Mindfulness, Metaphor, & Magnanimity
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Transcript Mindfulness, Metaphor, & Magnanimity
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 present moment,
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
[email protected]
Matt Breuninger
[email protected]
References
Epstein, S. (1994). Integration of the cognitive and the psychodynamic unconscious. American
Psychologist, 49, 709-724.
1
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.
2
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), 487494.