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Anthony Quintiliani, Ph.D, LADC

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March 22, 2020 By Admin

ACT – The Absolute Basics; Acceptance & Commitment Therapy

ACT – The Absolute Basics; Acceptance & Commitment Therapy

In this post I begin a series of writing dealing with ACT, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. The details below are basic, but perhaps just enough to develop more interest in learning about ACT. Here we go!

1) Act, developed mainly by Steven Hayes Ph.D.and based on a foundation of Relational Frame Theory, uses both language and cognition as key components of therapy. However, ACT goes much further than RFT.

2) Act utilizes the Hexaflex Model to ground the therapy process. Within this model ACT focuses on flexible contact with the present moment, no matter what that contact is. It suggests that acceptance of difficulties works better than avoidance of them, in fact showing how avoidance of personal problems often makes condition worse emotionally. Self-as-context is emphasized. The focus is on cognition, emotion, and behavior of the person seeking help. Values are used in congruence with motivation, and cognitive diffusion is taught to free the person from deep “stuckness” in unhelpful thoughts. Finally, once a behavioral action plan is agreed upon, ACT works to obtain clear commitment to action by the person who is suffering. In summary, ACT does its best to reduce/eliminate cognitive and behavioral inflexibility. Ultimately, ACT strives to enhance and expand psychological flexibility on the part of the person seeking help.

3) ACT emphasizes the utter importance of a strong clinical relationship, alliance and trust in therapy. Without such a therapeutic relationship, it is unlikely there will be constructive, positive change.

4) Act utilizes helpful metaphors and reinforcing clinical interventions to support positive change. Act intends to reduce the power on unhelpful verbal rules used by the person hoping to change. For example, ACT notes the hopeless futility of avoiding personal problems and works to get the person unstuck from unhelpful thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. With both personal acceptance of your own cognition, emotion, and behavior (they are important but they are NOT you) – and commitment to valued actions – ACT hopes to improve what needs to be changed in a collaborative relationship.

5) ACT skill building occurs in interactive experiential actions and experiments; ACT pays close attention to positive changes that may occur. In the process ACT is both interpersonal and intrapersonal in nature. With costs-benefits analysis and various forms of behavioral functional analysis, ACT supports personal goals and improved stimulus control via contingencies of reinforcement (very behavioral here).

6) ACT has shown effectiveness in dealing with depression, anxiety, and addictions. More recently, ACT has modified its approach to improve outcomes in trauma treatment. In this process ACT recognizes self-medication contingencies, the role of avoidance in making things worse, as well as intrusive cognitions, emotions, and behaviors. Act hopes to use skillful means (mindfulness in acceptance and defusion) to reduce rigid reactions and fears. Act is flexible enough to complement other forms of evidence-based therapies.

For more information refer to Harris, R. (2019). ACT Made Simple. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger Publications or the various articles and book written by Steven Hayes on this topic.

Anthony R. Quintiliani, PhD., LADC  

From the Eleanor R. Liebman Center for Secular Meditation in Monkton, Vermont and the Home of The Monkton SanghaChiYinYang_EleanorRLiebmanCenter

Author of Mindful Happiness  

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New Edition of Mindful Happiness in Production…Coming soon!

Filed Under: ACT - Acceptance & Commitment Therapy, Featured, Therapy Tagged With: ACCEPTANCE AND COMMITMENT THERAPY, ACT, ANTHONY QUINTILIANI, MINDFUL HAPPINESS, MINFUL HAPPINESS, THERAPY.

February 22, 2020 By Admin

Taoist Meditation on Healing Colors of Light

Taoist Meditation on Healing Colors of Light

In Taoist views the four seasons (five if you include “Indian Summer”) are strongly associated with emotional moods and bodily energies. Healing colored light is also part of this viewpoint. For each of the colors we use, follow the process noted below.

