FAQs

In your first appointment, Drew is going to try to get to know you as well as he can in an hour. He’ll ask questions about what brought you in, what you’d like to work on, and also general questions about your history. You are free to answer with as much or as little detail as feels comfortable. In the next session, Drew will reflect back to you what he learned in the initial appointment. This gives you a chance to correct anything that he heard incorrectly or add detail that wasn’t discussed originally. He’ll share a bit about how he typically works with people and specific recommendations about how he thinks you and he can work together to meet your goals. If this sounds acceptable to you, you’ll discuss how to proceed from there.

Drew participates with a variety of commercial health insurance plans and is a preferred provider with all three Nebraska Medicaid managed care companies, but he does not offer free counseling services or services on a sliding scale.

If you need free or reduced fee counseling services, OpenCounseling provides contact information for individual clinicians and organizations that offer these services on a sliding scale or, in some cases, at no charge.

Participating in MBSR classes can benefit those who have been meditating for years or those who are just beginning their mindfulness journey.

Group Mindfulness Classes are offered at Into Balance for adults 18 and over. They occur multiple times per year and last 8 weeks. They are on Mondays from 3 PM to 4 PM. If you are interested in practicing mindfulness to retrain your brain, reduce stress, manage emotional reactivity, and increase general wellbeing, leading to a more harmonious life, then these classes are for you.

We also offer Business/Organization MBSR Classes for groups of 8-24. Participating in Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction (MBSR) classes can benefit teams, clubs, businesses, and other organizations.

Additionally, Healthcare Professional MBSR CE Classes are available for California licensed MFTs, LPCCs, LEPs, LCSWs, Psychologists, and Nurses. Healthcare professionals may be able to earn continuing education credit for their participation in Into Balance MBSR classes.

To learn more or register, visit our Mindfulness Classes page.

While it’s best to commit to being present at all 8 classes and the retreat day, sometimes life happens. In MBSR classes, we learn to roll with the punches. The experiences can’t be made up, but Drew will help you catch/keep up if a class is missed. If you know you will have to miss two or more of the eight classes or the retreat day, it may be best to postpone your participation to another MBSR session that better fits your schedule. Register or learn more about our MBSR Classes.

It is tradition in many mindfulness communities to offer teachings free of charge. In a gesture of gratitude, it is also traditional for those receiving teachings to offer generosity, known as Dana, to support the teacher. To be consistent with these values and to make the class available to as many people as possible, a $100 non-refundable donation is collected prior to the start of classes. This covers the cost of space rental and materials but doesn’t compensate your teacher. At the conclusion of the eighth class, participants will be invited to show generosity to their teacher by offering an amount of their choosing based on the value of what they have learned and upon their financial reality. Learn more or register for an upcoming class here.

Health insurance typically does not cover MBSR classes, however, some Flexible Spending Plans, Health Savings Accounts, and Employer-based Wellness Programs may reimburse part or all of the costs. Check to see if this applies to you when registering for classes.

Drew has partnered with the University of California – San Diego Center for Mindfulness to offer Continuing Education contact hours for selected health care professionals that complete our MBSR classes. Psychologists, Counselors, Marriage and Family Therapists, Social Workers, and Nurses, see further information below. If your profession is not listed here, check with your licensing board to determine if this program meets their requirements.

8-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Course

Continuing Education Credit

Psychologists: Continuing Education Credit for this program is provided by UC San Diego Center for Mindfulness. The UC San Diego Center for Mindfulness is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. The UC San Diego Center for Mindfulness maintains responsibility for this program and its content. This course offers 27.0 CE credit.

California licensed MFTs, LPCCs, LEPs, LCSWs: Continuing Education Credit for this program is provided by UC San Diego Center for Mindfulness. The UC San Diego Center for Mindfulness is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. 27.0 contact hours may be applied to your license renewal through the California Board of Behavioral Sciences. For those licensed outside California, please check with your local licensing board to determine if CE credit is accepted.

Nurses: UC San Diego Center for Mindfulness is approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing, Provider Number CEP16351, for 32.0 contact hours.

Objectives

1. Articulate the key aspects of mindfulness as it relates to stress reduction, coping with pain and illness and enhancing well-being
2. Differentiate MBSR from relaxation and other distraction techniques that may seem similar but are fundamentally and theoretically quite different in contending with difficulty and enhancing quality of life
3. Apply mindfulness techniques in both personal and professional settings as a means of contending more effectively with the demands of both settings
4. Integrate mindfulness into social interaction with patients, colleagues, supervisors, family and friends to facilitate more effective and mindful communication
5. Articulate the potential benefits of mindfulness-based stress reduction (and mindfulness in general) to educate patients and their families about the benefits of such programs in their own lives.
6. Implement brief mindfulness practices with patients and family members as a means of contending with acute pain, anxiety and distress.

Register or learn more here.