Developing Mature Meditation Practice in Secular Contexts
Speaker: Bill Gayner, BSW, MSW, RSW; Steven Selchen, MD, MSt, FRCPC
Format: Audio & Slides

While workshops that provide clinicians with an introductory exposure to mindfulness meditation are now increasingly available, less attention has been paid to supporting mental health professionals in the deepening and further development of their meditative practice – particularly within secular, psychologically-based contexts.

This presentation describes the development of a professional practice community, based in a university-affiliated mindfulness program, that orients and supports clinicians in cultivating mature meditation practices fully integrated into their personal and professional lives.

In developing their practice, clinicians often benefit from support and guidance in more deeply exploring, engaging with and befriending the stream of their experience. This can include meaningful group interactions and dialogues; approaches for becoming more aware of counter-transference; and a richer understanding of the meditative process and the ways in which it can be skillfully applied to clinicians' own well-being and therapeutic presence.

Our workshops and retreats carefully integrate didactic learning, meditative practice, experientially-grounded inquiry, reflection, and discussion. In addition, they highlight recollective awareness, a pragmatic, open, psychologically- oriented approach that allows space to do any form of meditation, with an invitation to become curious about the assumptions that inform practice. Not only does the meditation enrich clinical practice, but clinical experience and scientific understanding enrich the meditative practice.