  1. Sit quietly and breathe calmly.
  2. Circle your arms palms open above your head to collect the healing energy potential.
  3. Place your hands over your heart at first, then when ready move them to cup your knees and pull up a little.
  4. Allow the colored healing light to do its healing work inside you, and be open to imagination and suggestion.
  5. Smile!
  6. At the end of each color meditation, imagine releasing dark negative energies from your body.

For White Healing Light (think about courage and righteous justice), Bright Blue Healing Light (think about inner stillness, gratitude and gentleness), Bright Green Healing Light (think about kindness, generosity, and forgiveness),  Bright Red Healing Light (think about joy, happiness, honor, and love), Bright Yellow Healing Light (think about fairness, openness, and balance) AND now use any combination your wish – Follow the process noted and listen for guidance. In the combination feel whatever comes up in your upper chest, then in your heart area, and finally in your lower belly.

For more information on sound and color healing meditation, refer to C. Mantak (2009). The Six Healing Sounds: Taoist Techniques for Balancing Chi. Rochester, VT: Destiny Books [CD].

Anthony R. Quintiliani, PhD., LADC  

From the Eleanor R. Liebman Center for Secular Meditation in Monkton, Vermont and the Home of The Monkton SanghaChiYinYang_EleanorRLiebmanCenter

Author of Mindful Happiness  

Mindful Happiness cover designs.indd

New Edition of Mindful Happiness in Production…Coming soon!

 

 

Filed Under: ANTHONY QUINTILIANI, Featured, Meditation, MIndfulness, Taoism Tagged With: ANTHONY QUINTILIANI, HEALING COLORS OF LIGHT, MEDITATION, MINDFUL HAPPINESS, TAOIST

January 30, 2020 By Admin

A Tribute to Ram Dass (Richard Alpert)

A Tribute to Ram Dass (Richard Alpert)

Recently Ram Dass died at his home in Maui. He was 88 years old.  He was born into a well-off Boston family, and enjoyed materialism in his early professional years.  When completing a Ph.D. in Psychology at Stanford University he was still into material things. His spiritual awakening did not exist.  He was once known for his psychedelic drug experimentation while teaching at Harvard University. This experimentation occurred in the 1960s and 1970s, and in 1963 he was fired from Harvard for related reasons. In 1967 he went to India to study under Hindu Sadhu Neem, Karoli Baba, also known as Maharaj-ji. Before his teacher died, Alpert was named Ram Dass (Servant of God). He practiced bhakti yoga – pure love on the spiritual path. In 1974 Ram Dass returned to the United States, where he developed his own style of meditation, a style that radically integrated various forms of spiritual traditions.  In 1971 he published his first book, Be Here Now;  this book helped open up higher consciousness to others without the use of drug and expounded a life role of service to others. In 2004 Ram Dass relocated to Maui, where he remained for the rest of his life.  In 1997 he wrote Still Here. In some ways this book helped to clarify his deeper understanding of himself; the depth was the result of a serious stroke he suffered. His cerebral hemorrhage forced him to go deeper into self-understanding. In 2004 he survived a near-fatal infection. From his stroke on Ram Dass  was mainly homebound. His last book (with Mirabai Bush) was Walking Each Other Home:Conversations on Living and Dying. 

To the end he faced his death with great human grace, and he never gave up his view that to live must involve to love and serve others. Ram Dass, sometimes with the help of others, also established various organizations to provide teachings and service to others. Here is a short list: Hanuman Foundations (the teachings of Neen Karoli Baba); Love Serve Remember Foundation; Prison Ashram Project; Co-creating Living Dying Project and Doorway to Light; Seva Foundation (healthcare for underserved areas); and, Social Venture Network (for businesses). Yes, Ram Dass lived his talk – he walked the walk!

With the passing of Ram Dass, we have lost a great spiritual and meditation teacher. There are few and far between equivalent replacements. May he rest in great inner peace as he travels the bardo.

