6 dias

Meditation For Individuals With Mental Illness: Beginners & Health Professionals

Por Alta Lourette

O que você irá aprender

The aim of this course is to provide information to anyone interested in meditation, specifically: an individual with a serious mental illness; or a therapist or health professional interested in guiding an individual with a mental illness. Not all meditations are suitable for individuals with serious mental illness and through this course you will gain an understanding of the do’s and don’ts. If you don’t have a mental illness, you can still benefit from this course, its information and meditations. The course starts by defining what mental illness and meditation is and will briefly talk about different types of meditation and the type recommended for individuals with mental illness. Examples of mental illness considered, but not limited to, are personality disorders, mood disorders like bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, etc. The course covers the benefits and potential adverse effects of meditation and what to avoid when teaching meditation to individuals with mental illness. Lastly, the course includes three guided meditations suitable for individuals with mental illness.

Alta Lourette

Cape Town, WC, South Africa

Alta is a qualified and registered occupational therapist who has interacted and worked with individuals with serious mental disorders in the maximum security forensic unit and psych ward of two hospitals. As a qualified and experienced yoga- and meditation guide, she has conducted yoga and meditation sessions as part of her group therapy sessions...

Lição 1

Definition Of Mental Illness & Meditation And Types Of Meditations

In this lesson, we briefly discuss the definition of meditation and mental illness as well as several types of meditations as per what is relevant to this course and individuals with mental illness. Therefore not every mental illness that exists is mentioned, nor all types of meditations, although a simple understanding of what type of meditation would be most appropriate and inappropriate for people with mental illness will be indicated.

Lição 2

Potential Dangers Of Meditation

In this lesson we discuss the potential adverse effects of meditation and precautionary measures to consider, which are rarely talked about. Also included are best practices specifically for individuals with mental illness.

Lição 3

Benefits Of Meditation

In this lesson we cover the benefits of mindfulness meditation specifically considering individuals with mental illness as the benefits of meditation can potentially help individuals to manage or reduce symptoms.

Lição 4

Mindfulness Meditation

This lesson contains a short guided mindful meditation suitable for individuals with (or without) mental illness. The meditation guides you to experience the present moment for what it is and aims to facilitate a grounding experience. Piano music is playing in the background by RelaxDaily.

Lição 5

Counting Breaths

This lesson contains another short guided mindful meditation suitable for individuals with mental illness. In this meditation you are encouraged to count your breath with the aim to practice holding your attention and focus and not getting distracted by thoughts. Thoughts will come, that is what the mind is there for, so just do your best to return to the breath and not let the mind convince you to run away with thoughts. Piano music by RelaxDaily

Lição 6

Body Scan

This lesson contains another short guided mindful meditation suitable for individuals with mental illness. In this meditation you are encouraged to bring your attention to parts of your body. As soon as you get distracted by the mind, do your best to return to the guidance of the meditation. This meditation is also a good practice to notice when you tense up and aims to help you relax and be present.

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