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Mindfulness
Autonomy Therapy is not only able to offer Cognitive Behavioural Therapy in the City centre of Norwich, Norfolk, NR2, but also Mindfulness.
Mindfulness based Cognitive Therapy was developed in order to alleviate persistent depression. Depression which was prone to relapse despite man attempts at therapy. It combines Eastern Meditative Practices with Western psychological epistemologies and practices.
The core aims are to help people who have suffered from depression in the past to learn skills to help depression from coming back. One becomes more aware of body sensations, feelings and thoughts from moment to moment and to help people to develop a different way of relating to sensations, thoughts and feelings through mindful acceptance. It also helps people to develop the most helpful responses to unpleasant thoughts and feelings and situations that they meet.
Old habits of thinking are based on well practiced, automatic cognitive routines which are often ruminative. They are motivated by the goal of escaping depression or problematic life situations but are ineffective. These unhelpful routines persist because a person remains in “auto-pilot” and a strong desire to rid themselves of the negative mood and a strong attachment to the goal of feeling happy. As such, constant monitoring of current state and desired state persists.
The core skill to be learned is how to step out of and stay out of these self-perpetuating cognitive routines. In other words, one learns to be mindful and to let go. Letting go means relinquishing involvement in these routines and freeing oneself of the attachment and aversion driving these thinking patterns. The aim of the program is freedom and not happiness, although this may well be a welcome by-product.
