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