Download - Mindfulness Seminar
MINDFULNESS
Group Task:
-Your understanding of what mindfulness is
-OR-
-What is on your mind right now in this present moment
“Reality, mostly, is not what it is, but what we have decided it is”
(de Mello, 1988)
“First we make our conclusions’ –then we find some way to arrive at them”
(de Mello, 1988)
“Compared to what we ought to be we are
only half awake” (William James,1924)
“The ultimate value of life depends
upon awareness and the power of
contemplation rather than upon
mere survival." (Aristotle, n.d)
“Problems cannot be solved at
the same level of awareness that
created them” (Einstein, n.d)
AWARENESS, CONSCIOUSNESS AND MENTAL PROCESSING
Consciousness has been distinguished from other modes of mental processing—namely, cognition, motives, and emotions.
Consciousness encompasses both awareness and attention.
(Brown & Ryan, 2003)
DEFINITION OF MINDFULNESS “Paying attention in a particular way: on purpose,
in the present moment, and non-judgementally” (Kabat-Zinn, 1994)
“Mindfulness involves intentionally bringing one’s attention to the internal and external experiences occurring in the present moment” (Baer, 2003)
“In a state of mindfulness, thoughts and feelings are observed as events in the mind, without over-identifying with them and without reacting to them in in an automatic, habitual pattern of reactivity” (Bishop, Lau, Shapiro et al, 2004)
FACETS OF MINDFULNESSSelf-Regulation of attention “so that it is maintained on immediate
experience, thereby allowing for increased recognition of mental events in the present moment”
Orientation to Experience “orientation that is characterized by curiosity
openness, and acceptance”
(Bishop et al, 2004)
APPLIED MINDFULNESS Date-hopeful:
Nervous/ self-conscious
History of past dating failures
Self-regulation of Attention
Orientation to Experience
APPLIED MINDFULNESS
Negative thought patterns
Low levels motivation
Maladaptive coping strategies
Self-Regulation of Attention
Orientation to Experience
FROM ORIGINS TO SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATION
ORIGINSBuddhism
Mindfulness is central to the Buddhism tradition
“The primary interest of this tradition is the quality of consciousness in the present moment”, (Didonna, 2009)
Sati (mindfulness) – awareness, attention and remembering
Used to alleviate suffering
MINDFULNESS IN THE SCIENTIFIC DOMAIN
“largely unconsidered outside the fields of philosophical and religious studies” (Dane, 2011)
“as being ‘seen as’ too mystical or ‘Zen-like’ to merit systematic investigation” (Dane, 2011)
MINDFULNESS IN THE SCIENTIFIC DOMAIN
Operational Definition“no systematic efforts to establish the defining criteria
of it’s various components”
“general descriptions of mindfulness have not been entirely consistent across investigators” Bishop et. al, 2004 Empirical Measure“provides new opportunities for empirical investigations of the nature of mindfulness and it’s relationships with other psychological constructs” Baer et. al, 2006
MINDFULNESS MEASURES The Toronto Mindfulness Scale (TMS: Lau, Bishop, Segal, Buis, Anderson,
Carlson, Shapiro & Carmody, 2006)
Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS: Brown & Ryan, 2003)
The Philadelphia Mindfulness Scale (PHLMS: Cardaciotto, Herbert, Forman et. al. 2008)
The Cognitive and Affective Mindfulness Scale (CAMS: Feldman, Hawes, Kumar, Greeson & Laurenceau, 2007)
The Kentucky Inventory of Mindfulness Skills (KIMS: Baer et al. 2003)
The Five-Facet Mindfulness Questionnare (FMMQ: Baer, Smith, Hopkins, Krietemeyer & Toney, 2006)
The Frieburg Mindfulness Inventory (FMI: Buchheld, Grossman & Walach, 2001)
The Mindfulness Questionnaire (MQ: Chadwick, Hember, Mead, Lilley & Dagnan, 2005)
TMS
Curiosity “reflects awareness or present moment experience with a quality of curiosity”
Decentering“emphasising awareness of ones experience with some distance and this identification rather than being carried away by ones thoughts and feelings”
TMS
You will now be handed out the Toronto Mindfulness Scale
This should just take a few minutes to complete
TMS SCORING
All items are written in a positively keyed direction so no reverse scoring of items is required
Curiosity score: items 3,5,6,10,12,13
Decentering score: items 1,2,4,7,8,9,11
YOUR MINDFULNESS SCORE
If you have a high mindfulness score well done
If, however, you do not don’t worry
It is possible to improve your mindfulness (i.e. meditation)
MINDFULNESS INTERVENTIONS
A MINDFULNESS INTERVENTION FOR EVERYTHING...
