Richard Sears – Mindfulness as Exposure Therapy: Avoiding the Avoidance Trap – PESI

*** Proof of Product ***

---

Exploring the Essential Features of “Richard Sears – Mindfulness as Exposure Therapy: Avoiding the Avoidance Trap – PESI”

Speaker: Richard Sears, PsyD, PhD, MBA, ABPP
Media Type: Digital Seminar

Description
Mindfulness is a popular intervention these days, well-supported by clinical research and brain-scan studies. But many well-meaning clinicians use mindfulness to distract clients from unpleasant thoughts and feelings, inadvertently reinforcing the avoidance cycle, which increases struggle in the long term. This recording will help you avoid the avoidance trap and translate research findings into powerful tools. Learn proven techniques for using mindfulness to help clients move more directly into transforming their relationship with difficult thoughts, emotions, and body sensations. You’ll discover: 

• Specific tools to help clients break free from the circular traps they create by fighting with their own distressing thoughts 
• Concrete practices to help clients move into the body sensations that underlie strong emotions, so they can transform them from within 
• How to apply a three-minute exercise to help clients quickly move into challenging thoughts, feelings, and sensations to disrupt the avoidance cycle 
• Increase therapist resilience and presence with challenging clients to improve your outcomes 

Speaker
Richard Sears, PsyD, PhD, MBA, ABPP, is a licensed psychologist in Cincinnati, Ohio, board certified in clinical psychology by the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP), runs a private psychology and consultation practice, and is the director of the Center for Clinical Mindfulness & Meditation. He has run hundreds of mindfulness groups and was lead clinician in the first brain scan study involving mindfulness with children and adolescents. He is also an adjunct professor in the University of Cincinnati psychology department, clinical research faculty at the UC Center for Integrative Health and Wellness, volunteer professor of psychiatry & behavioral neurosciences at the UC College of Medicine, and a former research/psychologist contractor with the Cincinnati VA Medical Center.

His most recent books include ACT with Anxiety (PESI); The ACT Flip Chart (PESI); Cognitive Behavioral Therapy & Mindfulness Toolbox (PESI); Mindfulness: Living Through Challenges and Enriching Your Life in the Moment (Wiley-Blackwell); Building Competence in Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (Routledge); and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for PTSD (Wiley-Blackwell).

Dr. Sears is a sixth-degree black belt in Ninjutsu, and once served as a personal protection agent for the Dalai Lama with his teacher, Stephen K. Hayes. He has studied Eastern Wisdom for over 40 years, receiving ordination in three traditions, and transmission as a Zen master.

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Dr. Richard Sears maintains a private practice and has employment relationships with the University of Cincinnati, Alliance Integrative Medicine, and Wright State University. He receives compensation as a consultant. Dr. Sears receives royalties as a published author. He receives a speaking honorarium, recording, and book royalties from PESI, Inc. He has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Dr. Richard Sears is the founder and director of the Center for Clinical Mindfulness and Meditation and is a member of the American Board of Professional Psychology, the Academy of the American Board of Clinical Psychology, and the Association for Contextual Behavioral Sciences. He is a peer reviewer for Mindfulness and a book reviewer for John Wiley & Sons, Inc, and Routledge.

Objectives

1. Utilize mindfulness exercises to increase awareness of cognitions underlying distressing thoughts.
2. Demonstrate exposure to bodily sensations and decentering techniques to manage challenging thoughts and rumination.
3. Integrate client training in a three-minute mindfulness exercise into clinical practice.

Outline

Use specific tools to help clients break free from the circular traps they create by fighting with their own distressing thoughts.

• Definition of clinical mindfulness 
• Understanding avoidance, negative reinforcement, and exposure 

Explain how to help clients move into the body sensations that underlie strong emotions to transform them from within.

• Decentering from challenging thoughts versus disputation 
• Exposing to bodily sensations to undercut the distraction of ruminating 

Describe a three-minute exercise that clients can begin practicing immediately to build resilience.

• Exposing to thoughts, emotions, and body sensations 
• Discovering and working with issues before they become overwhelming 

Target Audience

• Counselors
• Social Workers
• Psychologists
• Psychotherapists
• Therapists
• Marriage & Family Therapists
• Addiction Counselors
• Case Managers
• Physicians
• Nurses
• Other Mental Health Professionals

Please see the full list of alternative group-buy courses available here: https://lunacourse.com/shop/