Welcome to Mental Health Jiu Jitsu
Mental Health Jiu Jitsu is a Mental Health practice dedicated to helping humans navigate their internal and external experiences in an effective manner that is in tune with their values and that enhances their sense of vitality.
Although there are many connections between the martial art, Jiu Jitsu and the practices of Mental Health Jiu Jitsu, Mental Health Jiu Jitsu is an approach in and of itself. Our approach draws on over a decade of experience walking alongside several hundred of our fellow human beings, as they have navigated some of the most difficult challenges life can provide.
We draw on numerous schools of psychology including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Trauma Resilience Model (TRM), Motivational Interviewing, Solution Focused Therapy, Existential Psychology, Interpersonal Psychology and many others.
We also draw on schools of philosophy, leadership, self-management, and personal development.
We teach breath work, sleep optimization, nutrition for mental health, relaxation, mindfulness, and meditation.
Above all, we are dedicated to expanding and refining our practice, in efforts to best serve our clients and to provide valuable content for our followers.
We currently offer in person and Telehealth services in Idaho and Telehealth services in Washington and Florida
https://www.flhealthsource.gov/telehealth/
We Currently accept the following insurances
VA Care in the Community
BlueCross/BlueShield
Regence
PacificSource
Mental Health Jiu Jitsu is proud to serve our Nation’s Active Duty Military and Veterans through VA Community Care and our partnership with HeadStrong Project https://theheadstrongproject.org/
If you are interested in making an appointment please call
(208) 627-9930
What to Expect From Mental Health Jiu Jitsu Counseling
At Mental Health Jiu Jitsu, we provide each client with personalized support in navigating their internal and external environment. We are committed to building strong relationships with our clients, providing a safe and comfortable setting, and providing high quality services. Our first priority is to understand your unique experience, strengths and challenges! With this understanding, we will collaborate with you to enhance your capacity to navigate identified challenges, work towards goals and, ultimately, cultivate a desired quality of life. We will explore your past experiences, your current situation, and your concerns and intentions for the future. We will identify and cultivate current strengths, resources and abilities, while introducing new ideas and approaches to help you relate to and navigate your internal and external environment.
Below you will find our axioms and practices to introduce you to our approach. We intend to continually add content to our site for our clients and our community.
Disclaimer
The content provided on our website, newsletters, videos and podcasts is not meant to replace therapy or coaching. In fact, it was created to support and augment your work with a licensed therapist or certified coach. As our axiom states: You will need the guidance of many teachers, coaches and mentors throughout your journey!
Intro
These ideas are laid out in a format to provide a general overview of our perspective and approach to mental health, Mental Health Jiu Jitsu, as well as, practices you can begin integrating into your daily efforts to navigate your internal and external environments.
Axioms
Our general truths about mental health jiu jitsu
Operational Definitions
Definitions that we believe will be helpful in your Mental Health Jiu Jitsu journey
Modes of Operating
For the sake of simplicity and function, we identify two distinct modes of operating as we interact with our internal and external experience
Practices
The practices that we believe significantly enhance our capacity to effectively navigate our internal and external experiences.
Axioms of Mental Health Jiu Jitsu
Mental Health Jiu Jitsu is an activity, it is a verb, you are either actively engaged in Mental Health Jiu Jitsu or you are not.
Mental health is not a fixed trait, it is not something you have or don’t have, it is something you are doing.
Just like any skill, the more you practice and the longer you have been engaging in Mental Health Jiu Jitsu, the more proficient you become.
Your mental health is your responsibility. The difficulties you face may not be your fault, but they are your responsibility.
You must find your own Mental Health Jiu Jitsu style.
You will need the guidance of many teachers, coaches and mentors throughout your journey
You will need good training partners throughout you journey and it helps to be a good partner yourself
You don’t know Mental Health Jiu Jitsu, you train Mental Health Jiu Jitsu
Operational Definitions
Psychology
The complex interactions of one’s thoughts, emotions, physiological processes, and behavior in the context of their stage of development, culture, environment, values and personal history
Mental Health
An individual’s ability to navigate their internal and external environments effectively.
Jiu Jitsu
Gentle Art
Internal Environment
The coalescence of our internal experiences including thoughts, emotions, physiology, mood, and attitude.