MBCP – Mindfulness based childbirth and parenting
MBEC – Mindfulness Based Elder Care
INTERVENTIONS
1. Mindfulness- Based Stress Reduction
2. Mindfulness- Based Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
3. Mindfulness-Based Approaches to Eating Disorders
4. Mindfulness- Based Relationship Enhancement Training Program.
MINDFULNESS-BASED STRESS REDUCTION
Developed by Dr Jon Kabat-Zinn
Brought mindfulness into the mainstream of medicine and society
MBSR -mindfulness, meditation and yoga
AIM OF MBRS
The mind is known to be a factor of stress and stress related disorders
Consciously and systematically working with stress, pain, illness and demands of everyday life.
Ignite inner capacity and infuse your life with moment-to-moment awareness
Such mindfulness helps patients use their inner resources to achieve good health and well being
REASONS FOR JOINING:
Stress Chronic pain and illness Anxiety and panic GI distress Sleep disturbances Fatigue High blood pressure Headaches
WHAT THE COURSE CONSISTS OF:
8 weekly classes and 1 day long class that includes -
Guided instruction in mindfulness meditation classes
Gentle stretching and mindful yoga Group dialogue/discussions Individually tailored instruction Daily home assignments
RESULTS AFTER COMPLETION:
Decrease in physical and psychological symptoms
Increased ability to relax Reduction in pain levels Enhanced ability to cope with pain Greater energy and enthusiasm for life Improved self esteem Ability to cope better in stressful situations
MINDFULNESS-BASED COGNITIVE BEHAVIOURAL THERAPY
Based on MBSR
Combines ideas of cognitive therapy with meditative practices
AIMS OF MBCBT
Helps to understand depression
Discover what makes one vulnerable to staying at the end of the downward spiral
Connection to downward spiral and what makes like worth living
REASONS FOR JOINING:
Chronic pain Hypertension Heart disease Cancer Anxiety and panic Depression (reduces relapse 50%)
WHAT THE COURSE CONSISTS OF:
Meeting with instructor prior to commencing
8 weekly 2 hour classes
One all day session between week 5 and 7
Main work is done at home with CD’s
RESULTS AFTER COMPLETION:
To recognise and disengage from mind states characterised by negative thought
See thoughts as negative events rather than facts
MINDFULNESS-BASED APPROACHES TO EATING DISORDERS
Alexithymia
A change from externally oriented concrete thinking style to internal orientation
Tend to use eating as a way to avoid or escape negative emotional states
AIMS OF MB-EAT
Learn to approach eating in a more relaxed, non judgemental way
Improve registration of appetite regulation
Reduce misappraisal of internal physical states
More attuned to utilizing physiological appetite cues for initiating and ending eating periods
Offers a strong opportunity to improve emotion regulation
Recognise that thoughts are just thoughts
REASONS FOR JOINING:
Anorexia Nervosa
Bulimia Nervosa
Binge Eating Disorder
WHAT THE COURSE CONSISTS OF:
Four Mindfulness-based programs combined:
1. Dialectical Behaviour Therapy2. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy3. Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy4. Mindfulness-Based Eating Awareness
Training
EMPOWER APPROACH
Nine Core Skill Sets:1. Nonjudgmental observation of reactivity
2. Separating out emotions
3. Separating out thoughts
4. Separation & tolerance of behavioural urges
5. Recognition of hunger and satiety
6. Recognition of taste
