Ann Flood, LMHC
Ann attended and graduated from my Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) 8-week course in 2018, founded by Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ph.D., and took it for a second time in the summer of 2020. She also works as a mental health clinician at the Des Moines Pastoral Counseling Center where I offer MBSR. She continues to engage in deep self-exploration through graduate courses, yoga classes, and meditation teacher training.
I thoroughly enjoy my time working and practicing with Ann, and have come to know her as a truly genuine, compassionate person. She gives generously to the Center because she’s passionate about their mission to provide mental health counseling and education for all, regardless of income or insurance status. She’s also committed to her own mental health, dealing with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and might’ve sought help for her diagnosis earlier in life if it wasn’t for the stigma.
Watch her story on the Make it OK campaign through Iowa Healthiest State Initiative.
Ann is honest, sincere, and committed to living a purposeful life of wakefulness in of service of others. Enjoy her mindfulness journey:
“I participated in my first Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) class with Allison Peet to help me cope with my divorce in 2017. Allison was a perfect teacher demonstrating and explaining the concept of equanimity. This class allowed me to approach life with increased mental calmness, composure, and evenness of temper.
This class taught me to practice the experience of mindfulness as something that is available to me in every moment of the day. I learned mindful meditation, mindful walking, and the valuable practice of checking in my physical state with the body scan.
As a psychotherapist, I have recommended the MBSR program to many of my clients. It has been life changing for most of them to learn how to “be present” in their lives. As an Acceptance and Commitment based therapist, mindfulness and meditation are essential to noticing and accepting current life circumstances. Once my clients notice their lives without judgment or avoidance, we can work together to choose and commit to a chosen valued life path.
In 2020, I found myself feeling more anxiety and stress due to COVID-19 and enrolled in Allison’s MBSR class again, this time online. The class reminded me to “be where my hands are” in the present moment and let go of my worries and concerns about the future. The online course created a valuable experience of being in my home and practicing where I live. In addition to this class, I just enrolled in the Mindfulness and Meditation Teacher Training program with Tara Brach and Jack Kornfield. This two-year program began with a week-long mindfulness retreat and I am learning this is an intentional practice and valued path for me. I would not have discovered this path if not for the teaching, guidance, and encouragement of Allison Peet.
I am forever grateful for Allison and her MBSR class. She and this program have changed my life.”
Ann Flood, LMHC (Licensed Mental Health Counselor) Read Ann’s professional bio here.