Reclaim the joy of healing: Utilizing intentional presence
Bethanie Simmons-Becil wants providers to reclaim the joy of healing.
She’s the APNA member behind the May Nurses Month & Mental Health Awareness Month FREE CE for APNA members Creating a Safe Space through Intentional Presence and Mindfulness. Her presentation from the APNA 38th Annual Conference shares with nurses how to define, discuss, and develop a safe space through practical mindfulness and intentional presence language and techniques — and gives practical examples on how to create that safe space for those in your care.
Simmons-Becil, DNP, MSN, APRN, PMHNP-BC, APHN-BC, and Assistant Professor and Director, Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Program at Brooks College of Health at the University of North Florida, said she felt inspired to deliver this session by her desire to empower others.
“As nursing providers, we often get lost in the technicalities of our jobs, the endless point-and-click culture, and frequently lose focus on what truly matters: the patient,” she says. “In my personal practice, I have found that combining intentional presence and mindful practices significantly improves the patient/provider relationship and gives the patient valuable tools to help center them when stressed, anxious, and depressed, further empowering them in their mental health journey.
“I have had such success with this practice that I felt led to share these ideas with my peers and hopefully help other providers reclaim the joy of healing and empowering others back into their practice.”
Simmons-Becil shares more on utilizing intentional presence and its benefits for clients and providers.
APNA: What are the benefits to intentional presence and mindfulness for those receiving mental health treatment?
Simmons-Becil: In my experience, utilizing intentional presence when working with clients has an incredibly positive impact on the therapeutic relationship and overall feelings of safety and trust between patient and practitioner. Later in my education, while working on my Doctorate, I focused on integrating holistic interventions into psychiatric practice, I found John Kabat-Zinn’s Full Catastrophe Living. I loved the idea of integrating mindfulness into my personal practice and education for my clients because of the incredible evidence of benefit in depression, anxiety, stress, and pain. My DNP project (circa 2020) positively showed that integration of mindfulness practices into current treatment for depression helped maintain remission for a high percentage of the participants, despite this project being completed in the height of COVID-19.
Throughout my education and practice I have found a plethora of evidence-based research showing significant positive trends for integration of mindfulness (MBCT, MBSR, etc.) into treatment of a variety of conditions including depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and more. Using a combination of intentional presence and mindfulness education can significantly improve relationships and outcomes for many of our clients and give them more autonomy in their lived experience.
APNA: What about benefits for providers?
Simmons-Becil: Mindfulness practices allow us to slow down and acknowledge our experiences, both positive and negative, and how they shape the beautiful human beings we are. Mindfulness teaches us that living in the moment, enjoying the experience of life, is invaluable to our life perspective and overall well-being. When used in combination with the tenants of intentional presence, the practitioner is able to be more authentic, understanding, and empathetic to our clients and their needs. This leads to more integrative relationships with our clients, increased trust, and greater opportunities toward healing.
APNA: If a provider you knew was first starting to apply these techniques in their work, what’s the first thing you would suggest they tackle?
Simmons-Becil: Mindfulness, especially in our technological age, can be difficult to employ. We are constantly bombarded with news, emails, notifications, etc., pulling us away from the wonder of our daily lived experience. I would encourage the practitioner new to these ideas work first on their ability to mindfully meditate, learning to truly be present in the moment, and then strive to enact that practice in their daily lives. Mastering being in the moment will be incredibly beneficial to helping them become more intentionally present, both in their practice with clients and in their personal lives.
>>> In May 2025, this CE is FREE to members through the end of the month along with poster presentations (more FREE CE!), a roundup from APNA Council Chairs of the best advice they’ve received, and more. Celebrate you this Nurses Month!
>>> The APNA 39th Annual Conference is this October in New Orleans, Louisiana! Registration opens soon!
Published May 2025
About APNA: The American Psychiatric Nurses Association is a national professional membership organization committed to the practice of psychiatric-mental health nursing and wellness promotion, prevention of mental health problems, and the care and treatment of persons with psychiatric disorders. APNA’s membership is inclusive of all psychiatric-mental health registered nurses including associate degree, baccalaureate, advanced practice (comprised of clinical nurse specialists and psychiatric nurse practitioners), and nurse scientists and academicians (PhD). APNA serves as a resource for psychiatric-mental health nurses to engage in networking, education, and the dissemination of evidence. The American Psychiatric Nurses Association is accredited as a provider of continuing nursing professional development by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.
