Mindful Leadership as Healing Practice: Nurturing Self to Serve Others

Leaders benefit from focusing on self-nurturing behaviors and ways of being in order to have sustained energy to care for others. Leaders have a large role in caring for each other and modeling courage for self-care. The science of caring (Watson, 2008) guides exploration of the importance of self-nurture for leaders. Caritas-based leadership practices of lovingkindness/equanimity toward self and cultivating one’s own spiritual practices frame this discussion. Mindfulness is presented in the context of leadership practice. An applied example of research involving mindfulness-based stress reduction in nursing leaders is included. Practical resources for incorporating self-nurturing behaviors are provided.

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Mindfulness meditation – mellem autenticitet og effektivisering

Dansk Sociologi ◽

10.22439/dansoc.v20i2.2994 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 20 (2) ◽

pp. 89-109

Author(s):

Kristina Grünenberg ◽

Hanne Kjærgaard Walker ◽

Jakob Skov Knudsen

Keyword(s):

Qualitative Research ◽

Alternative Medicine ◽

Key Words ◽

Stress Reduction ◽

Empirical Data ◽

Mindfulness Meditation ◽

Modern Society ◽

Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction ◽

Ways Of Being ◽

Late Modern

Meditation er ikke et nyt fænomen i det danske samfund. Det er den fokus som meditationsformen Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) har været genstand for i de senere år imidlertid. Inden for en sundhedssociologisk ramme undersøges nogle af grundene til, at netop MBSR er blevet populær både i virksomheder og blandt individer med fokus på selvudvikling i en dansk kontekst. Artiklen tager afsæt i empiri hentet fra et kvalitativt forskningsprojekt vedrørende netop denne meditationsform og indledes med en fremstilling af det teoretiske, analytiske og empiriske udgangspunkt for artiklen. Herefter følger en analyse af empirien, i hvilken forfatterne bl.a. argumenterer for, at opfattelsen af virkninger tilskrevet mindfulness meditation må ses i relation til to diskurser, som fremanalyseres og benævnes henholdsvis autenticitets- og effektiviseringsdiskurserne. Disse diskurser udgør i artiklen omdrejningspunktet for mere generelle betragtninger over nogle af de udfordringer, som det senmoderne menneske står overfor. ENGELSK ABSTRACT: Kristina Grünenberg, Hanne Kjærgaard Walker and Jakob Skov Knudsen: Mindfulness Meditation – between Authenticity and Efficiency This article investigates how mindfulness meditation, more precisely cd-guided Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), relates to and contributes to general normative discourses on ways of being human in late modern society. The article is based on empirical data from a qualitative research project on this form of meditation and starts with a presentation of the theoretical, analytical and empirical points of departure. This is followed by an analysis of the empirical data, in which we argue that the perception of effects attributed to mindfulness meditation should be viewed in relation to two discourses, which we have named discourses of authenticity and of efficiency respectively. These discourses constitute the central point for more general reflections on some of the challenges faced by late-modern people. Key words: Mindfulness meditation, MBSR, alternative medicine, discourse, late-modern society.

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Mind-Body Interventions to Reduce Risk for Health Disparities Related to Stress and Strength Among African American Women: The Potential of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, Loving-Kindness, and the NTU Therapeutic Framework

Complementary health practice review ◽

10.1177/1533210110386776 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 15 (3) ◽

pp. 115-131 ◽

Cited By ~ 53

Author(s):

Cheryl L. Woods-Giscombé ◽

Angela R. Black

Keyword(s):

African American ◽

Health Disparities ◽

African American Women ◽

Stress Reduction ◽

Self Care ◽

Mindfulness Practice ◽

Emotional Suppression ◽

American Women ◽

Loving Kindness ◽

Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction

In the current article, the authors examine the potential role of mind-body interventions for preventing or reducing health disparities in a specific group—African American women. The authors first discuss how health disparities affect this group, including empirical evidence regarding the influence of biopsychosocial processes (e.g., psychological stress and social context) on disparate health outcomes. They also detail how African American women’s unique stress experiences as a result of distinct sociohistorical and cultural experiences related to race and gender potentially widen exposure to stressors and influence stress responses and coping behaviors. Using two independent, but related, frameworks (Superwoman Schema [SWS] and the Strong Black Woman Script [SBW-S]), they discuss how, for African American women, stress is affected by ‘‘strength’’ (vis-à-vis resilience, fortitude, and self-sufficiency) and the emergent health-compromising behaviors related to strength (e.g., emotional suppression, extraordinary caregiving, and self-care postponement). The authors then describe the potential utility of three mind-body interventions—mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), loving-kindness meditation (LKM), and NTU psychotherapy—for specifically targeting the stress-, strength-, and contextually related factors that are thought to influence disparate outcomes for African American women. Self-awareness, self-care, inter- and intrapersonal restorative healing and a redefinition of inner strength may manifest through developing a mindfulness practice to decrease stress-related responses; using LKM to cultivate compassion and forgiveness for self and others; and the balance of independence and interdependence as a grounding NTU principle for redefining strength. The authors conclude with a discussion of potential benefits for integrating key aspects of the interventions with recommendations for future research.