7. Discernment of appetite cues from other internal events
8. Identification of true needs
9. Addressing true needs
MINDFULNESS-BASED RELATIONSHIP ENHANCEMENT TRAINING PROGRAM
Foster greater awareness, ease and fresh discovery of life’s experiences
Enhances access to innate resources of joy, compassion and connectedness
AIMS OF MBRE:
Enrich the relationships of the relatively happy, non-distressed couples
Beneficially affecting individuals: Optimism Spirituality Relaxation Psychological distress
Favourably impacting couples levels of:
Relationship satisfaction Autonomy Relatedness Closeness Acceptance of one another Relationship distress
WHAT THE COURSE CONSISTS OF:
8 weekly 150mins group sessions & 1 full day retreat
Sample Session (week 3) - Sitting meditation Group discussion on practices and
homework with focus on pleasant experiences
Individual yoga Homework assignments
RESULTS AFTER COMPLETION:
Enriching of current relationship functioning
Improvement of individual psychological well being
CASE STUDY
44 participants – married or cohabitating for at least 12 months
Completed questionnaires prior to course and after course
Kept daily diaries of:Relationship happiness Relationship distressStress Coping Overall Stress
Results provided empirical support for MBRE
Couples found ‘a way of being’ in all of life’s experiences rather than a way to cope with specific troublesome aspects of life
MINDFULNESS EXERCISE
MINDFULNESS MEDITATION
Stage 1:Mindfulness of Breath
Stage 2: Mindfulness of Thoughts
MEDITATION TIPS Bringing the mind back to the breath
‘Noting’
Using metaphors: -Sky
POSITIONS
Option A:
Option B:
Option C:
REFERENCES
Carson, J. W., Carson, K. M., Gil, K. M., & Baucom, D. H. (2004). Mindfulness-based relationship enhancement. Behaviour Therapy, 35, 471-494.
Mindful Living Programs (2011). What is Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction? Retrieved from: www.mindfullivingprograms.com/whatMBSR.php
UMASS (2011). Stress Reduction Program. Retrieved from: www.umassmed.edu
Baer, R. A. (2003).Mindfulness training as a clinical intervention: A conceptual and empirical review. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 10, 125–143.
Bishop, S.R., Lau, M., Shapiro, S., Carlson, L., Anderson, N.D., Carmody, J., Segal, Z.V., Abbey, S., Speca, M., Velting, D., Devins, G. (2004). Mindfulness: A Proposed Operational Definition. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 11 (3), 230-240.
Kabat-Zinn, J. (1994). Wherever you go, there you are: mindfulness meditation in everyday life. New York: Hyperion.
James, W. (1924). Memories and studies. New York: Longmans, Green, & Co. (Original work published 1911)
De Mello, A. (1988). The Prayer of the Frog: Vol 1: A book of story Meditations.
Didonna, F. (Ed.), The Clinical Handbook of Mindfulness (221-243). New York: Springer.
Dane (2011). Paying Attention to Mindfulness and Its Effects on Task Performance in the Workplace. Journal of Management, 37(4), 997-1018.
Baer, R. A., Smith, G. T., Hopkins, J., Krietemeyer, J., & Toney, L. (2006). Using self-report assessment methods to explore facets of mindfulness. Assessment, 13, 27–45.
EXTRA RESOURCES Kabat-Zinn: Intro to mindfulnesshttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nwwKbM_vJc
Cognitive Neuroscience of Mindfulness Meditation
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sf6Q0G1iHBI
Malcom Huxter, Guided Meditation: Body Scan
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJjafJouvt4