Please email Michele to register for this group. When a minimum of 6 people have registered, we will establish an agreed upon date and time to begin our journey towards change together. More details below. Change is hard. Group support can be an essential component in building that new habit & a better life.
These on-line psycho-education, support & coaching groups are inspired by the work of Dr. Judson Brewer (www.drjud.com). Dr. Brewer is the author of several books on how to successfully change your unhealthy habits including: The Craving Mind, Unwinding Anxiety, and most recently, The Hunger Habit. In this latest book, he describes how he applied his method to developing healthier eating habits but his approach can be applied to any desired lifestyle change. Dr. Brewer’s highly researched method, based on mindful awareness, highlights curiosity as a superpower. He identifies “3 gears” to his approach. In first gear you are growing your awareness around your habits and identifying your “habit loops”. In second gear you are noticing the real results of your behaviour. For example, eating the second helping is initially quite satisfying (immediate soothing result?) but that feeling can quickly be followed by gastric distress and/or self-criticism (real result). According to Dr Brewer, if we can attune to the “real result” of our behaviour using mindful awareness and kindness we can learn to work with the urge, pause, and make a better choice (3rd gear). He calls this the BBO (Bigger-Better-Offer). By repeatedly engaging in this different choice pattern, we build new neural pathways and step away from the old habit (without beating ourselves up)!
What I especially appreciate about this approach is its emphasis on compassion as a foundation for sustainable change. We’re much too hard on ourselves! Dr Brewer puts to rest the myth of willpower in favour of working with the brain and reward based learning to facilitate change. His emphasis aligns well with the growing body of research linking compassion to success, not only in behaviour change but in many other areas of life. By simply becoming more AWARE, CURIOUS and KIND to ourselves, his studies demonstrate that we can place ourselves more firmly on the road to real and lasting change.
Group size: 6-10 participants
Starting Format: Participants join a 6 week experiential program (6 sessions of 75 minutes each) to learn about the approach which includes education around the science of change, mapping habit loops, emotional obstacles to change, mindfulness practices, body awareness skills and mapping out new habits. Note: These are psycho-education, coaching and support sessions and not therapy. Cost: $190 plus HST for the 6 week program.
Maintenance Format: After completing the 6 week program, participants can opt for weekly check-ins for ongoing professional and peer support. These are 45 – 60 minute weekly sessions (with a monthly/4 session commitment). Participants can make ongoing monthly commitments according to their individual needs. Note: These are psycho-education, coaching and support sessions and not therapy. Cost: $120 for 4 weeks.