External Environment
The coalescence of external conditions, stimuli, relationships and obligations.
Thought
The experience of thinking that includes ideas, images, interpretations, consideration, contemplation, forming narratives, explanations, judgments, analyzation, problem solving and problem creating, labeling, defining, etc.
Emotion
(Disclaimer- it is extremely challenging to define or describe emotion) The texture and quality of our internal environment, often in the form of energy, and often entangled in our physiological experience.
Physiology
The complex interaction of the various systems and chemicals within our bodies. Our physiological experience is heavily modulated by hormones and neurotransmitters that elicit our reactions to internal and external stimuli.
Behavior
Actions, conduct, demeanor, and non-verbal communication.
Mood
The coalescence of thought, emotion, and physiology.
Attitude
Internal and external manifestation of thought, emotion and physiology in the form of verbal and non-verbal behaviors.
Mental Health Jiu Jitsu Modes of Operating
Proactive
When we are operating in a proactive mode, we are operating in the present moment, building an active solid base, we are actively creating space between our awareness and our internal and external experiences, we are actively self-monitoring and self-regulating, we are actively focusing our energy on what matters, we are actively identifying what is and isn’t in our control, we are grounding ourselves in humility, and we we are our expanding our capacity to learn from our experiences. It is always optimal to be in a proactive mindset, in which we are actively influencing the outcome of a situation. When we are proactive, we are taking action to influence both our internal and external environments and we are choosing how we respond.
Reactive
When we are operating in a reactive mode, we are most likely operating focused on the past or the future, our base base been compromised, we are enmeshed in our internal and external experiences, we have little to no self-awareness and are not self-regulating, we are not effectively focusing on energy and may be compromising what matters most to us, we are not discerning between what we can and cannot control, we are more likely to be destabilized by overly concerned with ourselves, and we are contracting capacity to learn from our experiences. When we are reactive, we often feel little, if any, ability to influence our internal and external experience and we have compromised our ability to choose how we respond.
Practices of Mental Health Jiu Jitsu
Build a solid base
Trees need deep roots, structures need solid foundations and we all need a solid base. A base keeps you stable during difficult times, it helps you weather adversity and allows you to support others without becoming destabilized yourself.
Create Space
Our ability to navigate our internal and external experiences increases significantly when we are actively creating space to view them more objectively. Creating space allows us to view our experiences from different perspectives, to choose our responses and to approach situations proactively.
Self-Monitor
It is essential that we monitor our internal experiences. This allows us to establish an awareness of our thoughts, emotions, physiological state and behavior and to create the necessary space to self-regulate as needed.
Self Regulate
To effectively navigate our internal and external experiences, we must be actively self-regulating. This includes regulating our thoughts, emotions, physiological state and our behavior.
Be Proactive
It is always optimal to be in a proactive mindset, in which we are actively influencing the out come of a situation. When we are proactive, we are taking action to influence both our internal and external environments.
Be Responsive
When we are unable to be proactive, it is optimal to be responsive. Being responsive is the act of identifying what he have little or no influence over and choosing our preferred response.
Focus on what matters
Life is full of distractions! These distractions can cause us to lose sight of our priorities and what really matters to us. Identify what truly matters to you and focus your energy and attention on those elements of your life.
Focus on what you can control
Energy and attention are limited resources, Invest them wisely! Focusing your energy on things outside your control often results in little return on your investment. In fact, this is often a major contributor to poor mental health. By identifying what you can and can’t control and focusing your energy on what you can control, you will simultaneously be investing your energy and attention effectively while avoiding the mental health hazard of focusing on what you can’t control.
Cultivate Humility
Life will provide us with plenty of opportunities to fail, to feel insulted, to feel insufficient, to not know, and so on. Humility is powerful skill for navigating most of life’s difficulties When we are humble, we are open to learning, we are more resistant to taking things personally, and we are free to operate with out the need to be validated by others.
Learn to learn
Life will provide a constant flow of lessons for all of us, however, if we have not learned to learn, we may not be able to see these lessons. The more we learn to learn, the more we start to realize that we are engulfed in opportunities to learn from both our internal and external environments.