Depression and anxiety

Depression and anxiety are very common problems. Depression and anxiety involves both biological changes in the chemical composition of the brain as well as psychological changes in the way we think and feel. That’s why it is often useful to combine medical treatment of depression and anxiety with a psychological approaches to deal in a new way with your thoughts and feelings.

 

Treatment of depression and anxiety

Maybe your doctor has prescribed medicines for your depression and anxiety. Although these can be useful in lessening your symptoms , they do not offer a permanent cure. The effects continue as long as you are taking the pills. However, many people prefer other ways to deal with their depression and anxiety. In mindfulness-based cognitive therapy you will learn skills to help you deal with your thoughts and feelings in a different way.

 

The basic skill we are going to develop is mindfulness

Mindfulness means paying attention in a different way than you are used to: namely being attentive with precision in the present moment in a nonjudgmental way regarding your sense impressions, your thinking, feelings and physical sensations.

 

This can be trained in different ways:

•	By insight meditation (sitting and walking postures)
•	By applying mindfulness to your automatic thoughts and to your basic assumptions about yourself and the world: the cognitive part
•	By bodily exercises such as breathing exercises, the body scan and yoga

 

In the cognitive part of this training we take a close look which thoughts and assumptions maintain your depression and anxiety s and after having discovered these, we apply mindfulness to it. The combination of both is thus called mindfulness-based cognitive therapy. It is an evidence-based form of therapy. Scientific research into the effects of yoga shows that specific yoga postures and breathing techniques have a positive effect on your depression and anxiety. But most of all, it is also a way to increase your mindfulness regarding your bodily and indirectly your mental feelings. In addition to this, some other (besides the strategy of mindfulness) evidence-based strategies for increasing your happiness will be offered.

 

Homework: the importance of practicing
Together we will work on changing patterns of the mind, which have become deep-rooted habits. However, changing this will only be successful if you want to spend time and energy in learning these new skills.. This approach is completely dependent on your willingness to do “homework” between the sessions. It means that during 6 days of the week for one hour a day during the whole course (about 8-10 sessions) you are doing the given assignment, such as performing the exercises, listening to the cd’s and so on. Although you probably are busy, the assignments are an essential part of the training. If you are not able – for whatever reason – to commit yourself to the homework, then you are dissuaded from following this training, although adaptations can be made.

 

Facing difficulties
The meetings and homework can teach you how to become more fully aware and present in each moment of your life. The good news is that - due to developing mindfulness- your life can be more interesting, livelier and more fulfilling. On the other hand, facing that what is present in this moment, can be difficult and unpleasant. It requires courage to see difficulties, but if you have this courage to recognize and acknowledge that what comes in your field of awareness, this is in the long term the most effective way to reduce your feelings of unhappiness. Moreover your willingness of facing difficulties is essential to reduce the chances of a new period of depression and the different manifestations of anxiety. If your see unpleasant feelings, thoughts and experiences on time, at the moment of arising, you will be better able to ”nip them in the bud”, before they get more intense and persistent and progress into a new depression or a pattern of anxiety. In this therapy you learn to face the difficulties in a friendly way. The other good news is that these skills will be very helpful for further mental and spiritual development, beyond depression and anxiety. These are truly skills for life.

 

Patience and perseverance

Changing deep-seated patterns of the mind takes a lot of time and energy. The effects of it can be sometimes noticed later. You can compare it with gardening: you have to prepare the ground, plant the seeds, ensure that they will get enough water and nourishment and then patiently wait for the results. May be you are already familiar with this pattern when you took medication: the effects of it came later. In the same way we ask you to approach this training with a spirit of patience and perseverance, committing yourself to put time and energy in this therapy, while accepting with patience that the fruits of your efforts will not show immediately.

 

Intake interview
The intake interview is an opportunity to ask questions about what is written here and about the therapy. The therapy is on an individual basis.

Fees: The fees (76 euro for one session of 1 hour) are for the most part reimbursed by your health insurance. Intake: 30 euro

 

Location: Bosboom Toussainstraat 32, Amsterdam.

 

Info: 020-6833049 of peterbaert@hotmail.com

 

Therapist
Peter Baert (1952) is a (BIG) registered health care psychologist, therapist, authorized Vipassana meditation teacher and certified yoga teacher. He has been meditating for more than 25 years. Since 2003 he is certified as a yoga teacher (Saswhita). He teaches at the Sangha Metta meditation center in Amsterdam. He has done numerous meditation retreats in Thailand, Birma, Nepal and the Netherlands. His teachers are among others the late Mettaviharee and U Vivekananda (Lumbini).
Peter has experienced himself the healing effects of yoga and Buddhist meditation. Besides he is part-time working at 2 primary schools as a dyslexia and reading specialist. At present he is developing a mindfulness training for primary school kids.

 

Recommendations of people who have done the training

"When I began Peter's mindfulness course my fundamental goal was to learn, in the practical sense, how to meditate. I had heard the term 'mindfulness' before, and was familiar with it, conceptually, but I had never understood that it was actually possible to improve your level of awareness. The course is very straightforward, and presented in a way that very much succeeds in bringing to life the real, tangible benefits of mindfulness training. Personally, I find that I am less anxious, and my creative productivity has noticeably increased as a result of this course."

 

Tina (35, US national)