Consider Creative Meditation from Associated Counselling
Creative Meditation for Dissociative Disorders
Associated Counselling is experienced in using Creative Meditation for Dissociative Disorders and Medial Prefrontal Cortex Processing (MPFC processing). In fact, Associated Counselling’s own Christine Forneris the founder of the Creative Meditation technique and MPFC Processing for Trauma and Dissociation. But what is Creative Meditation and how does it help the individual?
Facts about Creative & Mindfulness Meditation
Psychotherapeutic Meditation is a family of self-regulation practices that involve training, attention, and awareness in order to bring greater control to one’s body, mind and emotions, and thus create general mental well-being. It is also used in developing and increasing one’s ability to calm one’s self.
Mindfulness Meditation is associated with positive structural changes within the insula, amygdala and prefrontal cortex. These areas are important for sensory, cognitive, internal and external insight and emotional processing, (Lazar, et al., 2005). It has also been seen that there are negative structural changes within the insula, amygdala and prefrontal cortex of people who have PTSD and Dissociative Disorders (Lanius, R., Lanius, Fisher, & Ogden, 2006).
The traumatic dissociative process seems to be the opposite of the mindfulness meditation process. One is a brain process that increases awareness, while the other is a brain process that decreases awareness; they seem to be rival brain activities, where dissociation wins. However, by incorporating three key aspects – the use of the imagination, Medial Prefrontal Cortex Processing (MPFC) and the “window of tolerance” – it has been found that meditation – and mindfulness – is possible for clients with dissociative disorders.
By teaching clients with dissociative disorders or dissociative tendencies with a unique meditation practice and MPFC processing with the intention to increase cognitive insight and emotional processes, it is possible to assist clients in “building up meditation muscles” in order to strengthen or affect tolerance, develop greater internal and external insight, internal attunement, empathy for self and others, and affect regulation abilities. These methods of treatment are intended to increase awareness and insight. Therefore, it can be used as a standalone treatment or interwoven into any other form of treatment.
Several Other Methods of Achieving a Meditative State are:
Creative Meditation, where subjects focus on images of deep inspiration, by using spiritually focused images, such as healing light, and the retraining of thoughts and feelings, including unconscious mental tendencies. Creative meditation is suspected to be an easy method of meditation for people whose strength is mental creativity.
Concentration Meditation is the practice of focusing all of one’s attention and awareness on a single object or a group of objects and/or tasks. Concentration meditations appear beneficial in applying the attention aspect of meditation.
Contemplation Meditation, where the goal is to reflect inwards to allow one’s self to become aware of one’s intuitive resources, to strengthen compassion and to increase the ability of “letting-go.” Often these are seen as loving kindness meditations and “who am I” questioning. Contemplation is suspected to draw upon new adaptive attitudes and intuitive resources.
