Title of Course: ” Mindful Stress Management: Applying Buddhist Principles to Professional Self Care”
Course Description: This is a two-hour workshop for psychologists practicing in any context (clinical, administration, student services, research). This workshop focuses on describing Buddhist principles of acceptance of the struggles of daily life, adjustment to continual change, transition and stress; and developing compassion for the human experience of ourselves and others. By familiarizing ourselves with our interconnectedness to all beings and understanding how our own irritation, hanging on to outmoded ideas and unwillingness to see that things will never be “just so” increases our stress, we can learn how to instead choose to become mindful of how things really are. This workshop includes instruction on mindfulness meditation practice both “on the cushion” and in everyday life while working with others. A brief overview of the literature on mindfulness research will also be discussed.
Mindfulness meditation research in relationship to stress reduction (Mindfulness based stress reduction or MBSR), chronic pain reduction (Kabat-Zinn as in the well known title Full Catastrophe Living) and depression (Teasdale’s Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Depression) has a growing body of literature to support reduction of disease. Acceptance Commitment Therapy and components of Dialectical Behavior Therapy also address mindfulness principles that show great promise in reduction of a wide range of disorders including characterological problems and post-traumatic stress disorder.
The workshop covers basic concepts of Buddhism and research based mindfulness techniques as outlined below:
1. Explain the Buddhist Four Noble Truths as they apply to everyday life.
2. Understand what is meant by emptiness and how to apply this principle to change and transition.
3. Discuss how the balanced expression of compassion for self and others results in an increase in vitality and wellness.
4. Explain how the marriage of the concepts of emptiness and compassion allow us to relieve our own stress, and by doing this, lessen the negative impact on others and increase the joy that we share with them.
5. Discuss the three poisonous attitudes of hostility, craving/desire and ignorance of reality and apply them to everyday life.
6. Discuss the six virtuous states of mind of generosity, ethics, patience, perseverance, concentration and wisdom.
7. Learn how to apply these principles to concentration and insight based meditations in a daily 10 to 30 minute sitting practice.
8. Learn how to apply these principles to mindful moments throughout ones’ day and to gradually permeate one’s life with a peaceful mind.
9. Briefly discuss the research outcomes of Buddhist principles as applied to stress-based disorders for future reference.
Course Methodology:
· Two hours. of face-to face training, comprised of a combination of lecture and experiential instruction in mindfulness practices
· PowerPoint presentation with handout.
· Q & A and discussion.
Course Objectives:
By the end of this course, the participant will increase their knowledge by:
1. Understanding how the Buddhist principles of the Four Noble Truths, the Four Immeasurable Thoughts, the Three Poisons and the 6 Perfections can be applied to everyday life.
2. Understanding the Buddhist concepts of emptiness and compassion, and how to marry the two to live more easily in the present moment.
3. Learning and experiencing proper posture and practice of breathing, Zen based meditation practice.
4. Understanding, through a brief review of the literature on mindfulness practices, that research shows how meditation and mindful living reduce stress.