For more information refer to Duncan Oliver, J. (January, 2020). Ram Dass, beloved spiritual teacher, has died. In Tricycle. See tricycle.org/trikedaily/ram-dass-dies/.

Anthony R. Quintiliani, PhD., LADC  

From the Eleanor R. Liebman Center for Secular Meditation in Monkton, Vermont and the Home of The Monkton SanghaChiYinYang_EleanorRLiebmanCenter

Author of Mindful Happiness  

Mindful Happiness cover designs.indd

New Edition of Mindful Happiness in Production…Coming soon

Filed Under: ANTHONY QUINTILIANI, Featured, People, Ram Dass, Spiritual Energy, Spiritual Experience, Spiriuality Tagged With: ANTHONY QUINTILIANI.MINDFUL HAPPPINESS, RAM DASS, SPIRITUALITY

January 22, 2020 By Admin

Brief Update on America’s Opioid Problems-2020

America’s Opioid Problem-2020; A Brief Update

Unfortunately, Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) is alive and well in 2020. Today approximately 150 People are dying each day due to opioid overdose. The CDC noted that from 1999 to 2017 approximately 399,000 people died in the United States from Opioid overdose. Related to chronic pain, this is one of the greatest failures in American medicine; perhaps, now medical training (as well as all mental health and social work training) will include sufficient clinical exposure to Substance Use Disorders ((SUD). Sufficient exposure goes way beyond Motivational Interviewing. Since many recognize addictions as America’s number one healthcare problem, all healthcare providers and school counselors, social workers, psychologist, etc. should receive proper clinical training in the prevention, intervention, and treatment of SUDs. It is about time!

Although in most parts of the country opioid dependence is still quite common, there is hope. Medically Assisted Treatment is being used, which in the best cases (Vermont’s model) includes medications to help reduce opioid cravings and psychoactive effects AND counseling to resolve mental health and addictions problems that lead to OUD in the first place. I, myself, a long time ago was part of a clinical team that established the first methadone clinic in Vermont under the jurisdiction a community mental health center (The Howard Center). As Clinical Director, and with lots of clinical experience and training in co-occurring disorders and the help of many, we were ready to act. Some thought Vermont did not need such a clinic, but on our first day of operation we had a waiting list of over 100 people hoping to receive these services. There is a risk here: current funding models short-change the clinical psychosocial interventions and enhance the medical interventions. For treatment to work long-term, people need BOTH! Even if people are successful at harm reduction regarding OUD, relapse is just around the corner if they do not receive therapy for pre-existing psychological problems (anxiety, depression, trauma, other addictions, and eating disorders). It is estimated that 90% of clients who do not take MAT medications may relapse. MAT with psychosocial clinical interventions sports a success rate of about 50%, which is great considering the severity of OUD. Let’s not be penny-wise and dollar-foolish; let’s not reduce psychosocial interventions that prevent relapse and enhance long-term health status.

For more information refer to The National Psychologist, 28(1), Winter, 2020, pages 1 and 5.

Anthony R. Quintiliani, PhD., LADC  

From the Eleanor R. Liebman Center for Secular Meditation in Monkton, Vermont and the Home of The Monkton SanghaChiYinYang_EleanorRLiebmanCenter

Author of Mindful Happiness  

Mindful Happiness cover designs.indd

New Edition of Mindful Happiness in Production…Coming soon

Filed Under: Addiction, ANTHONY QUINTILIANI, Featured, Opioid Crisis, Treatment Tagged With: MINDFUL HAPPINESS, OPIOID CRISIS 2020

January 12, 2020 By Admin

Two Forms of Self-Help Journaling

Self-Help Journaling – Two Methods

Generally there are two forms of self-help journaling: writing about worries and concerns OR writing about joy and happiness. In my more than 35 years of clinical experience I have not found the former to be very helpful. Most people stuck in negative mood states are not easily able to disengage themselves from negative, worrisome thoughts. For these folks journaling and placing more cognitive and emotional attention on negatives is often unhelpful. So I  stopped recommending this form of journaling to clients years ago. If you suffer from anxiety, depression, trauma, addictions and/or eating problems, I would not recommend negative problem solving journaling as a practice. Our limbic brain sets us up for overdrive when dealing with negative emotions and experiences, so no need to add more cognition and attention to it all. Better to work on positives!

