What is mindfulness worksheet
By
Dr Vlad Burtăverde
Author bio
I am Vlad Burtăverde, PhD, Associate Professor at the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Bucharest. I am a licensed psychotherapist familiar with DBT and CBT. I am an experienced researcher with international visibility, being a PhD in psychometrics and personality psychology. I used many multivariate statistics in the research I did.
Recent work
Burtăverde, V., Jonason, P. K., Giosan, C., & Ene, C. (2021). Why do people watch porn? An evolutionary perspective on the reasons for pornography consumption. Evolutionary Psychology, 19(2), 14747049211028798.https://doi.org/10.1177/14747049211028798
“SOME IMPORTANT MOMENTS IN MY CAREER
2013: I started working as a psychologist and became a member of the Romanian College of Psychologists
2013: I founded the consulting agency in psychology and human resources NEO Assessment & Research
2014: I became a teaching assistant and researcher at the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Bucharest.
2015: I started working as a scientific reviewer for international scientific journals such as the Journal of Risk Research, Personality and Individual Differences, Psychological Reports, Accident Analysis & Prevention.
2015: I became a member of international psychology associations such as: Association for research in Personality, Society for Personality and Social Psychology, European Association of Personality Psychology, World Association for Personality Psychology.
2016: I published the Handbook of Personality Psychology at Trei Publishing House, Bucharest, Romania.
2016: I started collaborating with the research laboratory in Personality Psychology at the University of Groningen under the coordination of Prof. Boele De Raad.
2017: I completed my doctoral studies at the University of Bucharest.
2017: I started working as an associate lecturer at SNSPA, Faculty of Political Sciences, Department of Psychology.
2018: I became an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Bucharest.
2018: I completed my professional training in integrative psychotherapy at the Romanian Institute of Integrative Psychotherapy.
2019: I started working as an associate lecturer at the “Mihai Viteazul” National Academy of Information.
2019: I started the collaboration with the laboratory of Personality, Relationships and Evolutionary Psychology coordinated by Prof. Peter K. Jonason at the University of Padua.
2020: I won through a public competition the postdoctoral research project entitled: Life-history strategies and aggressive driving. An integrative framework for assessing and managing aggressive driving, funded by UEFISCI.
2020: I started working as an associate editor for the scientific journal Frontiers in Psychology – Evolutionary Psychology.
2021: I became an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Bucharest.
2021: I started to collaborate with the research laboratory in Evolutionary Psychology at Oakland University, Michigan, coordinated by Prof. Todd. K. Shackelford.
2021: I founded the Association of Personality and Evolutionary Psychology.
2022: I founded Evolutionary-consulting, a consulting agency in the field of human capital
2022: I founded HelloMe, a psychology services hub
2023: I founded the Laboratory of Personality and Evolutionary Psychology, University of Bucharest
2023: I published the first book chapter about the mating strategies of dark personalities in the Oxford of Human Mating, edited by D.M. Buss.
2023: I sustained the Habilitation thesis entitled Individual differences in personality. Predictors of adaptive and maladaptive behavior, which offers the possibility to be an advisor for doctoral students. “
Check my professional profiles at
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Vlad-Burtaverde
https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=sJo62fUAAAAJ&hl=en
https://loop.frontiersin.org/people/1026658/overview
https://loop.frontiersin.org/people/1026658/network
https://www.iea.nl/about/org/people/dr-vlad-burtaverde
https://twitter.com/vladjuve?lang=en
https://www.tiktok.com/@dr.vlad.burtaverde
https://www.facebook.com/psihologvladburtaverde/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/vlad-burtaverde-35119351/
https://cipp.ug.edu.pl/Author-Vlad-Burtaverde/168949
https://www.psih.uaic.ro/a/_fis/sc_doc/_cv_refer/cv_burtaverde_v.pdf
What is the theory behind the worksheet?
The following worksheet is based on a Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MCBT) approach. This approach combines methods from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and meditative techniques, in order to prevent relapse in recurrent depression (Manjaly & Iglesias, 2020).
How will the worksheet help
This worksheet will help clients familiarize themselves with the techniques used in mindfulness cognitive based therapy, meant to prevent relapse in recurrent depression (Ewais, 2021).
How to use the worksheet
Mindfulness is a technique that implies a state of nonjudgmental awareness of what is happening in the present moment, including awareness of one’s thoughts, feelings and sense, focusing on the here and now, while putting the life’s noise, demands and stressors in the background while you concentrate on the present moment. It is a technique borrowed from Buddhist meditation (Hosey et al., 2018). The following worksheet explains the components of mindfulness, how it works and offers examples of mindfulness techniques. Use the instructions as explained here.
What is mindfulness worksheet
Mindfulness has 2 components:
● Awareness – during the state of mindfulness, you will notice your thoughts, feelings and physical sensations as they happen. You are not trying to stop your mind from thinking, but rather to become aware of your thoughts and feelings and not to get lost in them.
● Acceptance – As you observe your internal and external experiences, try not to judge them as “good” or “bad” or even react to them at all. For example, if you notice a feeling of nervousness, simply state to yourself: “I notice that I am feeling nervous”. There’s no need to further judge or change the feeling. By doing so, your negative thoughts and feelings become less powerful.
There are different techniques to practice mindfulness. Here are a few examples of them:
❖ Mindfulness meditation
Sit in a comfortable place, and begin paying attention to your breathing. Notice the physical sensation of air filling your lungs, and then slowly leaving. When your mind wanders – which it will – simply notice your thoughts, and turn your attention back to breathing.
❖ Body Scan
During this exercise, it is recommended that you sit or stand. In this exercise, you will move very slowly and with “micro-movements,” which should be barely visible from the outside. The goal is to inspire sensations by moving different parts of the body ever so slightly. Pay close attention to the physical sensations through your body. Begin with the head and then travel down the body until you reach the toes. Spend 15 seconds-1 minute for each body part. The overall quality of movement you are going for is slow, gentle and swaying. As you proceed through the exercise, notice what is happening in your body. If you could assign a temperature inside, what would it be?
❖ Mindful walk
While walking, try to notice how your body moves and feels with each step. Then, expand your awareness to your surroundings. What do you see, hear, smell or feel? It is best to let your breath be free. Notice your thoughts and let them go when they arise, gently label them, e.g. “hello, thought/my friend”.
❖ Five senses
Make a conscious effort to notice the present moment through each of your senses, as such:
➢ 5 things you see
➢ 1 thing you taste
➢ 4 things you feel
➢ 1 thing you smell
➢ 3 things you hear
You can download this worksheet here.
Was this helpful?
References
1.-
Ewais, T. (2021). Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy and depression. The Neuroscience of Depression, 413–421. https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-12-817933-8.00042-6
2.-
Hosey, M., McWhorter, J. W., & Wegener, S. T. (2018). Psychologic Interventions for Chronic Pain. Essentials of Pain Medicine, 539-544.e1. https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-323-40196-8.00059-0
3.-
Manjaly, Z.-M., & Iglesias, S. (2020). A Computational Theory of Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy from the “Bayesian Brain” Perspective. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00404
