I would like to talk about the role of mindfulness in DBT.
First of all, just briefly, DBT was developed with specific focus,
on helping people who have difficulty with intense emotions and harmful behaviours.
Early on in developing this therapy, Marsha Linehan understood that to learn to manage emotions,
we need to notice them first.
So, how can mindfulness help with this?
Mindfulness slows us down.
It allows us to take a step back from what is happening around us.
It creates a moment, a space between a difficult situation and our reaction.
In other words, it buys us time.
With this moment, it gives us the opportunity to consider our reaction.
How does mindfulness fit into a DBT programme?
As you can see here, mindfulness is a central part of DBT,
and is interwoven in all the skills training.
Along with emotional regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal effectiveness,
mindfulness is taught in weekly skills groups.
Each group session starts with a mindfulness practice.
This diagram is an example of the structure of one cycle of skills group.
Let us continue with understanding what mindfulness is.
It is being more aware, more awake in every moment of your life.
It is being present and noticing in the moment, and it is doing that without judgment.
Take a moment to look at this picture to help you define what mindfulness is for you.
DPT'S teaching on mindfulness starts with Wise Mind.
It reminds us of human's capacity for innate wisdom.
In other words, how each of us know intuitively what is good for us.
It introduces mindfulness with the state of mind, as we can see on this diagram.
In each state of mind we feel, think and behave differently.
Let us start with emotional mind.
When we are an emotional mind, we do not consider consequences of our actions.
Emotions lead the way, and we may act impulsively.
In emotional mind, thoughts are "hot", and this makes reasonable thinking difficult.
When we are tired, hungry, or intoxicated, we are more vulnerable to being an emotional mind.
Of course, emotional mind can also be inappropriate when we grieve, or when we are in love, for example.
Let us move on to rational mind.
Rational mind uses logic and reasoning to guide actions.
In rational mind, our thoughts are "cold".
We are task-orientated, and we rely on facts to make decisions.
This is of course necessary for science, or for building houses.
Emotions and values are not important here, but let us think of an everyday situation, such as making friends,
to begin to introduce us to Wise Mind.
It would be hard to keep friends if you were only in reasonable mind.
relationships require emotional responses and sensitivity to others' emotions.
This leads us to thinking about Wise Mind.
Wise Mind is a place of intuition and inner wisdom.
In Wise Mind, we balance our feelings and the facts to make considered decisions.
It is a blend of emotional mind and rational mind.
We all have a Wise Mind, and over time we can learn to listen and tune into our Wise Mind.
So, how do we get to Wise Mind?
DBT approaches mindfulness teaching with the "what?" skills and the "how?" skills.
Let us look at the "what?" skills first.
It is to observe the noticing we talked about earlier.
It helps us to notice what is in our body and in our surroundings.
In other words, notice the internal and the external.
Secondly, to describe what you notice, to put words to your experience.
For example, describe your surroundings or your physical sensations in a factual way, without interpretations.
Thirdly, to participate, to be fully present mentally, and throw yourself into activities of the current moment.
Let us now look at the "how?" skills, how to be when you try to be mindful.
First of all, to be non-judgmental, to observe and notice, but not to evaluate things as "good" or "bad",
to leave out comparisons and judgments.
Secondly, to be one mindfully, to do one thing at a time.
Thirdly, to be effectively, to focus on what works for you.
Now that we've covered Wise Mind, the "what?" skills and the "how?" skills,
here are examples of takeaway practices to get started.
Experience and science tell us that learning to notice a present moment is not unlike training a muscle to become stronger.
In DBT, mindfulness is practiced each week, and daily home practice is encouraged.
Starting with very small steps and with a brief practice can be helpful.
You can pick one activity in your day that you already do,
for example, a dog walk, brushing your teeth, or making a cup of tea.
Gently encourage yourself to be fully present when you do that,
to observe what is happening for you inside and outside,
using your senses, and to describe this to yourself in words.
Commit yourself to just doing this one activity, and to steer away from judgment whether you are doing it right or wrong.
Try to do this daily.
Remember that your mind will wander to other things,
and the skill is in bringing it back, gently, to your committed activity,
and try this again tomorrow, even if you don't feel like it - especially if you don't feel like it.