Tag: mindfulness-based therapy

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Now Accepting Anthem EAP for Teletherapy in Washington State

Anthem EAP

Access to mental health care should be simple, affordable, and responsive to the realities of modern life. At the Mindful Ecotherapy Center, we are pleased to announce that Charlton Hall, MMFT, PhD, is now accepting Anthem EAP – Standard in Washington State for convenient and confidential teletherapy sessions. This expansion makes it easier than ever for you to use your EAP benefits to access high-quality, holistic mental health care.

What Is Anthem EAP?

Anthem EAP (Employee Assistance Program) is a workplace benefit designed to provide short-term counseling and support services to employees and their families. You can access a limited number of therapy sessions at no cost, making it an excellent option for those seeking immediate support without financial barriers.

Common concerns addressed through EAPs include:

  • Stress and burnout
  • Anxiety and depression
  • Relationship issues
  • Substance use concerns
  • Grief and life transitions

Because Anthem EAP is employer-sponsored, it offers a confidential and accessible way to begin therapy quickly and effectively.

Understanding Anthem EAP – Standard

The Anthem EAP – Standard model typically includes a set number of sessions, usually between 6 and 12, focused on short-term, solution-oriented care. These sessions are designed to help clients stabilize, gain insight, and develop practical coping strategies.

If additional support is needed beyond your EAP benefits, you can often transition into ongoing therapy using your primary insurance benefits, ensuring continuity of care.

Teletherapy with Anthem EAP in Washington State

Dr. Hall provides teletherapy services across Washington State, allowing clients to use their EAP benefits from the comfort of their own home. Teletherapy offers flexibility, privacy, and accessibility, especially for those balancing work, family, and other commitments.

Teletherapy eliminates many common barriers to care, such as commuting time, geographic limitations, and scheduling challenges. Secure video sessions make it possible to engage in meaningful therapeutic work wherever you are. Dr. Hall also offers later sessions on Mondays and Wednesdays until 7 p.m. Pacific Time for those who work 9 to 5.

A Holistic Approach to Anthem EAP Therapy

At the Mindful Ecotherapy Center, therapy is about cultivating deeper connection and resilience. Dr. Hall integrates:

  • Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
  • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
  • Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
  • Mindfulness-Based Ecotherapy (MBE)
  • Mindfulness-based practices
  • Ecotherapy principles

This unique approach recognizes that humans are deeply connected to the natural world. Even in teletherapy sessions, clients are encouraged to engage with nature as part of the healing process.

Examples include:

  • Nature-based mindfulness exercises
  • Guided imagery grounded in natural environments
  • Outdoor reflection practices between sessions

This integrative model enhances the effectiveness of counseling and therapy, particularly for stress, anxiety, and burnout.

Why Choose Anthem EAP for Therapy?

Using your EAP for mental health support offers several key benefits:

  • No out-of-pocket cost for eligible sessions
  • Quick access to care without long wait times
  • Confidential support separate from your employer
  • A low-risk way to explore therapy

The Mindful Ecotherapy Center, PLLC is ideal for those seeking immediate help or those unsure about committing to long-term therapy. It provides a valuable starting point for personal growth and emotional well-being.

What to Expect When Using Your EAP Benefits

Getting started is simple:

  1. Contact your employer or EAP provider to request authorization
  2. Confirm your eligibility
  3. Schedule a teletherapy session with Dr. Hall
  4. Begin focused, goal-oriented sessions

Each session is tailored to your unique needs, combining clinical expertise with a compassionate, nature-informed perspective.

Start Therapy with Anthem EAP Today

Mental health care should meet you where you are both emotionally and practically. By accepting Anthem EAP – Standard in Washington State, Dr. Charlton Hall and the Mindful Ecotherapy Center are expanding access to meaningful, effective care.

If you are experiencing stress, navigating life transitions, or simply seeking greater balance, teletherapy with the Mindful Ecotherapy Center offers a powerful and accessible path forward.

Take the first step today. Use your EAP benefits to begin your journey toward healing, growth, and connection.

Start Today!

Use the button below to book your appointment with Charlton Hall, MMFT, PhD, or use the contact form below for any questions you might have.

