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Contemplative Care
&
MIND-BODY Training

I work with individual and groups interested in engaging in the contemplative process of self-exploration. Health is more than the elimination of disease or symptoms. Because emotional, mental, social, economic, political, spiritual and behavioral factors directly affect your well-being, my work focuses on helping you create a sense of resiliency, balance, and peace. Think of this as contemplative mentoring rather than healthcare treatment. Finding your inner resources, your inner strength and cultivating a sense of meaning and purpose in life are at the very heart of my approach, as I help you train to live in a way that aligns with your values and most benefits your whole-person well-being.

For many people, the words counseling or coaching hold negative connotations, especially when thinking about health. The Latin root of the word doctor is docere, which means teacher, and this is the role I assume in my work. I am not curing you of your dis-ease. Instead, we collaboratively explore how you wish to live and breathe into this one precious life, and then practice ways to move in that direction. This process is not for everyone. Those who do best with this collaborative process are focused taking an active role in their lives and are curious to explore new ways of orienting to others, the world around them, and themselves.

My contemplative-based approach integrates my education in naturopathic medicine with my years of study and training in contemplative practices and mind-body medicine (breathwork, mindfulness, meditation, biofeedback, somatic and movement therapies) as well as hospice/end-of-life care. Since the first step in any change process involves self-awareness, you will be invited to become more intimate with your lived experience as you mindfully monitor your physical sensations, moods and emotions, thought patterns and habitual behaviors. Between session, you will engage in home practices that mirror our training during your session.

SYMPTOMS & Contemplative Practice and Mind-Body Medicine

Contemplative care & mind-body approaches emphasizes the whole person rather than treat a specific diagnosis or disease. And still, monitoring symptoms can be useful to assess change. Once again, while not treating symptoms but exploring how you are orienting to and breathing into your life, contemplative care & mind-body approaches have been shown to be helpful when suffering with the following:

Since contemplative mentoring combines numerous traditions and modalities, any of one of them may be employed during your sessions. However, some people are seeking specific modalities, such as breathwork, biofeedback training, or contemplative-based counseling. You will find brief descriptions of each below, yet remember, any session can incorporate any or all of these. Below are descriptions of three specific categories of contemplative mentoring.

Breathwork & Breath Retraining

Breathing is an excellent mirror as to the state of your nervous system and reflects how you orient to the world. When anxious or fearful, what happens to your breath? If depressed and disinterested in life, how is this expressed in the breath? Learn how to connect with your breath as a vehicle to access, release and transform psycho-emotional experiences. Through the breathwork process, you examine your attitudes and beliefs, and see how posture and muscle tension impact your resiliency and engagement with life. The first step in the journey is discovering how to breathe efficiently and effortlessly. No matter what happens in life, your breath is always present and free. Unsure if breathing is impacting your mental, emotional, and physical health? Complete the questionnaire below.

REMOTE Biofeedback & HRV Training

This safe, noninvasive, evidence-based method helps you regulate and improve the function of your mind and body. Sensors connected to your body provide you with information in real time about how your body is functioning, such as muscle tension, sweating, temperature, respiration and heart rate. With this feedback you learn to make adjustments that create new psycho-physiological states and lead to such changes as better sleep, pain reduction, blood pressure regulation, improved mood, and increased focus and concentration. For those interested, ask about ways to do remote biofeedback training.

Using the heart and its rate and rhythm as a means of resiliency training, HRV biofeedback provides you direct insight into how your thoughts, feelings and emotions, as well as your posture and breathing can directly influence your cardiovascular system. I integrates naturopathic physical medicine, cognitive reframing, mindfulness and lovingkindness meditation and guide imagery to train you to regulate your heart and nervous system for lasting mental and physical health benefits. Decreased muscular tension, decreased stress and anxiety, improved mood, increased attention and concentration, improved cardiovascular health (such as reduction in blood pressure) have all be reported with HRV biofeedback training. 

In this 30 minute video I define and describe biofeedback and heart rate variability, as well as share how I do this work with people remotely.

What To Expect

Meet & Greet Consult

I recommend anyone interested in working with me to schedule a free 20-minute Meet & Greet session to give you a chance to discuss your goals, interview me and to learn how integrative contemplative care & mind-body approaches can benefit you.

Initial CONSULTATION

The initial consultation is a comprehensive (80 minutes) session where we collaboratively determine goals, identify assessment measures, explore your current habits and practices, identify any obstacles and challenges you currently face, and determine practices to move you towards resiliency. Your integrative plan may include compassion and self-acceptance exercises, mindfulness and meditation training, breathwork, HRV biofeedback, cognitive reframing, therapeutic exercises and movement practices, and more. Future session are based on the plan we collaborative co-create.

Return Consultation

Cultivating balance, increasing resiliency and finding greater peace in life are practices. The process is the same as learning any new skill, whether basketball, preparing for a marathon, playing the piano or knitting. The more you practice, the better the results. Depending upon your personal plan, typical sessions are 50 minutes. Once you feel you are on your path, briefer, 20-minute “check-ins” can help you stay focused and committed to your goals. Since this is training to rewire our nervous system, people tend to benefit from weekly sessions initially, then begin to space sessions out over time.

Payment & Insurance

My payment model is a cash-based practice with payment due at time of service. I take both credit and debit cards. I am NOT contracted with any insurance companies, although I can provide you with an invoice for you to submit a claim to your insurance provider for potential coverage.

For details about any of these programs
or to schedule a workshop or training for your group,
please contact Dr. Brad.