Mindful Lawyering: An Introduction to Mindfulness and How it Can Boost Your Life and Legal Practice

PRACTICING LAWYERS INSTITUTE (PLI), TUESDAY, SEPTMBER 16, 2014ROB DURR, PH.D. DAN DEFOE, JD, MS – KANSAS CITY MO AREAPSYCHOLOGIST, LECTURER ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT CONSULTANT NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW ADLITEM SOLUTIONS * PSYCHOLAWLOGY BLOG

The MIND is a problem solving time machine!

MINDFULNESS

Are you “present” with clients and in your work?

During mindlessness do you slip into old habits rather than choosing the most appropriate course of action?

Locked in automatic pilot in how you work with and respond to client needs?

Are you limited to flight or fight and not the relaxation response when presented with a stressful situation?

The Problem for Legal Practice

What is it?

Mindfulness is typically defined as nonjudgmental attention to experiences in the present moment (Kabat-Zinn, 1990).

Finding your breath

Empirically Supported Uses

Beneficial effects for Health Anxiety

Depression

Substance Abuse

Eating Disorders

Chronic pain

Performance and wellness

Improved immune function

Reduced blood pressure and cortisol levels

Enhance cognitive functioning such as attention/focus

1. Attention regulation 2. Body awareness 3. Emotion regulation, including

A. ReappraisalB. Exposure, extinction and

reconsolidation 4. Change in perspective on the

self

Components of Mindfulness Meditation

Holzel, B.K., Lazar, S.W., Gard, T., Schuman-Olivier, Z, Vago, D.R., & Ott, U. (2011). How does mindfulness meditation work? Proposing mechanisms of action from a conceptual and neural perspective. Perspectives in Psychological Science, 6(6), 537-559.

Triangle of Awareness

Body Sensations

Thoughts

Triangle of Awareness

Feelings/ Emotions

Developed by the Stress Reduction Clinic, University of Massachusets Medical Center

Why are mindfulness skills important in legal practice?

Help focus on one thing at a time in the present moment, and by doing this you can better control and soothe your overwhelming emotions. Boosts self-management

Learn to identify and separate judgmental thoughts from your experiences.

Raise self-awareness. Stay present in life’s sacred moments. Be present with clients. Ability to read the moment more accurately

Move our attention around the different parts of our body, as a means of anchoring ourselves in the present moment of sensing and experiencing

Body Scan

Emotions“The instant plans for

handling life that evolution has instilled in us”

Goleman, 1995

The emotional brain responds to an event more quickly than the thinking brain.

Anatomy of EI

STOP Technique

S = Stop what you are doing

T = Take a breath

O = Open and observe the triangle of awareness

P = Proceed mindfully

“Doing nothing” for 5 minutes. Finding a comfortable seat or lying down, turning off your phone, closing the door, etc. and simply noticing what it feels like to breathe in and out.

Eating a meal or snack slowly and without distractions. Engaging in several minutes of gentle stretching, dance, or other movement. Approaching any habitual action (such as washing dishes or brushing your teeth) as if

you are discovering what it is like to do it for the first time. Noticing the “running commentary” of the mind while doing any of the above and

how the mind likes to “jump around” from thought to thought.

Mindfulness Tips

Moments of silence before meetings – Take 5 Make it part of your morning routine STOP Meditation log/journal

Start/Continue your Practice

Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life (Kabat Zinn)

The Miracle of Mindfulness: An Introduction to the Practice of MeditationbyThich Nhat Hanh

Recommended Readings

Faculty Contact

Dr. Rob DurrNorthwestern University(312)503-0165rdurr@northwestern.edu

Dan DeFoe, JD, MSOrganization Development Consultant | Kansas City MO areaAdlitem Solutions | www.adlitemsolutions.comdan@adlitemsolutions.com | 816.803.4252Blog – Psycholawlogy | www.psycholawlogy.com

References

Germer, Christopher K. (Editor); Siegel, Ronald D. (Editor); Fulton, Paul R. (Editor). Mindfulness and Psychotherapy.New York, NY, USA: Guilford Press, 2005.

Holzel, B.K., Lazar, S.W., Gard, T., Schuman-Olivier, Z, Vago, D.R., & Ott, U. (2011). How

does mindfulness meditation work? Proposing mechanisms of action from a conceptual and neural

perspective. Perspectives in Psychological Science, 6(6), 537-559.

Kabat-Zinn, J. (1994). Wherever you go there you are. New York: Hyperion.

Kabat-Zinn, J. (2005). Full catastrophe living: Using the wisdom of your body and mind to face stress, pain, and illness: Fifteenth anniversary edition. New York: Bantam Dell.

Kurash, C., & Schaul, J. (2006). Integrating mindfulness meditation within a University counseling center setting. Journal of College Student Psychotherapy, 20(3), 53-67.

Murphy, M. C. (2006). Taming the anxious mind: An 8-week mindfulness meditation group a

university counseling center. Journal of College Student Psychotherapy, 21(2), 5-13.

Siegel, D.J. (2007). Mindfulness training and neural integration: differentiation of distinct

streams of awareness and the cultivation of well-being. Social Cognitive Neuroscience, 2(4),

259-263.