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Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) Worksheets

ACT Worksheets

About Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is an evidence-based behavioral therapy that helps people develop psychological flexibility, the ability to stay present, open up to difficult thoughts and feelings, and take meaningful action guided by their values.

Rather than trying to eliminate distress, ACT teaches skills like mindfulness, acceptance, and cognitive defusion to change one’s relationship with inner experiences. The goal isn’t to feel better all the time. It’s to live better, even when life is uncomfortable.

About ACT Worksheets

These Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) worksheets are designed to enhance psychological flexibility and support meaningful change. These resources help you to clarify personal values, defuse unhelpful thoughts, practice mindfulness, and take committed action toward a more fulfilling life.

These tools are ideal for therapists, coaches, or individuals seeking growth. Each worksheet is grounded in ACT’s core principles and easy to integrate into sessions or daily routines, and incorporates the principles of Mindfulness-Based Ecotherapy.

ACT Worksheets

ABCD-ACT worksheet
ACT Hexaflex Monitor 06-21-12
FEAR to ACT
Leaves on a Stream ACT
Roots and Branches Self as Context ACT Worksheet
Understanding Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
Values Compass in Nature
Weather and Willingness Log ACT Worksheet

These worksheets are provided for personal, educational, and clinical use. You are welcome to download, print, and share them with clients or students, provided that all copyright and attribution information remains intact and unaltered.

These materials may not be resold, redistributed for profit, or incorporated into commercial products, training, or publications without prior written permission from the copyright holder, Mindful Ecotherapy Center, PLLC.

All rights reserved. All ACT Worksheet materials ©2026 by the Mindful Ecotherapy Center, PLLC, and Charlton Hall, MMFT, PhD, unless otherwise noted.

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Why I Left the AAMFT and Joined the American Counseling Association (ACA)

aamft

Why leave the AAMFT? As a Marriage and Family Therapist (MFT), being part of a professional organization is essential to maintaining professional standards, receiving ongoing education, and accessing support resources. For years, I was a loyal member of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT). It’s a respected organization that provides a wide range of resources for therapists.

However, over time, I became increasingly frustrated with the rising membership fees and the declining value of the services and benefits offered. Today, I attempted to renew my membership. Their website crashed. I called the tech support number that I found after great difficulty. They had it well-hidden on the site. After being put on hold for over an hour I was informed that no representatives were available to accept my call, and they hung up on me. They could’ve told me that before I waited on the phone for an hour.

After much consideration, I made the decision to leave AAMFT and join the American Counseling Association (ACA) instead. Here’s why I made that change, and why I believe other therapists might want to consider the same.

AAMFT Rising Membership Fees with Fewer Benefits

One of the biggest factors that led me to leave AAMFT was the consistently increasing membership fees. Each year, it seemed that the cost of being a member rose, while the value I received in return steadily diminished. I am and have been a member of multiple professional organizations in my professional career, and none have higher membership fees with fewer benefits. When I first joined AAMFT, I appreciated the resources, networking opportunities, and professional support. But as time went on, I noticed that many of the services I once found valuable were no longer being offered—or were being offered in a more limited capacity.

While the cost of membership continued to climb, the actual benefits I received in return seemed to be shrinking. The number of workshops, seminars, and continuing education opportunities that were once included or offered at a discount became fewer and less relevant to my practice. Access to industry-specific research also became more difficult, as more AAMFT content was locked behind additional paywalls.

I felt like I was paying more for less. As a professional who prides myself on providing high-quality care to my clients and staying informed about the latest developments in marriage and family therapy, this diminishing return on investment was frustrating. It became clear that AAMFT was not meeting my needs as it once had.

AAMFT’s Lack of Relevant Resources

Over time, I also began to notice that the resources offered by AAMFT felt increasingly irrelevant to my practice. The workshops and conferences offered by the organization didn’t align with the direction I wanted my career to go in. As a therapist focusing on mindfulness-based therapy, I found that AAMFT was often slow to embrace emerging therapeutic approaches or newer methodologies in the field. Much of the research published in the AAMFT journal seemed focused on self-care for therapists rather than on patient care. While self-care is important, patient care is at least as important as therapist self-care.

