3.00 CE Credits Available
Integrating Mindfulness into Counseling and Psychotherapy
by Ronald D. Siegel
What is “mindfulness” and how can we actually use it with our clients? Understand the principles of mindfulness-oriented psychotherapy and its application for a range of clinical issues in this new video with mindfulness expert Dr. Ronald D. Siegel.
“Mindfulness” has been a tantalizing therapy buzzword for several years now, but what exactly is it? For many clinicians—not to mention clients and the general public—the concept is mystifying, despite its increasing mainstream popularity. Wonder no more with this comprehensive new video featuring Ronald D. Siegel, a longtime mindfulness-oriented psychotherapist and expert in the approach. Here, you’ll discover how mindfulness differs from meditation, folds into treatment for a vast range of clinical issues, and supports our own personal and professional growth.

Mindfulness is simultaneously a set of experiential practices and a philosophical stance, and Siegel demonstrates both in four sessions with very different clients. You’ll watch Siegel promote a “felt sense of meaning” with Carl, a man in his sixties with past suicidal ideation and current financial stress. With Julia, a woman in her 20s grieving multiple deaths and suffering from anxiety, Siegel emphasizes the somatic element of mindfulness. Teaching her to track her moment-to-moment physical experience with acceptance rather than aversion, Siegel helps Julia reframe her anxiety as physical tension that she can begin to release with mindful awareness.

You’ll also watch Lorraine, a middle-aged woman with chronic back pain, benefit from Siegel’s integrative knowledge to get in touch with her present-moment experience of fear, which may actually exacerbate her condition. Finally, you’ll observe Mac, a Japanese-American man who lived in an internment camp as a child, move toward greater emotional awareness in his desire to connect with his wife.

Siegel supports his clients with practices and psychoeducation, and the viewer with useful commentary that details his interventions and outlines his goals. His approach to mindfulness is both accessible and grounded, making it a suitable adjunct to modalities ranging from the cognitive to the psychodynamic to the humanistic. If you’re a clinician wanting to understand what mindfulness looks like and how it can fit into your work, you’ll find this to be an excellent resource.

What therapists are saying…

"Ron Siegel is not only a masterful therapist, he is a consummate teacher. The weave of demonstration and commentary will help you understand how these powerful mindfulness practices can be applied to benefit your clients and how they can enhance your own life. Intelligently designed and professionally executed, this video will serve therapist and layperson alike."

-- Tara Brach, PhD, author of Radical Acceptance and True Refuge
“Mindfulness in psychotherapy has been a hot topic in recent years, but the question is: How to bring it into our work with people? Ron Siegel shows us how, simply and subtly. His kindness in this approach is palpable, along with his skillful application of the mindfulness approach.”

-- Bill O’Hanlon, psychotherapist and author of Do One Thing Different and Solution-Oriented Spirituality
"Clinicians often ask, 'How exactly do I introduce mindfulness into psychotherapy?' 'Should it be different for different people or disorders?' 'How does mindfulness fit into the rest of treatment?' In this insightful video, senior therapist and lifelong mindfulness student Dr. Ronald Siegel offers us answers—effectively demonstrating with real client interviews how, when, and why we might introduce various practices into therapy. It’s an invaluable resource for beginning therapists and experienced clinicians alike."

-- Christopher Germer, PhD, clinical instructor, Harvard Medical School; coeditor, Mindfulness and Psychotherapy; author, The Mindful Path to Self-Compassion
"We can read about incorporating mindfulness into psychotherapy, but so much more is to be gained by seeing it in action. In this excellent video, Ron Siegel, one of the pioneers of mindfulness in psychotherapy, takes us step by step through the theory and practice of using mindfulness with clients. His many years of experience, wisdom, and compassion shine through. This inspiring and informative video will be indispensable for clinicians and lay people alike."

-- Diana Winston, Director of Mindfulness Education, UCLA Mindful Awareness Research Center; author of Fully Present: The Science, Art, and Practice of Mindfulness
"A particularly inspiring aspect of Siegel’s therapeutic style is his flexibility. He provides numerous points of entry to mindfulness work for psychotherapists of varied orientations, from cognitive behavior therapy to Gendlin’s (1996) focusing....Siegel, Yalom, and Psychotherapy.net have assembled an inspiring instructional program that is both well- designed and clearly presented. The streaming video format, which is accompanied by scrolling transcript and links to additional resources, is a particularly convenient way of accessing the program. Teachers and students of psychotherapy alike will find useful information and examples of sound clinical practice in this collection of dialogues, case illustrations, and mindfulness exercises."

-- Donald Marks and Amanda Rhodes, Reviewed in American Psychological Association PsycCRITIQUES
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As a mindfulness-oriented clinician, Ronald Siegel encourages us to help clients “befriend” their inner experiences rather than fight them—and even their resistance can be similarly identified and approached with acceptance. Siegel defines mindfulness as “the awareness of one’s unfolding moment-to-moment experience with acceptance”; this attitude also characterizes the mindful approach to psychotherapy, which Siegel illustrates repeatedly throughout this informative video.

Over the course of four live demonstrations, post-session debriefs, and plenty of commentary, you’ll get a sense of the guiding principles of the approach, including practices you can start using with your clients right away. You’ll see how the somatic elements of mindfulness support treatment for issues ranging from anxiety to chronic pain to childhood trauma, and you’ll watch Siegel debrief with Victor Yalom after every session.

Addressing the various types of mindfulness practices available and their respective uses, formal meditation vs. mindfulness, and how mindfulness can inform both our personal lives and our relationship to our clients, Siegel offers much to chew on in this definitive video. Be sure to add this one to your library today.

By watching this video, you will:
  • Understand what mindfulness is, and how the therapeutic approach differs from formal meditation.
  • Discover tools and practices to use with clients exhibiting a range of clinical issues.
  • Learn ways to integrate mindfulness into other therapeutic orientations, either with experiential practices or an overarching stance.
p.s. In case you're interested, the artwork on the cover of video is from an oil painting by our CEO, Victor Yalom

Length of video: 3:11:00

English subtitles available

Individual ISBN-10 #: 1-60124-444-4

Individual ISBN-13 #: 978-1-60124-444-4

Group ISBN-10 #: 1-60124-445-2

Group ISBN-13 #: 978-1-60124-445-1

Ronald D. Siegel, PsyD, is assistant professor of psychology at Harvard Medical School, where he has taught for over 30 years. He is a long-time student of mindfulness meditation and serves on the board of directors and faculty of The Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy.

He is the coauthor of Back Sense: A Revolutionary Approach to Halting the Cycle of Chronic Back Pain, which integrates Western and Eastern approaches for treating chronic back pain, coeditor of the acclaimed books for professionals, Mindfulness and Psychotherapy and Wisdom and Compassion in Psychotherapy: Deepening Mindfulness in Clinical Practice, and coauthor of the new professional text, Sitting Together: Essential Skills for Mindfulness-based Psychotherapy.

Siegel lives with his wife in Lincoln. He regularly uses the practices in this book to work with his own busy, unruly mind.

CE credits: 3

Learning Objectives:

  • Explain how mindfulness differs from formal meditation
  • List tools to use with clients exhibiting various clinical problems
  • Apply mindfulness practice to your own clinical work

Bibliography available upon request

This course is offered for ASWB ACE credit for social workers. See complete list of CE approvals here

© 2015

Course Reviewed January 2024

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