Gianna LaLota is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor, based in New York. She is trained in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Trial-Based Cognitive Therapy (TBCT), Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), and Mindfulness. 

She holds a BA in Psychology from Boston College, and a Master’s Degree in Counseling for Mental Health and Wellness from New York University. She is also a licensed yoga teacher, a certified Reiki Level II practitioner, and is currently completing her certification in Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) from The American Institute of Health Care Professionals.  

Hey everyone! Welcome to today’s episode of the Wright Conversations Podcast! For today’s episode, I’m joined by Gianna LaLota to talk about the definitions of mindfulness and self-compassion, the distinction between thoughts and feelings, and bridging the gap between mindfulness and self-compassion. We also talk about how we can cultivate self-compassion in our lives, why we tend to overidentify our emotions, and how to start with loving-kindness meditations. 

Let’s delve in! 

 

In this Episode You’ll Learn: 

• [01:44] A bit about Gianna. 

• [03:42] Defining mindfulness. 

• [06:08] Mindfulness in practice. 

• [07:52] What it looks like to be non-judgmental. 

• [10:49] Separating thoughts and feelings. 

• [14:37] The benefits of trying to be mindful. 

• [19:00] What it means to overidentify emotions. 

• [20:18] The bridge between mindfulness and self-compassion. 

• [21:28] Defining self-compassion. 

• [23:06] How to cultivate self-compassion. 

• [28:43] Gianna’s advice. 

• [31:09] Loving-kindness meditations. 

 

Quotes: 

• “Talk therapy is not the only thing that is going to help move someone forward.” [02:59] 

• “Mindfulness is a prerequisite for CBT.” [07:15] 

• “Curiosity is the antidote to judgment and shame.” [10:12] 

• “A feeling can generally be distilled down to one word, whereas a thought is going to be longer, it’s going to be a statement.” [12:46] 

• “The true self is compassionate.” [27:17] 

• “The biggest barrier for people, when it comes to cultivating self-compassion, are these ‘positive beliefs’ that they have about self-criticism.” [28:07] 

 

Connect with Gianna LaLota 

Website: www.nyccognitivetherapy.com. 

Instagram: @mindfultherapynyc. 

 

Connect with Rachel Wright 

Website: https://rachelwrightnyc.com 

Instagram: @thewright_rachel 

Twitter: @thewrightrachel 

 

Resources 

Self-Compassion, by Dr. Kristin Neff. 

 

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