The Pennsylvania State University Nurturing Mindfulness in Families, Schools and Youth: Advancing the Science and Prac<ce of Awareness and Caring Mark Greenberg mxg47@psu.edu Good Evening! Awareness “I’m being more aware of the kids, more opportuniCes to talk with them, just more aware in general, of myself, what I’m feeling, what I’m eaCng, what I’m doing, where I’m going…my awareness has just been heightened. And if I can just keep reminding myself of that, just to be aware, aware of other people, aware of my own ‘stuff’, that’s a huge thing for me in life.” Teacher a(er CARE Nurturing mindfulness in schools and families to create awareness and caring •  Very exciCng •  Lots of new ideas coming to fruiCon •  SCll very liPle, high quality research •  The Field is changing rapidly Mindfulness is Everywhere PEACE PromoCng Empathy Awareness and Compassion in EducaCon Mindfulness and
Teaching - CARE
Mindfulness and
Parenting
Mindfulness Programs
for Children and Youth
What is the IT? (for now lets call it Mindfulness -­‐ apologies to all!) •  QualiCes to Nurture in Children and Adults! •  Calmness •  Kindness/Compassion (Concept of Interdependence of all things) •  Clarity/Insight (Awareness/ReflecCvity – ability to Decenter) What is Mindfulness? •  Mindfulness is: paying a(en*on, in a par*cular way, on purpose, in the present moment, non-­‐judgmentally. -­‐-­‐Kabat-­‐Zinn,1990 •  An awareness of one’s conduct and the quality of one’s relaConships, inwardly and outwardly, in terms of their potenCal to cause harm, are intrinsic elements of the culCvaCon of mindfulness. •  Mindfulness in everyday life is the ulCmate challenge and pracCce. Kabat-­‐Zinn 2011 9 •  The de-­‐automaCzaCon of our habitual judgment tendencies is brought about by limi;ng our scope of aBen;on to what is happening in the moment….but the funcCon of mindfulness is not just to keep in touch with whatever is present in the ken of aPenCon, but also includes not dri(ing away from the wholesome mental states. George Dreyfuss Mindfulness and CogniCon •  Mindfulness is an inherent mental capacity that can be strengthened to become more fully aware of mental and bodily states •  While some meditaCon pracCces focus on “bare aPenCon” others uClize conceptual thought and an explicit scheme of values •  EssenCal to this process is realizing –  (1) that bodily and mental states are impermanent and cause suffering, –  (2) that there are anCdotes to free our mind from the habits and tendencies that lead to suffering. •  To do so it is essenCal to “step out” of habitual thought and affect paPerns and bringing awareness and compassion to our mental states Self-­‐RegulaCon/De-­‐centering “I’m much more calm. Even when I’m at home, drinking coffee, my mind’s not racing in a thousand different places, I’m just liking my coffee. I’ve learned how to just take things for what they are and not keep everything on my shoulders all the Cme. And because I’m not doing that anymore, that allows me to treat my kids bePer and address their needs bePer and try and teach them to be that way through my example.” Teacher a(er CARE Mindfulness, Ethics and CogniCon •  Engaging in mindful awareness means not only being aware in the present, but it also means reflecCng on a set of ethics including “not to harm others and to engage in wholesome ac;ons” •  This involves recollecCng and reflecCng on one’s acCons with discriminaCon, evaluaCon and mature judgment – rather than being reac<ve. •  Mindfulness is seeing things as they really are – with clear comprehension and intenConality. •  This allows “right view, right effort, right speech, right concentraCon, right acCon, right livelihood Being Mindful and Right AcCon •  Mindfulness leads to the consideraCon of right acCon: •  1. CulCvate condiCons so that negaCve states do not arise •  2. Lehng go of negaCve states that have arisen (greed, aversion, ruminaCon) •  3. CulCvate condiCons so that posiCve states arise •  4. Sustain posiCve states that have arisen (joy, tranquility) •  A central goal is the culCvaCon of Compassion Research on Effects of Mindfulness •  Major Focus has been on –  Symptoms (pain, stress) –  Brain AcCvity (acCvity) –  Psychophysiology –  Self-­‐Reports of Mindfulness •  LiPle Focus on –  Our Interpersonal Awareness –  Our Interpersonal Behavior –  Being Compassionate What is Contempla<ve Teaching and Learning? ContemplaCon is a natural human capacity that can be culCvated with pracCce. Becoming full aware of one’s own nature and connecCons with the world engenders a deep respect for life, This, in turn, moCvate ethical ways of living, caring for others, and thoughkul and compassionate acCon in the world. Garrison Ins;tute Contempla;on and Educa;on Leadership Council What are Indicators of Mindfulness in Interpersonal Contexts? •  Listening with full aGen<on to children and colleagues •  Present-­‐centered awareness of emoCons experienced by self and students during interacCons •  Openness and non-­‐(low?) judgmental acceptance and recepCvity to child’s thoughts and feelings •  Self-­‐regula<on in teaching /paren<ng-­‐ Low reac<vity and Low automa<city in reacCon to normaCve child and adolescent behavior •  Awareness of and responsiveness to child’s individual needs – “teachable moments” •  Compassion for self and students Coatsworth, Duncan, Jennings, Turksma, Greenberg 18 Observe Thoughts as Thoughts Not as Reality One father, ‘‘DT’’, said: •  [since parCcipaCng] I find that the more I can remove the anger that I’m feeling from the situaCon, the more producCve the soluCon becomes, and I can stop and think and feel and express not only how I am feeling, but it gives her[my daughter] a chance to express how she’s feeling and gives me Cme, that’s the important thing, gives me some Cme to understand how she’s feeling and remember how old she is and that no maPer what it is, it’s not the end of the world. Usually it’s a prePy minor thing, in the big scheme of things. From Center for ContemplaCve Mind in Society Ways to Facilitate Mindfulness in Interpersonal Contexts: A Taxonomy Types of Mindful Prac<ces Types of Outcomes Intrapersonal AcCviCes Forms of SiMng Medita<on Walking Medita<on Forms of Yoga Forms of Prayer Interpersonal AcCviCes Deep Listening Story Telling Contempla<ve Dialogue/Discourse Council Procedures in Groups Empathy Training Forms of Mar<al Arts Forms of Service Learning Contempla<ve Art and Music Contempla<ng the Natural World Awareness During Daily Ac<vi<es Explicit Combina<ons of Both Intrapersonal Outcomes ? ?
