Mindfulness Therapy in Texas for Greater Self-Awareness

Mindfulness can also refer to the practices that help us develop this kind of self-awareness. So you don't have to worry that mindfulness is only for a certain group of experts with special abilities. I believe anyone can become more present.

My own interest goes back to my early years as a therapist. During my clinical supervision with Dr. Adam Coffey, he encouraged my study of mindfulness-based practices. As I brought mindfulness into my work, I found it to be a powerful tool for re-energizing lives, for individuals and for couples learning to slow down with each other.

In sessions, mindfulness might look like pausing mid-sentence to notice what's happening in your body, tracking a feeling as it rises and falls, or exploring a reaction with curiosity instead of judgment. It doesn't require incense, special postures, or a quiet mind. Restless minds are welcome.

Outside of sessions, mindfulness can take many forms. Yoga and tai chi pair movement with breath. Meditation asks you to sit, watch, and gently return your focus. And there are the everyday moments when you're fully absorbed: making art, working out, playing with your pet, sharing a meal with people you love. Each one is a chance to ask yourself a simple question: what am I noticing right now?

Mindfulness isn't a cure-all, but it supports much of what people come to therapy for. Clients often find it helps them:

• Notice anxiety or anger building before it takes over
• Separate a thought ("I'm failing") from a fact
• Feel their emotions without being flooded by them
• Listen to a partner without rehearsing a rebuttal
• Enjoy ordinary moments instead of rushing through them
• Sleep, eat, and move with more attention to what their body actually needs

In my post What Is Self-Awareness?, I describe self-awareness as self-study: looking in the mirror and seeing yourself clearly, without judgment or expectation. I like to think about it in three ways:

• Retroactive self-awareness is looking back on an experience and reflecting on what you were doing, thinking, and feeling after it happened. This gives you invaluable information about your reactions to certain situations, people, or events.
• In-the-moment self-awareness is catching yourself in the here and now: "I notice how I'm acting, thinking, or feeling right now." You can't change what already happened, but you get to choose what comes next. This is what most people mean by mindfulness.
• Proactive self-awareness is imagining the situations that tend to trigger familiar patterns and preparing for them ahead of time. You could call it coping ahead.

Most people start with retroactive awareness ("Why did I say that?") and gradually learn to catch themselves sooner. That shift is a big part of what we work on together.

Change is hard, and it's rarely linear. In Change Is Hard. Self-Awareness Can Help., I share a favorite poem about falling into the same hole in the sidewalk again and again, until one day you walk down a different street. Self-awareness is what makes that possible. When your eyes are open, you can catch the old pattern a little sooner, climb out a little faster, and eventually choose a new path.

Mindfulness also pairs naturally with self-compassion. Noticing your patterns without judgment is very different from noticing them and then beating yourself up. In therapy, we practice the first kind, and we celebrate the small steps along the way.

I integrate mindfulness into individual therapy for anxiety, anger, stress, and life changes, and into couples therapy, where being present with each other can change the entire tone of a conversation. All sessions are online for clients located anywhere in Texas.

If you'd like to explore how mindfulness can become part of your healing process, reach out for a free phone consultation.