Speaker:  Donald A. Burroughs, M.A., LPC                                                                        Core Counseling & Coaching, LLC

• Clinical. Licensed Professional Counselor. While I have 30 years of pastoral counseling experience, I realized 12 years ago the need to explore and pursue the field of psychotherapy. I completed a masters program in Professional Counseling with a 3.93 average. I passed the NCE in October of 2007 and I am NCC board eligible. I am also licensed by the state of Georgia a Professional Counselor. I gained invaluable knowledge and experience during my 10-month practicum at Skyland Trail (nationally recognized recovery facility treating schizophrenia, major depression, bipolar and duel-diagnosis disorders). I was then hired as a Primary Counselor by Skyland Trail in September of 2007. Experience in private settings has come with Savannah Integrative Medicine and the Mindspring Center. I have worked part-time with the Savannah College of Art and Design as a counselor. Among the skills learned are the following:

·        Extensive experience in conducting CBT and Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy with individuals and groups

·        Conducted workshops in Mindfulness Training

·        Conducted intakes and diagnostic assessments

·        Worked in a colligate setting at Savannah College of Art and Design

·        Strong written skills including the development of treatment goals, interventions, SOAP and progress notes, discharge plans, case formulations, and recovery plans

·        Polished oral communication skills both in didactic and processing modalities

·        Gained Case Management skills

·        Experience in risk management and self-harm assessment and wellness plan interventions

Topic: Mindfulness Training and Stress Management

Life comes at us fast and furious these days. A friend described it as “trying to drink from a fire hydrant!” Often we end up reacting to others and circumstances rather than responding effectively with sensitivity and grace. Mindfulness Training will quiet your mind so that you respond to people and situations with amazing appropriateness; enhancing both your personal and professional life.

Mindfulness can be defined as 1) paying attention 2) in the moment 3) non-judgmentally. As we interact with others and the environment around us we are constantly filtering our experience through pre-conceived concepts and cognitive constructs. By doing this, we often miss or misinterpret vital information that may have helped us “close the deal” or avoid a needless argument with our spouse. Have you ever walked away from a missed opportunity at a business meeting or a painful interaction with a loved one and later lamented, “how did that happen, what was I thinking?” We’ve all been there! The problem may not be “what was I thinking” but how you were thinking. Mindfulness Training will help.

LEARN:

• Ø  New thought patterns— “observe, describe, then engage”
• Ø  To develop a “Teflon” mind vs. a “Velcro” mind
• Ø  To process pressure, expectations, and anxieties—both internal and external
• Ø  To see yourself, loved ones and business opportunities with a new and uncluttered perspective
• Ø  To control your emotions rather than your emotions controlling you
• Ø  Daily practices that will retrain your mind to process information effectively “in the moment”
• Ø  Practical exercises that will break habitual reactions and enhance effective responses
• Ø  To defeat the “tyranny of the urgent”
• Ø  To break the shackles of “multi-tasking” and to feel good about doing “one thing at a time”
• The presenter, Don Burroughs, MA, LAPC, has been leading Mindfulness groups for several years in various settings—business, church, mental health, social, marital. Over the last 30 years he has helped individuals, groups, and organizations go from surviving to thriving. Experience how Mindfulness Training will help you reach your full potential personally and professionally.