Reflections on an eight-week mindfulness-based stress reduction program

In April of 2013 the psychology department of Trinity Christian College hosted it's annual conference. The conference, entitled Psychology Renewed, focused on the concept of mindfulness. The following post reflects one of the presentations at the conference. 

I have been involved in the study of mindfulness, particularly mindfulness meditation, for many years as part of my yoga training and teaching.  I came to this study after experiencing the following quotation from Eastern mindfulness practices on my journey:  “Imagine that every person in the world is enlightened but you.  They are all your teachers, each doing just the right things to help you learn patience, perfect wisdom, and perfect compassion.”  This quote is attached to the computer in my home office.  As I read this quote on a daily basis, I am humbled and encouraged to move forward and bring mindfulness to every thought and action.

My colleagues and I shared some insights into mindfulness at our recent Psychology Renewed Conference during the spring semester at Trinity Christian College.  My part was to reflect upon the major research findings of an eight-week mindfulness-based stress reduction program, one at Montana State University and the other at the University of Massachusetts.   I thought that this information was timely, since I was involved in this particular program for a second time.

The program began at The Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society at the University Of Massachusetts Medical School, dedicated to furthering the practice and integration of mindfulness in the lives of individuals, institutions, and in society through a wide range of clinical, research, education, and outreach initiatives in the public and private sector.  According to the program’s founder, Jon Kabat-Zinn, since its inception in 1970, more than 18,000 people have completed the program at the University and learned how to use their innate resources and abilities to respond more effectively to stress, pain, and illness. 

Based on the Kabat-Zinn model, Montana State University incorporated this program into their graduate program in counseling, arguing that few counseling programs directly address the importance of self-care in reducing stress and burnout in their curricula.  A course entitled “Mind/Body Medicine and the Art of Self-Care” was created to address personal/professional growth opportunities through self-care and mindfulness practices, including meditation, yoga, etc.  Most students reported intentions of integrating mindfulness practices into their future professions.

The research findings at both universities noted some important information.  Researchers have been evaluating MBSR (Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction) as a tool for helping university students cope with stress and have discovered decreased levels of depression.  Other researchers found similar reductions in state and trait anxiety, and increased scores on measures of spiritual experience and empathy in the program.  Researchers also discovered an increased quality of life due to program participation.

Based on this information and others, I enrolled in an eight-week mindfulness course for the second time.  I discovered what a student from Montana State noted, “I suppose it is the experience of connectedness that has affected my thoughts and questions about healing most significantly.  Contemplation remains at the center of my life and I continue to realize that every person in the world is my teacher, each doing the right things to help me learn patience, wisdom, and compassion.”

References

Baker, E.K. (2003).  Caring for ourselves:  A therapist's guide to personal and professional well-being, Washington, DC:  American Psychological Association.

Bickley, J. (1998).  Care for the caregiver:  The art of self-care.  Seminars in Perioperative Nursing, 7, 114-121.

Kabat-Zinn, J., Lipworth, I., & Burney, R. (1985). The clinical use of mindfulness meditation for the self-regulation of chronic pain. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 8, 163-190.

Lawson, K., & Horneffer, K., (2002).  Roots and Wings:  A pilot of a mind-body-spirit program. Journal of Holistic Nursing, 20, 250-263.

Roth, B., & Robbins, D. (2004).  Mindfulness-based stress reduction and health-related quality of life:  Findings from a bilingual inner-city patient population.  Psychosomatic Medicine, 66, 113 - 123.

Schure, M., Christopher, J.C., & Christopher, S.E. (2006). Mind/body medicine and the art of self-care:  Teaching mindfulness to counseling students through yoga, meditation and qi gong.  Journal of Counseling & Development.

Shapiro, S., Shapiro, D., & Schwartz, G. (2000). Stress management in medical education: A review of the literature.  Academic Medicine, 75, 748 - 759.

Mary Lynn Colosimo, PhD, Professor of Psychology, Trinity Christian College

Free will, the Holy Spirit, and the best predictor of future behavior

When I assign a compare/contrast essay to my Introduction to Psychology students I usually get certain responses. I ask the students to pick a perspective that has influenced the field of psychology (e.g. biological, behaviorist, cognitivist, humanist) and compare it to a Christian perspective. Students will often choose the behaviorist or biological perspective and rightly point out that these perspectives are very deterministic in nature while a Christian perspective supports the existence of human free will. Some students will also insightfully note that materialist worldviews like behaviorism ignore the possibility of the Holy Spirit acting in people’s lives to instigate change. 

My students are right, but sometimes I worry about them. As Christians we hear stories of dramatic conversions. We hear of people who were addicted to drugs and lived on the streets but who have turned their life around through Christ’s power. We talk about Chuck Colson who became a Christian and completely changed his life after being involved in the Watergate scandal. We read of the apostle Paul who went from persecuting Christians to preaching the gospel. These are powerful stories. They show that hearts can change, that God is mighty, and that no one’s future is determined by nature or nurture. However, there is a reason we treasure these miraculous events. It is because they are extraordinary. Extra-ordinary. Not ordinary. Usually change is very, very difficult. 

This is where my concern for my students comes in. It is somewhat of a psychological truism that the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior. If I want to predict if a man will smoke a cigarette tomorrow the most important information I can get is not his age, not his attitude toward cigarettes, not even his faith in God, but whether or not he smoked a cigarette today. If I want to predict a woman’s attendance to a particular class session the most valuable information I can get is not her attitude toward class, not her Meyers-Briggs personality type, but her prior attendance record. 

While it is true that people can change, and that the Holy Spirit works in the hearts of mankind, it would be unwise for us to ignore all of the useful insights that psychologists have gained while working under biological and behaviorist perspectives. Just because we reject the worldview of materialist perspectives like behaviorism we should not reject the research that came out of those perspectives. There is a lot to learn by studying brains, genes, learned behaviors, and early childhood experiences. We must not ignore the effects of neurotransmitters, the influence of inherited traits, or the power of learned behaviors. 

If we fail to take to heart the lessons learned from these perspectives through the over-emphasis of free will and change we run the risk of making bad decisions. As my dedicated students work hard to reject the anti-Christian ideas in some psychological theories I can’t help but fast-forward in my imagination to their futures. What if student X finds herself in an abusive relationship? Will she stick with him and believe that with enough love he will change? Or will she remember that nature, nurture, and learned behaviors are strong forces, highly resistant to change? What if student Y bends to the temptation to view internet pornography a handful of times? Will he remind himself of human free will and tell himself he can stop at any time? Or will he understand that such images are acting as powerful reinforcers and he is leading himself into a habit that has all the hallmarks of an addictive behavior?

God can change hearts and He can change minds and He can do these things in radical ways, but sometimes God allows us to struggle through the character-building life-lessons of slow and difficult change. As we struggle we can use the information God gave us through studies in psychological science. I always hope my students are enabled to do just that. 

Jessica Clevering, PhD., Assistant Professor of Psychology, Trinity Christian College