Integrating Adler and

Mindfulness
Bruce Greenhalgh
 Session aims
By the end of this session we will have:
• Briefly reviewed some key Adlerian
principles and how mindfulness can
complement them
• Explored how mindfulness can be of use
in (therapeutic) relationships
• Provide a demonstration of applying
mindfulness therapeutically
 Tasks of Life

Work

Sense of
Social
Self

Spiritual Intimacy
 In Relation to…..

Mindfulness Heartfulness

The quality or state of being conscious or aware

of something…
 How did the rose ever open it heart
And give to this world its beauty?

It felt the encouragement of light against its being

Otherwise, we all remain too frightened
Hafiz
1320 - 1389
 Five Key Principles of Adlerian Psychology

• We are Social Beings and need to belong

• Biased Apperception a subjective view
• We are creative and self-determining
• We are purposeful and future directed
• We are holistic, a unity indivisible (body and mind)
 Five Key Principles of Adlerian Psychology

• We are Social Beings and need to belong

• Biased Apperception a subjective view
• We are creative and self-determining
• We are purposeful and future directed
• We are holistic, a unity indivisible (body and mind)
Look at any human being from a more positive
angle; try to look for their positive aspects. This
attitude immediately creates a feeling of affinity,
a kind of connectedness.
Dalai Llama
The art of happiness
GOOD DAY BAD DAY
 Five Key Principles of Adlerian Psychology

• We are Social Beings and need to belong

• Biased Apperception a subjective view
• We are creative and self-determining
• We are purposeful and future directed
• We are holistic, a unity indivisible (body and mind)
“As a single step will not make a path on the
earth, so a single thought will not make a
pathway in the mind. To make a deep physical
path, we walk again and again. To make a deep
mental path, we must think over and over the
kind of thoughts we wish to dominate our lives.”
Henry David Thoreau
 Five Key Principles of Adlerian Psychology

• We are Social Beings and need to belong

• Biased Apperception a subjective view
• We are creative and self-determining
• We are purposeful and future directed
• We are holistic, a unity indivisible (body and mind)
London
Pre-
Frontal
Cortex

Amygdala
 Five Key Principles of Adlerian Psychology

• We are Social Beings and need to belong

• Biased Apperception a subjective view
• We are creative and self-determining
• We are purposeful and future directed
• We are holistic, a unity indivisible (body and mind)
 To carry on
repeating the
same experiment
and expect
different results is
madness
 Five Key Principles of Adlerian Psychology

• We are Social Beings and need to belong

• Biased Apperception a subjective view
• We are creative and self-determining
• We are purposeful and future directed
• We are holistic, a unity indivisible (body and mind)
Working with embodied presence

Client therapist
• Just Like Me

• Loving-Kindness
 Suggested Resources

Top Recommendations:
Mindfulness: A practical guide to finding peace in a frantic world (Book)
My Headspace (App)
Jon Kabat-Zinn explaining his working definition of mindfulness (You Tube)

Of Interest
Mindfulness (YouTube)
3-minute what is mindfulness video from mindfulnet.org
Mindfulness - Prof Mark Williams Lecture
Guided Mindfulness by Jon Kabat-Zinn
Jon Kabat-Zinn leads a session on Mindfulness at Google
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMsUGB_KV7s (BBC Breakfast)

Useful sites
Centre for Mindfulness (enter country)
Mindfulnet.org - Mindfulness at Work
Institute for Mindful Leadership
Be Mindful – online mindfulness course

Books
The Mindful Workplace: Developing Resilient Individuals and Resonant Organisations with MBSR
Search inside Yourself: Increase productivity, creativity and happiness: Chade-Meng Tan
 Contact Information

Bruce Greenhalgh, FCIPD, MA Couns & Psychotherapy, BACP (Accred)

+ 44 7850 709136
bruce.greenhalgh@btinternet.com

-
 Mindfulness: Key Milestones

500bc - Buddhist tradition originated; ‘the mind can observe itself

and understand its own nature’
1981 - Jon Kabat-Zinn started the stress reduction clinic at the University
of Massachusetts Medical Centre and developed the MBSR
programme.
1990 - Jon Kabat- Zinn published the Full Catastrophe Living where he
translates the benefits of Buddhist meditative practices and integrates
Eastern philosophy and Western Science
2002 - Segal, Teasdale and Williams adapt MBSR and integrate with CBT
in their book Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT)
2007 - Based on evidence from RCT’s MBCT becomes recognised by NICE
(the UK body for clinical excellence) for treating clients with three
or more episodes of recurrent depression
2011 - Williams and Penman make MBCT accessible to popular audience
publishing Mindfulness: a practical guide to finding peace in a
frantic world
2014 - ‘Mindful Living’ named by global advertising giant JWT as crossing over
into the mainstream. As individuals seek to be truly present in the
moment.