awareness we encourage complete experiences of emotions – that are uninterrupted – and allow you to heal and let go of the sense of stuckness that accompanies months or years of interrupted emotional experiences that overwhelm and accumulate in our bodies and minds.

With a mindfulness-based therapy we learn how to embrace our experience without having to resist or fight it, allowing ourselves to heal without fear. If you are interested in learning more or scheduling an appointment or free consultation call 303-225-2700.