Mindfulness as a Student Affairs Practice

Kim Hays, Ian Arthur & Heather Cosgrove Student Counseling Services

Illinois State University

∗ Our interest in this topic ∗ What is Mindfulness ∗ The need for Mindfulness in our Personal and

Professional lives ∗ Experiential Mindfulness Activity ∗ Research on Benefits for Higher Education ∗ Mindfulness as a Skill to Build Cultural Competence ∗ Experiential Mindfulness Activity (if time)

Introduction

Experiencing. . .

What is Mindfulness

Mindfulness has roots in many faith traditions including Christianity, Buddhism, Judaism, and Islam

What is Mindfulness

Mindfulness is not a thing, it is a way of being.

Mindfulness is awareness that emerges through paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally to the unfolding of experience moment by moment. John Kabat-Zinn (2003)

What is Mindfulness

More recently been incorporated into therapy through the work of Kabat-Zinn in treatment of pain

•(Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction)

Incorporated into Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. The Third Wave of behavioral therapy

•Segal, Williams & Teasdale (2002) focusing on Depression (Mindfulness based cognitive therapy)

•Linehan (1993) focusing on Personality Disorder (Dialectical Behavior therapy)

∗ Focus on an External Object – Beholding an object without judgment

∗ Focus on Internal Sensations - Breathing

∗ Observing Thoughts – noting thinking, letting go

∗ Thought Defusion – Recognizing thoughts as thoughts

Types of Mindfulness Practice

∗ Non-Judging ∗ Patience ∗ Beginner’s Mind ∗ Trust ∗ Non-Striving ∗ Acceptance ∗ Letting Go

Attitudes that Support Mindfulness

∗ Life- and work- are stressful! ∗ Social trend towards multi-tasking ∗ Value in doing multiple things at once,

but is this actually helpful? ∗ The many demands on our time ∗ Emotional balance to handle stress ∗And interpersonal relationships!

Why we Need Mindfulness

1. It lowers stress– literally! 2. We know ourselves more fully 3. Improves academics and concentration 4. It helps even when we aren’t actively practicing it 5. Aides in pain management 6. Improves quality of sleep 7. We process our emotions better 8. Connects us more empathically to others

Benefits of Mindfulness Amanda L. Chan, Huffington Post

∗ Careers in Student Affairs may bring long days, late nights, stressed students, projects that require patience, leadership and a positive attitude, the need to deal with variety of people and concerns and crises ∗ The many benefits we reviewed can allow you to feel

calmer, more effective, and confident in your work!

Benefits of Mindfulness for Student Affairs work

Mindfulness Activity

∗ Mindfulness may improve preparedness and orient attention (Zylowska, Smalley, & Schwartz 2009)

∗ Mindfulness may improve ability to process

information accurately (Foerde, Knowlton, & Poldrack, 2006)

∗ Concentration based meditation, practiced over long

term, may improve academic achievement Hall (1999)

Benefits of Mindfulness in Higher Education Shapiro, Brown, Astin (2008)

∗ Mindfulness may decrease stress, anxiety and depression (Hoffman, Sawyer, Witt & Oh, 2010)

∗ Mindfulness meditation supports emotional

regulation (Brown & Cordon, 2009)

∗ Mindfulness cultivates positive emotional states---

Loving Kindness guided meditation, also feelings of contentment (Brown & Cordon, 2009)

Benefits of Mindfulness in Higher Education Shapiro, Brown, Astin (2008)

Cross Cultural Communication

∗ Anxiety about saying the wrong thing

∗ Assumptions we hold about others

∗ Anxiety may make it difficult to listen deeply

∗ Being hard on ourselves if we make a mistake

∗ Wishing to avoid challenging dialogues

∗ Being aware of what we are feeling – orienting attention

∗ Beginner’s Mind, letting go of assumptions, openness

∗ Empathy, processing information accurately

∗ Self Compassion and feelings of loving kindness,

∗ Accepting that things are as they are – emotional regulation

∗ Stage 1: Denial, Defense and Minimization

∗ Stage 2: Acceptance- moving from entho-centrism to ethno-relativism

∗ Adaptation- being able to change behavior, to exhibit empathy

∗ Integration- not only sensitive to others but able to evaluate from multiple perspectives, constructive marginality, standing outside all cultural frameworks

Bennett’s Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity (Bennett 1993)

Mindfulness Activity

“Mindfulness, an open awareness needs to be taught to our young people who are the future leaders! When individuals develop the skill of relaxed attention they gain self-mastery in listening, thoughtful speech, creativity, risking, changing and building community. The world is rapidly changing and education is needed to include self-mastery in order to embody the responsibility required in today’s world.” Jeffrey Walker, Manager Partner, JP Morgan Partners

Resources Handout

Guided Meditations by Tara Brach http://www.tarabrach.com/audioarchives-guided-meditations.html Stop Breath Think – a smart phone app http://stopbreathethink.org

Center for Mindfulness at the University of Massachusetts Medical School http://www.umassmed.edu/cfm/

Full Catastrophe Living, Jon Kabat -Zinn Where Ever You Go, There You Are, Jon Kabat –Zinn

Touching Peace, Thich Naht Hahn

The Miracle of Mindfulness, Thich Naht Hahn

The Mindful Path to Self-Compassion, Christopher Germer

The Mindful Way through Depression: Mark Williams, John Teasdale, Zindel Segal, and Jon Kabat-Zinn

Mindfulness in Plain English, Henepola Gunaratana

When Things Fall Apart, Pema Chödrön The Wisdom of No Escape, Pema Chödrön

References

Brown, K. W. & Cordon, S. (2009). Toward a Phenomenology of Mindfulness: Subjective experience and emotional correlates. In F. Didonna (Ed). Clinical handbook of mindfulness, pp. 59-84. New York: Springer. Davis, D. M. & Hayes, J. A. (2011). What are the benefits of mindfulness: A practice review of psychotherapy related research. Psychotherapy, 48(2), 198-208. Foerde, K., Knowlton, B. J., & Poldrack, R. (2006). Modulation of competing memory systems by distraction. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, 103, 11778-11783.

References Hall, P.D. (1999). The effect of meditation on the academic performance of African American college students. Journal of Black Studies, 29(3), 408-415. Hoffman, S. G. Sawyer, A.T., Witt, A. A., & Oh, D. (2010). The effect of mindfulness-based therapy on anxiety and depression: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology ,78, 169-183. Kabat-Zinn, J. (1990). Full catastrophe living: Using the wisdom of your body and mind to face stress, pain and illness. New York: Delacourt. MeAlister, G. & Irvine, J. J. (2000). Cross cultural competency and multicultural teacher education. Review of Educational Research, 70(1) 3-24.

References Sarath, E. (2003). Meditation in higher education: The next wave. Innovative Higher Education, 27(4), 215-233. Shapiro, S.L., Brown, K.W., & Astin, J. (2011). Toward the integration of meditation into higher education: A review of research evidence. Teachers College Record 113(3), 493-528. Teasdale, J. D., Moore, R. G., Hayhurst, H., Pope, M., Williams, S., & Segal, Z. V. (2002). Metacognitive awareness and prevention of relapse in depression: Empirical evidence. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 70(2), 275-287. Zylowska, L, Ackerman, D. L., Yang, M. H. Futrell, J. L. , Horton, N. L., Hale, T. S. Pataki, C., & Smally, S. L. (2008). Mindfulness meditation training in adults and adolescents with ADHD. Journal of Attention Disorders 11(6), 737-746.