An Introduction to Mindfulness for Clinical Mental Healthcare Teams

Mindfulness for You … Mindfulness for Your Patients A Half-Day Workshop

Like no other psychotherapeutic phenomenon of the modern age, mindfulness as a clinical tool has become a recognized standard within the twenty-first century healthcare industry. Numerous research- based studies have supported its efficacy at improving physical health, improving emotional self- regulation for optimal mental health, and reducing stress and burnout for healthcare practitioners. The number of scientific studies reported on mindfulness in 1980 was zero; the number of such studies in 2015 was 674. Mindfulness is here to stay. Clinical care teams introduce mindfulness to patients without an appreciation of its roots, or as just another add-on to CBT or other primary therapeutic intervention without regard for its possible misuse. In this workshop, providers will be introduced to the history of mindfulness in the United States, the critical need for developing a personal mindfulness practice before teaching it, and how mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) may be properly integrated into a regimen of quality mental health care for inpatient, partial hospitalization, or outpatient populations.

Upon completion of this half-day workshop, participants will be able to:

1. Understand the evolution and role of mindfulness practice within healthcare in the United States.
2. Define and describe mindfulness as a secular form of meditation which has significant physical and mental healthcare benefits.
3. Identify research-based study sources for mindfulness in the clinical arena.
4. Understand the critical importance of developing a mindfulness-based practice before introducing it to patients.
5. Engage in a series of experiential, introductory mindfulness practices.
6. Respond meaningfully to the common pitfalls commonly experienced by new meditators.
7. Provide patients with a rationale for use of mindfulness in-session and in daily life.
8. Direct patients to diverse sources of readings, online resources, and mindfulness apps for continued self-care outside the treatment setting.