I have found positive journaling to be amazingly helpful for some people. The practice is quite easy. Simply find a journal you like to look at and hold. Yes, visual and kinesthetic pleasures are important as motivators. Place it near your bed, and every night a few minutes before you go to bed do some journaling – even a few minutes can be helpful.  Just write freely, without censoring in any way. It is a good idea to use all your sensory experiences here. What did you see, hear, feel, smell, taste, experience that you may wish to write about? Once you get into the process, try to go a bit deeper: exactly what was it about the positive experience that impacted you, and how deeply? Do your best not to seek ideal happiness experiences (there may not be nirvana); these realities are far and few for most people. So best to begin with simply paying more attention to positives during the day. You may begin to notice that some of the experiences and things you have been conditioned to take for granted are actually positive in nature. Pick only one experience to write about. Later go back often and re-read what you wrote.

For more information refer to J. Smiechowski’s ideas in Easy Health Options Home; MedicalXpress; Journal of Psychophysiology; and University of Rochester, Journaling for Mental Health.

Anthony R. Quintiliani, PhD., LADC  

From the Eleanor R. Liebman Center for Secular Meditation in Monkton, Vermont and the Home of The Monkton SanghaChiYinYang_EleanorRLiebmanCenter

Author of Mindful Happiness  

Mindful Happiness cover designs.indd

New Edition of Mindful Happiness in Production…Coming soon

Filed Under: Activities, Featured, Journal Writing, Self-Help Tagged With: JOURNALING, SELF CARE

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Gurdjieff’s The Fourth Way to Consciousness: Background A core teachings is that there are three ways of being: the fakir (master of the physical body); the monk (master of faith and feeling); and, the yogi (master of mind development).  A key goal is to KNOW yourself at the deepest levels.  To KNOW is to be, […]

Strategies to Cool Your Hot Emotions: Using Mind and Body First, let me note that one of the best sets of mind-body approaches to cooling down hot emotional reactions can be found in the various emotion regulation skills and practices in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (created by Marsha M. Lineman, a practicing Buddhist).  These skills may […]

Mindfulness On Loss, Grief and Mourning Mindfulness about personal loss, grief, and mourning may encompass many things.  Here I will focus on the process and what people can do to better handle their suffering and pain.  One way to look at it is through the lens of radical acceptance; another is via the reality of […]

Effective Clinical Supervision Perhaps other than the mental health status of the therapist and her/his ethical clinical skills, there is no more important variable in successful clinical work than effective CLINICAL supervision.  I emphasize “clinical’ because in today’s bureaucratic systems, so much supervision tends to be about required procedures like utilization level, reporting requirements, and documentation for services […]

Liberate Yourself with Spiritual Energy Cultivating authentic inner and outer peace is the only way to a happy and good future. Learn to use your spiritual higher self to let go of self-centerednesss, greed, and entitlement. Work to free yourself from the endless grasping for material “things.”  Does it really matter what kind of car […]

Safety:  Mindful Candle Gazing Meditation Practices Candle light and candle gazing are common in many spiritual and religious practices.  After many fire-related losses, religious organizations have found ways to maintain the practice and reduce liability related to accidental fires.  The National Candle Association is also quite aware that their products include some risk.  Therefore, the […]

  Mindfulness – Self-Kindness Practice Befriending the self is one of the most difficult things for Americans to do.  It is probably true that self-kindness is difficult for most people; however, the current rampant criticism (I am right! You are wrong!) and extreme greed manifesting in the United States tends to produce two opposite extremes: […]

