Three meditation programs will be offered on campus this winter to help foster a mindful approach to dealing with stress and cultivating creative attentiveness.
The York University Psychology Clinic will offer the programs beginning Feb. 2. Courses this semester feature some new offerings, including a session focused on relationships, and another designed for couples.
If you are looking for an activity that will help keep your brain healthy, come out to one of the groups to learn about the practice of meditation.
To register for any of the following three meditation programs, visit the York University Psychology Clinic website for each program’s registration form.
Mindfulness Based Cognitive Behavior Therapy – V2
With the mindfulness “movement” come visions and actions devoted to world peace and a more compassionate society. In this 10-week group, we adopt an interpersonal focus emphasizing peaceful, compassionate relationships with self and significant others. The mindfulness techniques emphasized are shamatha and tonglen, practices devoted to peace-making and healing exchanges where all people derive benefits. These approaches are integrated with an interpersonal approach to cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT), changing the distorted thoughts and emotions that regularly occur and result in unnecessary internal and interpersonal conflict. This combination is further integrated with recent cognitive and neurophysiological research on mindfulness and CBT, where indices of brain health are used as scientific validations of subjective processes and their benefits.
When: Tuesdays beginning Feb. 2, from 5:30 to 7pm
A Noon Hour of Mindfulness Practice
Mindfulness meditation is being applied in every major medical centre and university setting in Canada. This is an introductory group that aims to use eight consecutive afternoons to guide participants towards a personal practice with pragmatic benefits (reduced stress and anxiety, improved sleep) and performance improvements (via better attentional control).
When: Wednesdays beginning Feb. 3, from noon to 1pm
Interpersonal Mindfulness for Couples
Mindfulness methods aim at developing peaceful, compassionate relationships, the very types we want with spouse, partners, offspring and parents. In this group we apply a unique approach to interpersonal mindfulness based on celebrating strengths and addressing the common and unique problems experienced in intimate relationships. Mindfulness meditation will be integrated with cognitive behaviour therapy and relationship counseling to guide participants in finding better ways of communicating and discovering loving and kindness in everyday life. This is a six-week group designed for four couples (N = 8) and two therapists (Drs. Hartley and Ritvo) that follows a specific curriculum with homework assigned for the interval periods between sessions.
When: Thursdays beginning Feb. 4, from 4 to 5:30pm
For participants with extended health coverage for psychological services, the fee for either group should be reimbursable for students with the YFS health plan, reimbursable by session with a note from your family doctor, and some bursaries are available for students with financial need.
Contact the clinic at yupc@yorku.ca with any questions.