Anxiety and Mindfulness
Hi! Andrew here, from Terrain Counselling.
While recognising one’s strengths and acknowledging areas of development is therapeutically beneficial for both client and clinician, there is a temptation for practitioners to measure themselves by the standard of expert (Bohlinger et al., 2014). The tendency to create unrealistic self- expectations can distort one’s self-evaluation, especially when considering actual or perceived mistakes. The effect? Increased performance anxiety. This can have an adverse impact on clinical work.
Recently, clinical notes at my placement informed me about a subject area that a new client wanted to target for exploration in therapy. Prior to meeting with the client, I felt obligated to educate myself in that field as I knew the topic would arise at some stage. I read articles and books, as well as had extended discussions with a specialist in the field. On the one hand this venture felt necessary. It’s appropriate for me to develop my competence as a clinician. Perish the thought I become a professionally self-assured narcissist or one who pins blame on another’s deficiency as the sole cause of failed therapeutic outcomes, without ever looking within. Yet, I sensed starkly that no matter the extent and rigour of preparation, I would still be plagued by the perturbing inner voice of, “not enough.”
As Greene (2014) indicates, while some anxiety is normal, overwhelming feelings of failure and low self-esteem driven by performance anxiety can be professionally crushing. The suggested antidote is mindfulness-based practices (Alberts et al., 2013; Bohlinger et al., 2014; Strong, 2021). Strong (2021) defines mindfulness as “…the intentional cultivation of nonjudgmental, present-moment awareness” (p. 147). Mindfulness strategies and activities appear to be myriad, but the effect is uniform when referring to performance anxiety: The pacification of disturbing emotions and an increase in an overall sense of physiological and psychological wellbeing (Alberts et al., 2013). The mindfulness technique is less important than its ultimate benefit for the clinician and in turn, the client. Siegel (2010, as cited in Strong, 2021) argues that these include sharpened “interoception, attunement, self-awareness, and empathy” (p. 147). Regular practice is key (Bohlinger et al., 2014).
As someone often more focused on doing, rather than being, I welcome the encouragement of self-care and compassion through mindfulness practices. I aim to take the time and make mindfulness part of my routine. Whether the practice be brief as outlined by Greene (2014) or a more extended exercise as explained by Bohlinger et al. (2014), the benefits of the practice extend well past the brevity of the method and can lead to more managed performance anxiety and therefore more optimised clinical work.
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References
Alberts, H. J. E. M., Feinholdt, A., Hülsheger, U.R., & Lang, J. W. B. (2013). Benefits of Mindfulness at Work: The Role of Mindfulness in Emotion Regulation, Emotional Exhaustion, and Job Satisfaction. Journal of Applied Psychology, 98(2), 310–325. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0031313
Bohlinger, A.I., Trudeau-Hern, S., & Wahlig, J.L. (2014). Teaching Self-Compassion to Decrease Performance Anxiety in Clinicians. In R. A., Bean, S. D., Davis, & M. P. Davey (Eds.), Clinical supervision activities for increasing competence and self-awareness (pp. 61–66). Wiley.
Greene, D. J., Immel, D. T., & Osborne, M.S. (2014). Managing performance anxiety and improving mental skills in conservatoire students through performance psychology training: a pilot study. Psychology of Well-Being, 4(1), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13612-014-0018-3
Strong, S.D. (2021). Contemplative psychotherapy: Clinician mindfulness, Buddhist psychology, and the therapeutic common factors. Journal of Psychotherapy Integration, 31(2), 146–162. https://doi.org/10.1037/int0000191
