A Clinician's Guide to Teaching Mindfulness

A Clinician's Guide to Teaching Mindfulness offers a wise and practical immersion into the nuts and bolts of guiding others, and oneself, into the daily practice of mindfulness meditation. Christiane Wolf and J. Greg Serpa build on their years of experience to create this useful, scientifically grounded, step-by-step manual for understanding, planning, and implementing a didactic program to create more well-being in our lives. Take in their sage guidance and the world will be a better place for us all! --Daniel J. Siegel, MD, author of The Mindful Brain, The Mindful Therapist, The Developing Mind, Brainstorm, and Mindsight; executive director of the Mindsight Institute; founding codirector of the UCLA Mindful Awareness Research Center; and clinical professor at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA Teaching and guiding mindfulness requires a mindful practice. As with any skill, the more experience one has the more effective they will be. I have found that there is tremendous variance in teachers of mindfulness and some are much more effective than others. This book is the guide I would recommend for anyone who wants to be an effective teacher. It provides strategic tips and supports how your own practice can be authentically shared with others so we can all walk together on a more mindful path. I highly recommend it! --David Rakel, MD, founder and director of Integrative Medicine at the University of Wisconsin, and associate professor at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health Thorough, practical, and full of heart and integrity. I highly recommend this book for anyone who is looking to get started or enhance their ability to teach mindfulness individually or in groups. --Elisha Goldstein, PhD, author of Uncovering Happiness A Clinician's Guide to Teaching Mindfulness is a wonderful guide for far more than only clinicians! There is no one on this life's journey who cannot deepen their experience and their joy through understanding and practicing mindfulness. When we as clinicians, in the broadest sense of the word, advance our capacity to understand and teach these fundamental concepts, this way of being in the world and in our lives will take root more organically. It will become a fundamental way of being. I would highly recommend this book as a guide to all of us who would like to better help ourselves and others discover, understand, and integrate this way of being. --Tracy W. Gaudet, MD, executive director of the Office of Patient Centered Care and Cultural Transformation, US Department of Veterans Affairs Wolf and Serpa have given us a wonderful gift--a clear, complete, and inspiring guide for teaching the basics of mindfulness. The authors' deep understanding of this topic from both Buddhist and psychotherapist perspectives is evident throughout, and helps to make this book not only a very practical manual, but also a succinct and direct guide for how to become a more effective and comfortable teacher or facilitator of mindfulness. This book will be highly valuable for anyone interested in this area, regardless of prior experience. Absolutely the best book on this topic I have encountered. --Bruce D. Naliboff, PhD, research professor of medicine and psychiatry, and biobehavioral sciences director in the pain research program at the Gail and Gerald Oppenheimer Family Center for Neurobiology of Stress at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA Broad in scope, yet practical, A Clinician's Guide to Teaching Mindfulness can serve as a resource for secular mindfulness teacher training programs. Clearly the result of years of experience, this book provides especially good support for new instructors, while those with experience will appreciate its clarity and fresh perspectives. --Sharon Salzberg, author of Lovingkindness and Real Happiness What a practical, thorough, extraordinary book. Wolf and Serpa give a crystal clear road map for any professional wanting to teach mindfulness in clinical settings. Their detailed lesson plans and voice-of-experience guidance are infused with their own deep practice of mindfulness, encouraging support, and clinical acumen. Highly recommended. --Rick Hanson, PhD, author of Buddha's Brain: The Practical Neuroscience of Happiness, Love, and Wisdom I can't imagine a more ideal how-to-teach-mindfulness manual! This book offers clear and comprehensive support in learning to lead meditations, offer beginners classes, and respond to the natural challenges and questions that arise in introducing mindfulness to clients. Keep this guide close at hand--it will enable you to bring your full intelligence, heart, and confidence to sharing these life-transforming practices. --Tara Brach, PhD, author of Radical Acceptance and True Refuge What a beautiful, wise, and user-friendly handbook on how to teach mindfulness. I also appreciate how the authors provide clear directions on how to support the clinician's ability to sit in the mindfulness teacher's seat with greater wisdom and humility. --Bob Stahl, PhD, coauthor of A Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Workbook, Living with Your Heart Wide Open, Calming the Rush of Panic, A Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Workbook for Anxiety, and MBSR Every Day A 'must-read' for anyone who wants to teach mindfulness in groups. The authors' experience and talent shine through every page. They spell out for readers what is often implied in hands-on teacher trainings. A special bonus is how mindfulness and compassion are seamlessly woven together. Highly recommended! --Christopher Germer, PhD, author of The Mindful Path to Self-Compassion, coeditor of Mindfulness and Psychotherapy, and clinical instructor in psychology at Harvard Medical School