? Brain Ac<vity Symptoms (pain, distress) Self Reports of Intrapersonal Mindfulness Interpersonal Outcomes Improved Interpersonal Rela<ons Self-­‐Awareness in Everyday Interac<ons Self-­‐Regula<on in Everyday Interac<ons Self-­‐ Report of Interpersonal Mindfulness Compassion for Self Compassion for Others MulC-­‐Modal Compassionate Mind Training Warmth SKILLS -TRAINING
Imagery APenCon ATTRIBUTES
SensiCvity Care for well-­‐being Feeling Warmth Sympathy Compassion Non-­‐Judgement Sensory From Paul Gilbert’s Work on Compassion Warmth Reasoning Distress tolerance Empathy Behaviour Warmth Are Mindfulness and PracCces the Same Thing? Mindfulness/ Awareness PracCces MeditaCon Yoga CulCvaCon of PosiCve Affect MarCal Arts Service Learning Three Components of Change? Dharma World View/ OrientaCon PracCces Sangha Community Implicit Norms And Values Being IntenConal “I think what helps me is when I get frustrated on my way to school, I just stop myself and set an intenCon. What do I really want to do today? What’s really important that I do today. It’s more freeing than sehng a goal or a to-­‐do list.” Teacher a(er CARE Model of Skills Development in Context Skilled PracCce??? Changing Habits of Thought and Behavior ?
Self Awareness and Generalized Use of Skills in Contexts Insights from Dharma Modelling Sangha Context That Supports/Nurtures New Thoughts and Behaviors Insight/APribuConal Shit “I like ‘ahtude adjustment’. I think that’s a good way (to describe CARE). Because it really is your whole, the way you look at lots of different things…it’s almost like you give people a cushion, and I’ve given my kids a cushion, and I’ve given myself a cushion, and allowed myself to realize why I react certain ways to certain things and that helps me…to maybe just not put it on other people anymore. I think about myself differently, and I think about my students differently now. I think ‘ahtude adjustment’ is a good way to put it, not that you had a bad one before, but you look at everything differently.” Ques<ons to Ask When Examining a Prac<ce •
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What are the Goals/Outcomes? What Can Be Measured and How? What Prac<ces or Ac<vi<es Increase IT? How do the Goals/Outcomes, Measurements, and Prac<ces/Ac<vi<es change with age and context ? Skills and Competencies •  Mental Skills –  Self Regulatory Skills •  AGen<on •  Emo<on (Calmness) –  Cogni<ve Skills •  Cogni<on (Clarity/Awareness) •  Ability to Decenter •  AGribu<onal ShiYs •  Social-­‐emo<onal-­‐behavioral Competencies •  Empathy/ Compassion (Kindness) •  Communica<on Skills (deep listening, though[ul dialogue) We Need Clear DescripCon of IntervenCons •  Rich descripCon of intervenCon –  Specific instrucCons •
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What is the source(s) of intervenCon? Has it been modified to be age-­‐appropriate? Who is instructor? What is their training? What is the dosing – frequency? Are there out of session assignments? Measuring Processes and Outcomes •  Self-­‐report (first person phenomenology) •  ObservaCons (OperaConalizing Interpersonal Mindfulness) •  Reports of Others (teachers, peers, parents) •  Task Performance (grades, neuro-­‐cogniCve tasks) •  HypotheCcal VignePes (social cogniCons) •  Psycho-­‐physiological ReacCvity and RegulaCon •  Immunological FuncCon •  Neural AcCvity •  Health and Wellness (medicaCon, absenteeism, etc.) •  “It helps you relieve stress when you really feel stressed out or you’re really mad and focus on what’s inside of you and just make sure that you stay calm.” 5th grade girl on Yoga What Can Mindful PracCces Do •  May Have Quite Different Outcomes Depending on the PracCces (Breathing, Yoga, Compassion Focus, APenCon Focus) •  May Depend on the PopulaCon •  Having a clear theory of change is criCcal and this needs to be contextualized Partners: Garrison InsCtute ContemplaCon & EducaCon Leadership Council HolisCc Life FoundaCon: Travelling Yogis Johns Hopkins – School of Public Health Numerous Public School Districts Penn State – PrevenCon Research Center Funders: Garrison InsCtute Mind and Life InsCtute Ahas Family Fund Johns Hopkins Ctr on Violence PrevenCon PSU Center U.S. Department of EducaCon NaConal InsCtute of Drug Abuse