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Teaching self-care to caregivers: Effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction on the mental health of therapists in training.

Training and Education in Professional Psychology ◽

10.1037/1931-3918.1.2.105 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 1 (2) ◽

pp. 105-115 ◽

Cited By ~ 458

Author(s):

Shauna L. Shapiro ◽

Kirk Warren Brown ◽

Gina M. Biegel

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Stress Reduction ◽

Self Care ◽

Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction

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Promoting Resilience with the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Program in Patients With Chronic Illness

International Journal of Whole Person Care ◽

10.26443/ijwpc.v1i1.40 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 1 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Qinyi Zhao ◽

Nicolò Bernardi ◽

Patricia Dobkin

Keyword(s):

Breast Cancer ◽

Chronic Illness ◽

Sense Of Coherence ◽

Stress Reduction ◽

Self Care ◽

Process Measures ◽

Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction ◽

Program Components ◽

Care Index ◽

Medical Symptoms

Objectives: Twenty-first century patients need to take a proactive stance with regard to their health in order to cope well with chronic illness. Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) is an 8-week structured group program that encourages patients to take responsibility for their health and teaches them to cope with stressors inherent in living with illness.Methods: Patients with chronic illnesses (e.g., breast cancer, chronic pain, multiple sclerosis) participated in the MBSR program from 2006-2012. They completed questionnaires pertaining to depression, medical symptoms, stress, coping, sense of coherence, and mindfulness pre- and post-MBSR. They filled out a follow-up questionnaire that asked them to rate the program and its components. A self-care index was created from 5 items.Results: Of the 126 patients, 85.7% were woman, breast cancer was the most common illness (46.8%), and the average age was 52.3 (SD = 13.3). There were significant improvements on the following outcomes: depression, stress, and medical symptoms. With regard to process measures, there were significant increases in: mindfulness, sense of coherence (comprehensibility, manageability, and meaningfulness of life), as well as significant decreases in emotional coping. Patients rated the program with a mean of 8.94 (1 to 10 scale) for importance. They rank ordered the program components in terms of helpfulness with awareness of breath, the silent retreat day, and yoga practice as the highest of 10 items. There was a significant positive correlation between self-care index at the end of the course and its perceived importance. Moreover, self-care was positively and significantly correlated with post-MBSR mindfulness and viewing life as meaningful.Conclusions: Patients who took the MBSR program reported mental and physical health benefits. Furthermore, being mindful enabled them to cope better, take care of themselves, and view life as more coherent such that they became more stress resilient.

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Achtsamkeitsbasierte kognitive Therapie

Zeitschrift für Klinische Psychologie und Psychotherapie ◽

10.1026/1616-3443/a000280 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 43 (4) ◽

pp. 233-240 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Thomas Heidenreich ◽

Christoph Grober ◽

Johannes Michalak

Keyword(s):

Cognitive Therapy ◽

Stress Reduction ◽

Kognitive Therapie ◽

Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction ◽

Praktische Umsetzung

Unter den im Zentrum dieses Sonderhefts stehenden Neuentwicklungen nehmen achtsamkeitsbasierte Verfahren eine bedeutsame Rolle ein: Während die „Achtsamkeitsbasierte Stressreduktion” (mindfulness-based stress reduction, MBSR) bereits in der zweiten Hälfte der 1970er Jahre entwickelt wurde ( Kabat-Zinn, 1990 ), erlangte insbesondere die von Segal, Williams und Teasdale (2002) speziell für die Rückfallprävention bei rezidivierender depressiver Störung entwickelte „Achtsamkeitsbasierte Kognitive Therapie” (mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, MBCT) eine zunehmende Bedeutung im Bereich kognitiv-behavioraler Ansätze. Der vorliegende Beitrag geht zunächst auf den historischen und theoretischen Hintergrund der Achtsamkeitsbasierten Kognitiven Therapie ein. Im Anschluss daran wird die praktische Umsetzung des Gruppenkonzepts vorgestellt und der Stand der Forschung anhand aktueller Metaanalysen referiert. Der Beitrag schließt mit einer kritischen Diskussion einer allzu verkürzten Anwendung von Achtsamkeit in der klinischen Praxis.

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