Mind-Body Health Program
Description
A structured, 7-week group program that teaches stress reduction and self-care mind-body skills.
Intended Participants
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Clients seeking training in mind techniques to manage brain/body stress reactions for disease prevention and health maintenance.
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Clients with stress from or stress-influenced physical conditions
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Clients in ongoing insight-oriented therapy with other mental health professionals who would benefit from
learning behavioral skills that enhance non-judgmental self-observation, de-centering, and grounding in the present.
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Clients with chronic pain who would benefit from learning techniques to facilitate turning down central pain generators that perpetuate chronic pain conditions.
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Clients with addictive disorders who would benefit from learning mind techniques to regulate brain/body pulls toward compulsive substance use.
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Clients with other conditions such as anxiety and depression (especially with negative ruminative thinking) who would benefit from learning mind techniques designed to help them manage these automatic brain/body thoughts, feelings and physical/somatic sensations.
 Program Overview
All sessions are 1.5 hours long and consist of 45 minutes of lecture information and discussion and 45 minutes of skills practice
Session I: Overview of the brain/body stress reaction and information on how life’s experiences can shape the developing brain’s reactions to stress. Skill – Introduction to breath-work.
Session II: Overview of Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR) and information about how muscle tension increases the body’s stress response. Skill – Guided experience in PMR.
Session III: Relaxation response and information about the benefits of modulating the adrenaline charged stress system with the capacity to induce a parasympathetic system relaxation response by a concentrative meditation practice. Skill – Guided experience with the Relaxation Response.
Session IV: Overview of self-observation. Introduces the importance of self observation as a means of regulating automatic brain stress reactions. Describes self-observation as a core goal of all psychotherapies, which has been called different names according to the type of therapy. In traditional psychoanalysis, this is called the development of an “Observing Ego”; in mentalization-psychodynamic therapy, it’s been called “Reflecting Capacity,” and in Mindfulness Meditation it has been described as “De-centering and Non-judgmental Observation.” Skills – Introduction to body scan as a means of enhancing mindfulness of the body in the here and now.
Session V: Overview of Mindfulness Meditation. Further work on the capacity for de-centering and non-judgmental observation of thoughts, feelings and body sensations as well as the capacity for shifting attention with purpose toward here and now activities. Skills – the mountain meditation.
Session VI: Food as Medicine. Danielle Paciera, a licensed Nutritionist, teaches the principles of selecting foods to enhance stress modulation and mind-body balance. Skills – raison exercise and mindfulness eating.
Session VII: Review of overall program and encouragement of ongoing individual practice and work with an individual Mind-Body Skills Trainer. Skill – Guided experience in meditation – open selection
Appointments
The Mind-Body Health Program meets Sunday mornings from 10am – 11:30am, enrolls 6-8 clients and repeats every 7 weeks. Please call 504-355-0509 for appointment.
Fees
Group 7-SessionProgram is $525
Mind-Body Skills Individual Program
Description
A 16-20 week program with a licensed counselor reviewing and practicing Mind-Body Skills introduced in the Mind-Body Health Group Program above but done individually with greater depth and attunement to the individual’s life context. Each session lasts 45-50 minutes. Counselors are skilled at focusing on the implementation of Mind-Body Skills within the context of interpersonal counseling sessions that focus on stress and emotional self-regulation, mood disorders, mind-body ailments, addiction, pain disorders and relationship difficulties.
Nutritional Evaluation and Treatment
The NOCMBH nutritionist will perform a evaluation and make recommendations as to how a client’s diet and eating habits influence the stress processing system and mind body health. Evaluation and follow up sessions usually average 10-15 sessions.
Massage
NOCMBH highly recommends regular massage as a means of inducing the relaxation response, detoxifying myofascial trigger and tender points and sustaining optimal mind-body health. NOCMBH has partnered with Kinetix Spa/Salon (504-522-3318) located in the same building. A 50 minute massage for NOCMBH clients is $50 on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday mornings. When you call please let the Kinetix front desk know that you are a NOCMBH client. |
