You May Benefit From This Course If You:
- Notice your mind getting caught in loops of worry, rumination, or repetitive thinking
- Find that insight alone does not always quiet racing thoughts
- Work with clients who understand their thinking patterns but still feel stuck in them
- Catch yourself thinking “Why can’t I stop thinking this way?” even when you know the thoughts are not helpful
- Sometimes assume that other people seem able to let things go more easily while your mind keeps circling the same concerns
- Notice that your thoughts become more active at night, during quiet moments, or when you are trying to rest
When Thoughts Will Not Slow Down
Racing thoughts, rumination, and persistent cognitive worry are among the most common symptoms reported by clients seeking mental health care. While many therapeutic approaches address these patterns through cognitive restructuring and insight-oriented dialogue, clinicians frequently observe that insight alone does not always change the intensity or persistence of the thinking patterns themselves. Clients may understand that their thoughts are unhelpful, yet still feel caught in repetitive mental loops that increase anxiety, disrupt sleep, and reduce emotional regulation.
A Regulation-Based Approach to Cognitive Activity
This six hour self guided continuing education course introduces chanting and meditation as evidence-informed, body-based approaches that can support the regulation of cognitive activity and complement psychotherapy. Participants will learn how rhythmic vocalization, mantra repetition, and attentional meditation practices influence neural networks involved in attention, emotional regulation, and cognitive flexibility. The course reviews current research on meditation and chanting related to stress, attention, and cognitive processing, while also examining the neurophysiology of rumination and worry.
Safety and Trauma-Informed Practice
Because meditation and chanting practices can also present risks for individuals with trauma histories or active mental health symptoms, this training places strong emphasis on safety, contraindications, and trauma-informed facilitation. Participants will learn how to recognize when meditation practices may be destabilizing, how to adapt practices to increase accessibility, and when referral to appropriately trained specialists is indicated. Ethical scope-of-practice considerations are also addressed to support responsible integration within social work and behavioral health settings.
Practical Chanting and Meditation Techniques
Specific techniques taught in this course are derived from the field of yoga therapy and include a range of structured mantra and chanting practices (including silent versions) that can be adapted for clinical settings. Participants will learn how to guide these practices safely, how to select techniques based on a client’s presenting cognitive patterns, and how to integrate chanting and meditation into broader somatic care sequences used in therapy.
Supporting Cognitive Regulation in Clinical Practice and Personal Use
Designed for psychotherapists and other helping professionals, this course provides practical tools for addressing racing thoughts and cognitive distress through regulation-based approaches that engage attention, breath, sound, and awareness. It’s also suitable for individuals who want an insider’s view on why persistent thinking patterns occur and how practices such as chanting and meditation can help shift the nervous system and quiet the mind.
Participants will leave with a clear understanding of the benefits, risks, and appropriate applications of chanting and meditation practices, along with practical guidance for introducing these methods in therapeutic contexts or on one’s own.
Course Format:
Self-paced online learning with approximately six hours of video instruction, demonstrations, and guided practices.
CE Credit:
6 CT-NASW CECs
This program has been approved for Continuing Education Credit Hours by the National Association of Social Workers, CT and meets the continuing education criteria for CT Social Work Licensure renewal. Approval also meets the continuing
education criteria for CT LMSWs, LMFTs, LPCs, and licensed psychologists.
Tuition:
$89. Course is accessible for one year from purchase date.
Instructor:
Christine Saari, MA, C-IAYT, with contributions from Sara Merrick-Albano, C-IAYT
About Your Instructors
Christine Saari, MA, C-IAYT
Director, ClinicAlly Trained™ | Co-Founder, Yoga Therapy Associates Christine Saari, MA, C-IAYT, is an author, educator, and yoga therapist dedicated to bridging yoga therapy and mental health care. As Director of ClinicAlly Trained™, she develops specialized continuing education and yoga teacher training programs for clinicians who want to integrate evidence-based somatic and breath-based interventions into therapy practice. Christine’s clinical background centers on supporting individuals living with anxiety, trauma, depression, and cancer. As a breast cancer survivor, she brings lived experience and clinical expertise together with genuine compassion, recognizing both the depth of suffering people carry and the practical tools that support real healing. As co-founder of Yoga Therapy Associates and ClinicAlly Trained™, Christine envisions a professional platform where yoga therapy and behavioral health meet. Her work emphasizes elevating best practices, strengthening ethical standards, and ensuring that yoga therapy is represented with the same rigor and accountability expected in clinical disciplines. Through a partnership between Yoga Therapy Associates and the Held Center for Healing, Christine helped develop the EMbody Trauma Recovery Program, an IOP alternative for individuals recovering from addiction and trauma that combines EMDR and yoga therapy. She has also presented multiple times at Smilow Cancer Center at Yale New Haven Hospital on yoga therapy for emotional and physical recovery. In addition, she provides continuing education for DMHAS, the Connecticut Women’s Consortium, and EMDRIA’s national webinar catalog, teaching clinicians how to integrate yoga therapy and breathwork into trauma treatment. Christine’s writing and teaching reflect a deep commitment to professionalizing yoga therapy, making it accessible, research-informed, and relevant to the realities of modern clinical practice. Learn more about Christine’s work at www.yogatherapyassociates.com/about/christine-yoga-therapist and explore her specialized programs for therapists at www.clinicallytrained.com.
Guest Instructor
Sara Merrick-Albano, E-RYT 500, C-IAYT
Co-Founder, Yoga Therapy Associates & ClinicAlly Trained™ Sara Merrick-Albano, E-RYT 500, C-IAYT, is a yoga therapist specializing in trauma recovery, pelvic health, chronic pain, and autoimmune conditions. She integrates functional movement, breathwork, and meditation to support symptom management and long-term regulation. As co-founder of Yoga Therapy Associates and ClinicAlly Trained™, Sara provides continuing education for DMHAS and the Connecticut Women’s Consortium on the clinical use of yoga, breathwork, and somatic awareness. She is also a contributing expert for Roon, where she offers guidance on yoga therapy for pelvic health concerns including endometriosis, menopause, and chronic pelvic pain. Sara has been featured at the Neuroscience & Yoga Conference Community Showcase, presenting Taking the Indirect Route to Chronic Pain Relief, and frequently teaches on pelvic health through national webinars such as The Pelvis: From Anatomy to Awareness with beYogi. In this course, Sara offers her clinical expertise on anatomy and physiology as well as clinical insights drawn from her work in trauma recovery and chronic pain management.