Furthermore, I was increasingly frustrated by the limited scope of networking opportunities with other professionals. As an MFT, much of my work intersects with the practices of other types of counselors, social workers, and psychologists. However, AAMFT’s narrow focus on marriage and family therapy left me feeling disconnected from a broader professional community. While COVID-19 had an impact on face-to-face networking opportunities, teleconferencing remained an option. Unfortunately, it was an option that AAMFT was slow to embrace when it comes to networking with mental health professionals who are not Marriage and Family Therapists.

Why I Chose the American Counseling Association (ACA)

After years of growing dissatisfaction with the AAMFT, I began researching other organizations that could better support my practice. That’s when I discovered the American Counseling Association (ACA). The ACA provides resources for a wide variety of mental health professionals, including Licensed Professional Counselors (LPCs), Marriage and Family Therapists (LMFTs), and other types of therapists. What initially attracted me to the ACA was its inclusive approach and commitment to supporting diverse therapeutic practices.

The ACA offers a wider variety of resources and professional development opportunities that are relevant to my current practice. From advanced certifications in specialized therapeutic techniques like mindfulness and ecotherapy to discounts on continuing education courses, the ACA provides far more comprehensive and varied benefits than AAMFT has done in recent years.

Another key factor in my decision to switch was the membership fees. The ACA offers competitive pricing for its membership, and I found that the benefits far outweighed the cost. As a member, I have access to exclusive webinars, workshops, and training opportunities, many of which align directly with the areas I want to grow in, such as mindfulness-based counseling and ecotherapy.

Networking and Professional Community

One of the most valuable aspects of joining the ACA is the opportunity to network with a wider range of mental health professionals. The ACA’s emphasis on a holistic view of therapy allows me to interact with counselors who specialize in everything from trauma-informed therapy to addiction counseling, and many other areas that complement my own expertise. This diversity of perspectives helps me grow as a therapist and expand my understanding of the various therapeutic methods that work for clients.

Moreover, the ACA offers several state chapters and interest networks that allow me to connect with local professionals who share similar interests or practice areas. This has helped me build meaningful relationships and expand my referral network, which was something I was struggling to achieve through AAMFT.

Final Thoughts

Leaving the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapists (AAMFT) was not an easy decision, as I’ve always respected the work the organization has done for our profession. However, as time passed, I realized that the increasing membership fees and the diminishing value of their services no longer aligned with my professional goals, and AAMFT leadership has been slow to respond if they bothered to respond at all. By joining the American Counseling Association (ACA), I’ve found a more inclusive, relevant, and supportive community for my work as a therapist.

If you’re an MFT or counselor considering which professional organization best suits your needs, I strongly encourage you to look into the ACA. With its comprehensive resources, professional development opportunities, and more affordable membership fees, it has been a game-changer for my practice.

The right professional organization can make all the difference in your career and for your patients/clients. For me, the ACA has become the resource I was searching for.

Share Your Thoughts on the AAMFT!

Are you a current member of the AAMFT? Have you been in the past? What’s your experience been? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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The “What” and “How” Skills of Mindful Awareness

skills of mindful awareness

There are six skills of mindful awareness in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT). They are divided up into “what” skills and “how” skills. The “what” skills are what you do to be mindful, and the “how” skills are how you do what you do to be mindful. The worksheet linked below lists and briefly describes each of these skills.

What and How Skills of Mindful AwarenessDownload

The “What” Skills of Mindful Awareness

Observing

When we are preoccupied with thoughts of the past or the future, we are in thinking mode. Thinking mode takes us away from experiencing the world directly with our senses. In thinking mode, we are living in our heads instead of living in the moment.

The first of the skills of Mindful Awareness teaches us to focus on the world experienced directly by our senses: touch, taste, smell, hearing, and sight. Experiencing life in sensing mode introduces us to a richer world. It’s impossible to be bored or apathetic if you treat each experience as if it is happening to you for the first time, through your senses.

The skill of observing involves shifting out of thinking mode and into sensing mode by observing what you are experiencing in the present moment through all of your senses.

Describing

diagnosis skills of mindful awareness

The next of the skills of Mindful Awareness involves observing the smallest details of an object, event, or activity, then describing the experience in a non-judgmental fashion. Describing means approaching each daily activity as if you are experiencing it for the first time. Explore as many dimensions of it as you can. When we gain experience with this technique, we can apply it to other areas of our lives as well.

