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Magnanimity, Mindfulness, & Metaphor. Cultivating Balance in Clients and Clinicians Texas University and College Counseling Centers Conference February 6, 2014. Magnanimity. Means “greatness of soul” Greatness results from exemplification of all virtues Virtue = mean between two extremes
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Magnanimity, Mindfulness, & Metaphor Cultivating Balance in Clients and Clinicians Texas University and College Counseling Centers Conference February 6, 2014
Magnanimity • Means “greatness of soul” • Greatness results from exemplification of all virtues • Virtue = mean between two extremes • GREATNESS OF SOUL IS BALANCE! • This is what both clinicians and clients should aim for! • Metaphor and mindfulness embody balance and can therefore help us achieve and maintain equilibrium • Metaphor as liaison between visceral and cerebral man
Metaphor: Theory & Research • CS Lewis • Myth as balance between abstract and concrete • Balance between world of intellect and world of experience • Metaphor may be fundamental to the way we experience and think • Cognitive experiential self theory1,2 • Grounded cognition3 and embodied cognition4 • Conceptual metaphor5 • Bridge between cognition and experience • Deeper level of processing
Metaphor: Client Care Applications • Metaphor as a vehicle for change • 4 Phases/Stages • 1. Enter the client’s metaphoric imagination • 2. Explore client’s metaphoric imagination • 3. Transformation of client’s metaphoric image • 4. Connect metaphoric patterns and life problems • Buffer and bridge for approaching hard material • Art therapy, play therapy • Clinical examples
Metaphor: Self-Care Discussion • Chess match/ chess master • Dance/ dance partner • Journey/ fellow traveler • Saving the world/ superhero
Change Process Metaphor • The metaphor for how one conceptualizes the change process naturally affects and influences the therapists sense of and perceived need for self-care • Superhero vs. journey • Burnout • Compassion fatigue
Mindfulness • “Paying attention on purpose, in the presentmoment, and nonjudgmentally” 6 • Psychological, neurobiological, physical, interpersonal • Increases awareness of bodily sensations, thoughts, emotions; unhelpful ways of coping with stress (avoidance, fusion) • Fosters curiosity, acceptance, interconnectedness • Rooted in Buddhist meditative disciplines
Mindfulness • Can be taught and practiced (neural plasticity) • Mindfulness-based approaches: MBSR, MBCT, DBT, ACT • Clients (i.e., ↓depression, anxiety, psychosis, PTSD, OCD, ↑ pain tolerance, PA)7 • Therapists-in-training (↓ stress, NA, anxiety; ↑PA, self-compassion) 8 • Clinician/self as instrument: client outcomes of mindful therapists-in-training(↓ anxiety, anger, somatization, obsessiveness, paranoia)9 • Mirror neuron systems may enhance empathy • Mindfulness fosters intrapersonal attunement which may, in turn, enhance interpersonal attunement
Mindfulness Applications • Experiential exercises • How do we know when we’re feeling out of tune? • Body Scan • “Leaves on a stream” • How do we know how to proceed? How do we sustain our instrument? • “Retirement party”
Discussion, Questions, Thoughts? Justine Grosso Justine_Grosso@Baylor.edu Matt Breuninger Matt_Breuninger@Baylor.edu
References 1 Epstein, S. (1994). Integration of the cognitive and the psychodynamic unconscious. American Psychologist, 49, 709-724. 2 Epstein, S. (1998). Cognitive-experiential self-theory: A dual process personality theory with implications for diagnosis and psychotherapy. In R. F. Bornstein & J. M. Masling (Eds.), Empirical perspectives on the psychoanalytic unconscious (Vol. 7, pp. 99-140). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. 3 Barsalou, L. W. (2010). Grounded cognition: past, present, and future. Topics in Cognitive Science, 2(4), 716-724. 4Wilson, A. D., & Golonka, S. (2013). Embodied cognition is not what you think it is. Frontiers in psychology, 4. 5Wickman, S. A., Daniels, M. H., White, L. J., & Fesmire, S. A. (1999). A “primer” in conceptual metaphor for counselors. Journal of Counseling & Development, 77(4), 389-394. 6Kabat-Zinn, J. (1990). Full Catastrophe Living. Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness. New York, NY: Random House. 7Hofmann, S. G., Sawyer, A. T., Witt, A. A., & Oh, D. (2010). The effect of mindfulness-based therapy on anxiety and depression: a meta-analytic review. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 78(2), 169-183. 8Shapiro, S. L., Brown, K. W., & Biegel, G. M. (2007). 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, 1(2), 105-115. 9Grepmair, L., Mitterlehner, F., Loew, T., & Nickel, M. (2007). Promotion of mindfulness in psychotherapists in training: Preliminary styudy. European Psychiatry, 22, 485-489. 10Wise, E. H., Hersh, M. A., & Gibson, C. M. (2012). Ethics, self-care and well-being for psychologists: Reenvisioning the stress-distress continuum. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 43(5), 487-494.