Mindfulness
True or False: Mindfulness means trying to multi-task and juggle all of our problems at once
False, this is the opposite of Mindfulness!
What does Dialectical Thinking mean?
There is always more than one way to see a situation and more than one way to solve a problem.
True or False: It's best practice to go straight to punishment when we want to change another person's behavior
False! We want to always try positively reinforcing what we want to see in others before moving to a more aversive consequence.
Define Self-Validation vs. Validation
Self-validation involves perceiving your own feelings, thoughts and actions as making sense, accurate and acceptable in a particular situation.
Validation communicates to another person that his or her feelings, thoughts, and actions make sense and are understandable to you in a particular situation.
What can being Mindful do for us?
1. Give you more choices and control over your behavior.
2. Reduce your emotional suffering.
3. Help you make important decisions.
4. Help focus your attention.
5. Increase compassion.
6. Lessen pain, tension and stress.
Name the Thinking Mistake: "If you’re not perfect, you’re a total loser. If you don’t get everything you want, it feels like you got nothing."
All-or-Nothing/Black & White Thinking
What is a reinforcer?
Reinforcers are consequences that result in an increase in a behavior. They provide information to a person about what you want them to do.
What is an important thing about validation to remember? Validation ________ equal agreement...
Validation DOES NOT equal agreement.
What are the Three States of Mind?
Emotion Mind, Reason Mind and Wise Mind
What is an example of being dialectical?
"I am doing the best I can AND I need to do better, try harder, and be more motivated to change.
What is positive and negative reinforcement?
Positive Reinforcement: increases the frequency of a behavior by providing a "rewarding" consequence.
Negative Reinforcement: Increases the frequency of a behaviors by removing something negative; it is a relief from something unpleasant.
What do we validate?
Feelings, thoughts and behaviors in ourselves and others.
What are the "What" skills?
Observe, Describe and participate.
Name four hints for thinking and acting dialectically.
1. Move to both/and thinking.
2. Practice looking at all side of the situation.
3. Remember there are no absolute truths.
4. Use I feel statements.
5. Accept that different opinions can be valid.
6. Check your assumptions.
7. Do not expect others to know what you are thinking.
What is extinction?
Extinction reduces a behavior by withholding previous reinforcement. What attention is reinforcing, ignore the unwanted behavior.
What does it mean to validate the valid and not the invalid?
You can still validate the feeling without validating the behavior. For example: validate someone feeling upset about a low test grade, even though you know they didn't study, but don't validate the lack of studying that led to the low grade.
What are the "How" skills?
Nonjudgmentally, One-Mindfully, and Effectively.
Name the Thinking Mistake: "It's terrible that I made that error, I should always be doing my best!"
Should Statements
What is punishment?
Punishment is a consequence that results in a decrease in behavior. It tells another person what you don't want him or her to do.
True or False: Invalidation is never helpful
False! Invalidation can be helpful (albeit painful) as a natural consequence from the environment (i.e. I wake up late and my ride to work says, "too bad, I had to go!")