Deepak Chopra Ideas on “The Future of God” – Part 1 Deepak Chopra’s new book, The Future of God… (2014) presents some very challenging perspective on spirituality, atheism, and formal religion.  Here I will simply present some paraphrased details and my own ideas on these topics. Basic Foundations Human beings have special talents for searching […]

Risks and Solutions for Compassion Fatigue Perhaps nothing more than compassion fatigue causes more helpers to prematurely exit their fields.  First responders are generally seen as the most at risk for compassion fatigue (and possibly PTSD), followed by emergency room medical staff. A third group, medical and clinical staff working with high risk terminally-prone patients is […]

Meditation at the Deepest Levels In 2007 M. A. Singer’s The Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself, opened up a whole new, deeper perspective on why consciousness or pure awareness is the root of self. Even in a Buddhist  “no-self” view, Singer’s inquiries leave us with a great deal to unravel.  Here are some reasons why […]

A Radical Feminist in her Time Over 800 years ago Hildegard of Bingen presented radical viewpoints on women-power and male-dominance in the Christian Church, stone/gem healing, meditation, insight and intellect, the web of life or planetary oneness, being in nature, environmentalism, and personal stories of suffering, etc.  Despite her outspoken manner and her popularity among […]

Using Mindful Movement as a Form of Meditation Practice with the Body In Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction practices Hatha Yoga has been used as part of the recovery process from both psychological and physical suffering. In my own clinical use of mindful movement with children, youth and adults, I found that basic Qi Gong/Che Kung, Walking […]

Mindful Loving Can Improve Relationships The 14th Dalai Lama (Tenzin Gyatso), Pema Chodron, David Richo and many others have provided us with helpful advice about improving the quality of our significant relationships.  The Dalai Lama in various writings reminds us that to have true compassion for others – including those we love – we must […]

Taoist Meditation on Healing Colors of Light In Taoist views the four seasons (five if you include “Indian Summer”) are strongly associated with emotional moods and bodily energies. Healing colored light is also part of this viewpoint. For each of the colors we use, follow the process noted below. Sit quietly and breathe calmly. Circle […]

Liberation of the True Self Socrates is reported to have noted that “the secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old but on building the new.” In Buddhism there are clear relationships between “no-self” and the force of impermanence, that reality that ensures constant change and thus personal […]

Meditation on Ecodharma and Buddhist Ecology   Sit calmly and begin to breathe in and out deeply and slowly. Open your eyes to see and appreciate the natural environment you are in. Close your eyes now if you wish to do so. Know that this nature – the sky, clouds, stars, father sun, mother moon, […]

In-Depth Means to Discover and Be Your True Self Henry David Thoreau reminded us that it is not what you look at, but it is what you see that matters. How do you SEE yourself?  John Muir reminded us that the sun shines in us as well as in our souls. Do you find “the […]

Improving Your Self-Esteem – An Action Contemplation The UCLA Higher Education Research Institute’s surveys and V. Mamgain’s ideas about neoclassical economics of happiness help provide a means to deconstruct improved learning in higher education and also personal happiness in the process. According to the UCLA research surveys, higher education students want more spirituality and personal […]

Using Creativity in Clinical Supervision Effective clinical supervision is a combination of hearable direction about clinical practice, gentle-direct leadership, clinical “Know-How,” evidence-based skills, complex psychodynamics, and the willingness to work with others on their developmental processes. There are risks involved. I have provided clinical supervision and consultation to other clinicians for 43 years without a […]

Brain Habits –  Helpful Vs Unhelpful Nora Volkow, MD, Director, National Institute on Drug Abuse ( video below)  has noted that people suffering from addictions may experience some dysfunction in in brain areas related to personal motivation, reward recognition, and inhibitory controls.  Neuroscientists have utilized various brain imaging techniques to document this possibility in addicted individuals.  These […]

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