Traditional psychotherapeutic approaches to working with mental health problems have emphasized the role of thoughts in causing anxiety and depression. The role of the body is less recognized and it is known that mental health disorders involve a loss of body awareness and habitual somatic patterns that perpetuate mood dysregulation. In this presentation, participants will learn how mindful movement and yoga practices can promote an interoceptive awareness necessary to promote emotion regulation. Somatic resources such as breath regulation, alignment and grounding will be taught through guided experiential practices. We will discuss how body awareness and self regulation skills can enhance our mindfulness and clinical practices.
Rachael Frankford, MSW, RSW is a social worker, psychotherapist and yoga teacher. She works in the department of Psychiatry at St. Michael’s Hospital and is also in private practice in Toronto. Rachael specializes in mindfulness based interventions for mental health and is training in Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, a body oriented approach to psychotherapy. She is also the creator of the MAST (Mindful Awareness Stabilization Training) program (mast.stmichaelshospital.com). Rachael will also be offering a Mindful Movement for Clinicians workshop through the AMM-MIND program at the University of Toronto on June 17-18, 2016 (http://socialwork.utoronto.ca/conted/programs-and-workshops/certificates/mind/mindb/b48/).