Self-care is a necessary, though often neglected, part of life that is critically important to physical and mental well-being, resilience and the ability to give others our best. Mind-body medicine is an approach to wellness with evidence-based skills for self-care to relieve trauma, stress and build resilience. Mind-body medicine skills groups offer a supportive environment to learn and practice new self-care techniques.
The groups are small, with just eight to 10 people, and led by a skilled facilitator who has gone through the two-part Group Facilitator Training Program. They meet on a set day and time for eight to 10 sessions, with each group lasting one-and-a-half to two hours. This format provides an opportunity to begin to integrate the mind-body skills into your life with the goal of equipping you with the tools you need to make your own well-being a priority. Self-care skills groups are for individuals of all ages and backgrounds with a variety of concerns and goals.
The evidence-based skills learned in groups have been documented to help lower levels of stress, improve mood, enhance resiliency and optimism, and help prevent chronic health conditions. These skills include:
-
Meditation – To promote relaxed, moment-to-moment awareness through concentrative, mindfulness and expressive meditations
-
Guided imagery – To mobilize your imagination, to improve physiological functioning, and to address concerns and problems that have previously resisted solutions
-
Autogenic training & biofeedback – To develop control over autonomic system functioning, reduce stress, and bring mind and body into balance
-
Breath work – To enhance your health through breath awareness
-
Movement – To release stress and increase energy
-
Self-expression – To find solutions to previously insoluble problems through journaling and drawing
If you are interested in participating in a group, please submit your information via the Contact Us button, stating you’d like more information on participating in a self-care skills group. You can learn more about mind-body medicine through the Center for Mind-Body Medicine.