Mental health services from San Jose to Santa Barbara, CA

At its essence, mindfulness-based therapy is learning how to be present and pay attention to what you are feeling right now, without judgement and without invalidating your experience. Mindfulness-based therapy promotes acceptance of one’s thoughts and can help individuals free themselves from negative mental spirals that can cause depression, stress, and anxiety.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is the most widely implemented evidence-based practice for improving mental health. The goal of CBT is to change patterns of thinking or behavior that negatively impact one’s quality of life, whether it is anxiety, depression, or PTSD. By focusing on the way a client thinks, they can start developing a consistent awareness of their unhelpful thoughts or reactions. Once the client is aware, then they can make changes that can lead to enduring improvement in their mood and daily functioning.

With a mindfulness-based approach to CBT the focus is on developing ongoing awareness and acceptance of the present moment, which can help clients notice triggers and better manage depression, stress, and anxiety.

The core goal of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is that one can accept what is out of his or her personal control and commit to action that improves and enriches life. Utilizing mindfulness-based therapy, ACT can help individuals recognize the ways in which their attempts to suppress or mange emotional experiences can create challenges to healing and growth. ACT empowers clients to deal with painful thoughts and feelings in a way that has less negative impact and influence over them by providing them with psychological skills. Mindfulness-based ACT focuses on willingness, commitment, and value action towards a meaningful, fulfilling, and vital life.

Dialectical Behavioral Therapy is a research-based CBT treatment that targets emotion dysregulation. Oftentimes, we can become emotionally dysregulated by seemingly small or insignificant events, due to a variety of reasons. Our judgments and reactions — as well as our thoughts surrounding events — can cause suffering, distress, anxiety, and depression. DBT helps find a balance between accepting ourselves as “good enough,” while gently recognizing the need for all of us to grow and change. DBT is offered in a warm and validating environment with a focus on mindfulness-based therapy. DBT is particularly helpful for interpersonal effectiveness, distress tolerance, and emotion regulation.