Mindfulness as a Complement to Psychotherapy
By: Linda Luther Starbird, PhD
September 2025
Mindfulness can be a powerful complement to therapy, whether you’re working with anxiety, depression, trauma, substance use, or stress-related concerns. At its core, mindfulness means paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, and without judgment. Here are some ways it helps in therapy:
1. Regulation of Emotions
Mindfulness helps clients notice emotions as they arise, without immediately reacting.
This pause allows for more adaptive responses instead of automatic or maladaptive coping strategies.
2. Reduction of Rumination & Worry
Many mental health struggles involve being stuck in the past (rumination) or the future (worry).
Mindfulness gently redirects attention back to the present, breaking cycles of overthinking.
3. Improved Awareness of Thoughts
Clients learn to see thoughts as “mental events,” not facts.
This supports cognitive restructuring, especially in CBT, since clients can observe negative thought patterns without fusing with them.
4. Stress & Anxiety Reduction
Mindfulness practices activate the parasympathetic nervous system (the “relaxation response”).
This lowers physiological arousal, helping with panic, generalized anxiety, or chronic stress.
5. Trauma Recovery
For trauma survivors, mindfulness can build tolerance for bodily sensations and emotions without avoidance.
Grounding in the present helps reduce dissociation and hyperarousal.
6. Increased Self-Compassion
Many people in therapy are highly self-critical.
Mindfulness fosters kindness toward oneself, which supports resilience and healing.
7. Enhancing the Therapeutic Alliance
Practicing mindfulness in-session can deepen client–therapist connection.
Therapists who embody mindfulness often model presence, acceptance, and nonjudgment.
8. Behavioral Change
By noticing urges before acting, clients gain more choice in behavior (helpful in substance use, eating disorders, or compulsions).
9. Integration with Modalities
Works well with CBT (mindful awareness of thoughts), ACT (acceptance of internal experiences), DBT (distress tolerance), and trauma-focused therapies.
