What Is Mindful Behavior Therapy?

Hi,

I'm Dr.

Ashley,

And I teach something called mindful behavior therapy.

This is a set of skills from behavioral therapy techniques that are based in mindfulness.

It's really a marriage of two powerful approaches.

Most of the skills I share are from dialectical behavior therapy,

And that gives us concrete,

Practical skills for managing our emotions,

Navigating our relationships,

And tolerating distress without making things worse.

The second,

Of course,

Is mindfulness.

And that's the practice of learning to actually be with our experience without judgment,

Without fighting it or running from it.

And when you combine these two practices,

Beautiful transformation occurs.

Because behavior therapy gives you the tools and mindfulness teaches you how to use them without fighting yourself in the process.

Here are just a few of the key concepts from MBT that I find really helpful.

The first is acceptance.

This means acknowledging what is actually true right now.

When we stop spending energy fighting reality,

We free that energy up for real change.

The second is validation.

And this is the practice of recognizing that your emotions make sense.

So whatever you're feeling,

The anxiety,

The anger,

The sadness,

It's all a part of you.

It's not good or bad.

It's just information.

Validation says.

Of course I feel this way.

And when we can offer that to ourselves,

Something can shift.

Another key concept in MBT is non-judgment.

A lot of our suffering comes not from the emotion itself,

But from what we tell ourselves about the emotions we feel.

And non-judgment means we observe what's happening inside us without labeling it as good or bad,

Right or wrong.

We just notice,

We accept it,

We validate.

All of these concepts go together.

And they're not just concepts,

They're practices.

And they change how you relate to yourself and the world.

So in my research and experience and in my work with clients,

The one major concept that keeps reoccurring is breathwork.

And I know this may seem really simple,

But this is the place to start if you're curious about beginning mindful behavior therapy techniques.

Because your breath is the bridge between your mind and your body.

So when you can learn how to use the breath intentionally,

You're not just calming down or managing the moment,

You're practicing being with your emotions.

You're learning to work with what you're feeling instead of against it.

Really,

In short,

You're regulating your nervous system.

And we know that that is the foundation that change is built on.

So whether you're brand new to this work or you've been on this path for a while,

I invite you to start here,

Start with the breath.

And of course,

There are plenty of sessions here on Insight Timer about breath work.

I encourage you to find a practice that works for you that you can use every day for consistent regulation.

Not just on the meditation cushion,

But in real life.

The hard moments,

The everyday moments,

The messy moments.

The ones that matter most.

I wish you all the best and cope well.