Mindbody Medicine for Women with Autoimmunity
In late 2024, I will be running a psychoeducation and skills-based group for women or female-identifiers who live with autoimmunity where we will leverage neuroscience, mindfulness, and associated skills/practices for whole healing.
Logistics are TBD and will be co-created with participants. All participants must reside in Colorado as this will be a psychotherapeutic group.
Connect
Learn
Build Lifelong Skills
Are you one of the millions of American women who live with autoimmunity?
Do you want to take a holistic approach to your healing?
The science is clear that chronic stress and trauma can play a role in the genesis and worsening of autoimmunity. Mindbody medicine, rooted in the science of mindfulness and neuroplasticity, can help us heal holistically through skills and practices that target different parts of the brain, but can then have ripple effects throughout our bodies to shift our immunology and endocrinology, while also allowing for our simultaneous medical interventions to take root.
In this group, we will build community and connect around the oftentimes isolating and confusing experiences that come with autoimmunity, while exploring the scientific basis of the mindbody connection and associated practices that will shift you into a healing state.
Brainstem & Safety
We will begin by looking at how feeling safe inside of ourselves, in our environments, and in our relationships deeply impacts our mindbodies and overall health. We will learn two tools that directly target the brainstem and its Vagus Nerve to send safety signals throughout the mindbody system: safety reappraisal and diaphragmatic breathing.
Limbic System & Love
Then we’ll turn to the limbic brain - our emotional processing center - to understand how healthy flow of emotion and emotion regulation impact our mindbodies and overall health. Together, we will focus on cultivating a sense of warmth and love through compassion and gratitude practices.
Prefrontal Cortex & Choice
Lastly, we will move into the most recent evolution in the human brain - the prefrontal cortex. Neurologically, we have the ability to access conscious choice in our lives, and we can leverage this to boost our overall wellbeing. Together we will explore how to choose wisely the beliefs we have about ourselves and our experience of illness, as well as how to ensure we are making choices rooted in what we value, love, and want more of in our lives.
Group Curriculum
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Introduction + What is MindBody Medicine?
TOOL: Mindfulness Meditation
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[BRAINSTEM // SAFETY] Polyvagal Theory & The Science of Safety
TOOL: Facial Massage
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[BRAINSTEM // SAFETY] The Powerful Bridge of the Breath
TOOL: Diaphragmatic Breathing
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[BRAINSTEM // SAFETY] Emotion Regulation for Physical Health
TOOL: Turning Towards & Non-Attachment
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[LIMBIC SYSTEM // LOVE] Compassion
TOOL: Metta Meditation
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[LIMBIC SYSTEM // LOVE] Gratitude
TOOL: Gratitude Journaling
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[PREFRONTAL CORTEX // CHOICE] The Power of Belief & Narrative
TOOL: Narrative Therapy & Illness Cognition
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[PREFRONTAL CORTEX // CHOICE] Living Into Your Values
TOOL: Identify & Move Towards Your Core Values