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James Fitzgerald Therapy, PLLC
James Fitzgerald, MS, NCC, AAP, Psychotherapist
Strengthening Your Conscious Self © 2022
DBT Mindfulness Skills Training
Encyclopedia of Mindfulness
Mindfulness Definitions
What is Mindfulness?
- Intentionally living with awareness in the present moment.
(Waking up from automatic or rote behaviors to participate and be present to our own lives.)
- Without judging or rejecting the moment.
(Noticing consequences, discerning helpfulness and harmfulness—but letting go of evaluating,
avoiding, suppressing, or blocking the present moment.)
- Without attachment to the moment.
(Attending to the experience of each new moment, rather than ignoring the present by clinging
to the past or grabbing for the future.)
What are Mindfulness Skills?
- Mindfulness skills are the specific behaviors to practice that, when put together, make up
mindfulness.
What is Mindfulness Practice?
- Mindfulness and mindfulness skills can be practiced at any time, anywhere, while doing
anything. Intentionally paying attention to the moment, without judging it or holding on to it, is all that is needed.
- Meditation is practicing mindfulness and mindfulness skills while sitting, standing, or lying
quietly for a predetermined period of time. When meditating, we focus the mind (for example,
we focus on body sensations, emotions, thoughts, or our breath), or we open the mind (paying attention to whatever comes into our awareness). There are many forms of meditation that differ mostly by whether we are opening the mind or focusing the mind—and, if focusing, depending on what is the focus of our attention.
- Contemplative prayer (such as Christian centering prayer, the rosary, Jewish Shema, Islamic
Sufi practice, or Hindu raja yoga) is a spiritual mindfulness practice.
- Mindfulness movement also has many forms. Examples include yoga, martial arts (such as
Qigong, tai chi, aikido, and karate), and spiritual dancing. Hiking, horseback riding, and walking can also be ways to practice mindfulness.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (Jargon, Lingo, Terminology)
Dialectical Behavior Therapy has its own set of terminology. It can be confusing and inaccessible, especially when you’re just beginning. Don’t worry, though, I have created this encyclopedia, as a key to help you figure out what DBT is trying to say.
Glossary
DIALECTICS
Dialectics is the idea that two opposing things can be true at once. This knowledge is central to Dialectical Behavior Therapy. It helps reduce All-or-Nothing thinking and may take some time to accept.
For example, one Dialectical DBT mantra is ‘I make mistakes. I am doing the best I can. AND I admit my mistakes, and I can do better.’ Both things are true at once, even though it may seem they can’t be.
MODULES
Dialectical Behavior Therapy skills are divided into 4 modules designed to treat 4 typical issues of folks with Borderline Personality Disorder. The 4 modules are Mindfulness, Distress Tolerance, Emotion Regulation, Interpersonal Effectiveness.
EFFECTIVE
Effective is the adjective form of the DBT Mindfulness “How” skill of Effectively. Being Effective means doing what is best for yourself in the moment. DBT tries to withhold judgment. That’s why we try to avoid using the terms ‘healthy,’ ‘unhealthy,’ ‘good,’ or ‘bad’ when describing behaviors or coping skills. Your old coping skills are likely ineffective. They may serve you in the moment but do not align with or may even inhibit your long term goals. DBT provides effective coping skills to use instead.
Try to reflect on your choices by asking yourself ‘is this effective’?
CONTEMPLATION “Centering Prayer”
As explained from a theological perspective. What is contemplation, as defined within classical Christian tradition? With apologies to people who may not practice this particular faith, may practice a different faith, may be agnostic, or atheist. In the tradition of Ignatius of Loyola, who formats things differently, but is very much in agreement with this definition, contemplation is prayer without images and imagination, that is, prayer without the attempt to concentrate one’s thoughts and feelings on God and holy things. It is a prayer so singular in its intention to be present to God alone that it refuses everything, even pious thoughts and holy feelings so as to simply sit in darkness, in a deliberate unknowing, within which all thoughts, imaginations, and feelings about God are not fostered or entertained, as is true for all other thoughts and feelings. In the words of The Cloud of Unknowing, it is a simple reaching out directly towards God.
Help me make this website awesome! If there is a word that has been used on my website, and you don’t know what it means, let me know so I can add it to the definitions pages and to the full encyclopedia and glossary page.
References