Meeting Karyn Hall and a Mindfulness Activity: Observe and Describe Your Thoughts

Karyn Hall is one of the most talented psychologists I have ever met.  Her practice, the DBT Center- Houston, provides clients with options for comprehensive treatment teams with psychiatrists and DBT therapists.  Her books about validation and mindfulness activities are available on Amazon; click here to see "The Power of Validation" by Karyn Hall and Melissa Cook and click here for "Mindfulness Exercises" edited by Karyn Hall.

Karyn will call a spade a spade in an irreverent, non-judgmental way.  In the training exercises, she was dramatic in the role plays and captured the emotions presented in the dialogue.  With her, there are always teachable moments for reflection and new concepts to incorporate into schema about the therapeutic processes in DBT.  Her expertise in validation was evident, and, by the end of the activity, she had reached all of the levels of validation. 

 

She weaved mindfulness skills into the conversation, while teaching the DBT skills and explaining them in a clear, behaviorally-specific way. 


During the first training session at the Menninger Clinic, Karyn led one of my favorite mindfulness activities: Observe and Describe Your Thoughts.  DBT has a specific language that you adopt as you learn the skills and treatment protocols.  The What and How skills of Core Mindfulness are a good place to start. 

 

Mindfulness is about paying specific attention in a particular way on purpose. 

 

In Observe, you are directed just to notice your thoughts without attaching words, judgments, or preferences, as though you're watching waves come and go at the beach.  A wave is a wave. 

 

In Describe, you attach words to your thoughts. 


This is a place for the How Skills of Core Mindfulness. 


Shari Manning's explanation started in the heart of English grammar. 

• The What Skills (Observe, Describe, and Participate) are the verbs. 
• The How Skills (Non-judgmentally, One-Mindfully, and Effectively) are the adverbs.   

Adverbs are connected to verbs, in that adverbs provide context or thorough descriptions to show time, manner, place or degree.  
 

 The wonderful aspect about the Core Mindfulness skills is that you learn something new about yourself, your client, and your world outside your office.