For example, by looking at your negative thought processes and identifying and labeling them as such, you are better able to recognize them simply as processes, and not as part of who you are as a person. DBT teaches you to describe experiences without judging them or labeling them as “good” or “bad.” Instead, you can label them as merely thoughts or feelings, while remembering that thoughts and feelings are not facts.

Participating

Mindful Awareness allows you to experience every aspect of an activity. We have a tendency, when in thinking mode, to see things and activities as either “all bad” or “all good.” This is not necessarily an accurate depiction of reality. Most activities aren’t inherently good or bad. We’ve taught ourselves to think of them in such terms, but we can also teach ourselves to think differently.

Think about an unpleasant activity that you have to engage in regularly, such as washing the dishes or taking out the trash. Can you think of any pleasant aspects of these activities? There are enjoyable aspects to every experience if we train ourselves to look for them. Even if we find ourselves caught in an activity in which we can find no pleasure at all, at least we have the pleasure of thinking about how good we’ll feel when the activity is over!

Life occurs in the present moment. Mastering the art of participation allows us to get the most out of life in the present.


 
The “How” Skills of Mindful Awareness

Non-judgmental

The first of the “how” skills of Mindful Awareness teaches us the art of acceptance. Emotional reactions to our circumstances are natural, but that doesn’t mean that we have to respond to these emotions. There’s no such thing as a “wrong” feeling. What may be “wrong,” or less effective, is how we choose to respond to the feeling.

The mindful skill of being non-judgmental teaches us that we can experience emotions without engaging in cycles of behavior that lead us to negative consequences. We can choose which thoughts and emotions we wish to respond to, and which just to sit quietly with, in “being mode.”

Being non-judgmental means seeing the world as it is, without judgments or assumptions. When we can do so, we have achieved Beginner’s Mind or Child’s Mind, which is the art of experiencing everything as if seeing it for the first time, without judgment.

One-mindful

Being “one mindful” simply means focusing on one thing at a time. Being one-mindful allows us to live in the present moment.

Emotional dysregulation often occurs because we tend to focus on all the emotionally overwhelming aspects of a situation while thinking we have to do something to fix it. Wanting to fix it is “Doing Mind.” Being one-mindful allows us to shift to “Being Mind” and just be with the emotion without having to do anything about it.

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. If you focus on the thousand-mile journey, you’ll become so emotionally overwhelmed you’ll never take the first step; but if you instead just focus on the step that’s in front of you, and then the next step, and then the next, you will eventually complete the entire journey.

The most effective way to do this is to first ask yourself, “What is the smallest thing I can do in this situation that will make a difference? Do that, and then if you have any energy left over, you can focus on the next step, and so on, until the journey is completed.

When you learn to do this, you will have learned to be one-mindful.

Effective

This is probably the most important of the skills of mindful awareness because it teaches us to focus on solutions, not problems. We can talk about problems all day, but until we start talking about solutions, nothing will ever get solved. The way to solve a problem is to take positive, intentional steps towards finding a solution.

A mindful life is a life lived deliberately and effectively. It is a purposeful life. Being effective means solving problems in a purposeful, intentional manner. The way to be effective is to begin by asking two questions:

  1. What is my intention in this situation?
  2. Are my thoughts, feelings, and behaviors going to help me to achieve this intention?

When we live using the skills of mindful awareness, our thoughts, behaviors, and actions always support our intention. When we learn to do this, we have learned how to be effective.

Mindful Ecotherapy Center on YouTube

Subscribe to the Mindful Ecotherapy Center’s YouTube channel to bring peace, presence, and healing into your daily life. Our videos guide you through mindfulness-based ecotherapy practices, including forest bathing, tree planting rituals, nature meditations, and reflective exercises for grief, stress, and emotional well-being.

Whether you’re seeking to reconnect with the natural world, cultivate inner calm, or find restorative tools for personal growth, our content offers practical guidance, inspiration, and community support. Join us to explore the transformative power of nature and the skills of mindfulness, and start your journey toward balance, resilience, and deeper connection today!

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