Resources for Teaching Mindfulness

Donald McCown, PhD, MAMS, MSS, LSW is associate professor of health, co-director of the Center for Contemplative Studies, and director of the minor in contemplative studies at West Chester University of Pennsylvania. He holds a PhD in Social Science from Tilburg University, a Master of Applied Meditation Studies degree from the Won Institute of Graduate Studies, and a Master of Social Service from Bryn Mawr College. He trained as an MBSR teacher through the Center for Mindfulness at University of Massachusetts and at Thomas Jefferson University. His primary research interests include the pedagogy of mindfulness in clinical applications and higher education, applications of complementary and integrative medicine in the community, and the contemplative dimensions of the health humanities. He is also author of The Ethical Space of Mindfulness in Clinical Practice,and primary author of Teaching Mindfulness: A Practical Guide for Clinicians and Educators and New World Mindfulness: From the Founding Fathers, Emerson, and Thoreau to your Personal Practice.

Introduction.- Honing the Skills of MBI Teachers.- Stewardship: deeper structures.- Guidance: perfecting the details.- Homiletics: how to talk the science.- Inquiry and dialogue.- Interpersonal mindfulness.- Developing and evaluating MBI teachers in training.- Teaching MBI Curricula Everywhere, to Everyone.- Curriculum and pedagogy in East Asia.- Curriculum and pedagogy in Italy.- Curriculum and pedagogy in Israel.- Curriculum and pedagogy in Australia.- Curriculum and pedagogy in South Africa.- Teaching MBI for Special Populations.- Inner-city populations in the USA.- Individuals with developmental and intellectual disabilities.- Elderly populations.- Individuals with chronic pain.- Life-limiting illness.- Health care professionals.- Background of trauma.- Eating disorders.- Anxiety and depression.- Learning Resources.- Scripts for guided mindfulness practices and classroom activities.- MBI training programs worldwide.- International bibliography.

"This work is a toolbox of resources to help those of us who teach mindfulness to clients, whether in a group setting or with individuals. ... Resources for Teaching Mindfulness is a good source for ideas to use in developing and improving our teaching of mindfulness. ... the book is exactly what the title claims it to be-and is a pretty good one ... ." (Leslie C. Miller, Philosophical Practice, Vol. 12 (3), November, 2017)

"This is a resource book. Specifically, it is a reference for mindfulness teachers who are working with different nationalities and other special populations and issues. Each chapter would likely be of great interest to the Mindfulness-Based Intervention (MBI) teacher who is facing the problem it addresses." (Roger Thomson, PsycCRITIQUES, Vol. 62 (33), August, 2017)