Mindfulness and Social Work
June 1, 2009
Ellen Katz
Abstract This chapter will discuss both theoretical and practice applications of mindfulness to family therapy from the perspective of affect regulation. I see affect regulation and mindfulness as overlapping concepts that can be used in family therapy and are implicitly central to family therapy even when not explicitly discussed and crafted into interventions. Before defining affect...
Mindfulness and Social Work
June 1, 2009
Richard Potter
Abstract Spiritual paths are replete with techniques to help adherents let go of the dominating ‘‘monkey mind’’—the constantly active, evaluating, worrying, anticipating, remembering activity that is going on in our heads—and be open to the present moment and what it has to offer. The ‘‘monkey mind’’ is also the purposeless babbling that is always in the background in our minds. What we know...
Mindfulness and Social Work
June 1, 2009
Laura G Bères
Abstract As described in chapter 1, there is a range of different ways of consider- ing mindfulness and incorporating it into social work practice. This chapter defines mindfulness as the practice of intentionally focusing attention on what is occurring in the present moment in a nonjudgmental manner, with an interest in being rather than doing (Kabat- Zinn, 1990).
Mindfulness and Social Work
June 1, 2009
Diana Coholic, Julie LeBreton
Abstract This chapter explores mindfulness-based training with children living in foster care (ages eight to fifteen). Presently there is no research on using mindfulness in this area. We present an outline of our program, detailing specific activities that are appropriate for and have been proved effective with this population, and examine some of our preliminary conclusions based on our...
Mindfulness and Social Work
June 1, 2009
Susan M Graham, John R Graham
Abstract: The profession of social work operates within the context of multiple social levels—the individual, community, and institutional levels. Along with the complexity attached to practicing amid these multiple social levels, practitioners are presented with individual challenges and situations that have been shown to weigh negatively on the workplace and the individual practitioner. As a...
Mindfulness and Social Work
June 1, 2009
Christine Kessen
Abstract: ‘‘No time!’’ a student exclaims. Discussing an article on risk management in a graduate social work ethics class, I see the frustration on the faces in front of me. I had identified burnout as a major cause of poor social work practice. My suggestion that students take time to address their own needs now sounds feeble. These students are juggling jobs, family responsibilities, and...
Mindfulness and Social Work
June 1, 2009
David A Parè, Brian Richardson, Margarita Tarragona
Abstract: The quotes above are samples of reflections from student therapists on their experiences of attending to their inner dialogues in the midst of a therapeutic conversation. The task of directing their attention inwardly during a session reaps a rich range of reflections, from exasperation with conflicting impulses to delight at the discovery of what becomes visible when one slows down...
Mindfulness and Social Work
June 1, 2009
Miriam George
Abstract: When I first met Ms. Nair, I expected my session with her to be no different from those with my other clients. Instead, it turned out to be one of the greatest learning experiences of my life. Ms. Nair came from India and had been physically abused by her husband before and after her migration to Canada and was also adjusting to her new life in this new country. She had recently been...
Mindfulness and Social Work
June 1, 2009
Mishka Lysack
Abstract One evening in February of 2007, I was watching a CBC documentary report on the dramatic increase in the slaughter of African elephants for ivory. The journalist reported that in 2006 alone, 26,000 elephants—5 percent of the entire population on earth—had been ruthlessly poached, despite the presence of laws and the efforts of sanctuary officers to protect the elephants.
Mindfulness and Social Work
June 1, 2009
Sarah C. Todd
Abstract Laura Pulido (2003) suggests that political action is not just about changing the external world but is also an ‘‘exercise in creating and changing ourselves’’ (p. 51). For Pulido, the interior includes ‘‘such things as our emotions, psychological development, souls and passions, as well as our minds’’ (47). In this chapter I explore the ways that mindfulness practices can be useful in...
Mindfulness and Social Work
June 1, 2009
Steven F Hick
Abstract What is mindfulness? What are its foundations, and how can it help social workers in their practice? Mindfulness is an orientation to our everyday experiences that can be cultivated by means of various exercises and practices. By opening up in a particular way to their internal and external experiences, social workers and clients are better able to understand what is happening to them...
Mindfulness and Social Work
June 1, 2009
Mishka Lysack
Abstract: Activism is conceptualized as acting as a change agent to transform society through externalized action. As noted by Dorothy E. Smith (2006), ‘‘an activist sees the world in terms of what people are doing— what he is or she is doing and what others are doing’’ (p. 21). However, activism also embodies a transformative and transcendent personal quality of mindful internalized action,...
Mindfulness and Social Work
June 1, 2009
Liora Birnbaum
Abstract The use of mindfulness meditation in teaching social work represents a shift in social work education toward a broader holistic approach that utilizes bodily, cognitive, and emotional personal experiences in the learning process (Canda & Smith, 2001). The social work literature tends to be limited to describing the emotional and educational benefits associated with mindfulness...