0007 - Mindfulness for Higher Education Professionals
Course Description
Higher Education Professionals provide essential services for students during peak registration schedules of the academic calendar. This workshop is designed for university Academic Advisers, Program Coordinators, and Higher Education Professionals who provide information for students who may present with stress and anxiety. This full-day workshop is designed to provide a series of skills related to mindful listening, mindful communication, and effective
problem resolution. The workshop is also designed to provide a series of mindfulness practices that can be used on the job, and shared with students.
This full-day workshop is being facilitated by Dr. Caryn Wells, a professor in the Department of Organizational Leadership. She teaches mindfulness to graduate and doctoral students at OU, and presents to a larger audience of professionals who are interested in learning about how they can introduce calm into a schedule that can feel overwhelming with its demands. She is the author of the book, Mindfulness: How School Leaders Can Reduce Stress and Thrive on the Job, published by Rowman and Littlefield in 2016.
Course Outline
Mindfulness basicsStress on the job: personal stress, responding to student stress, preventing and dealing with burnout
University student levels of anxiety, depression, academic concerns, financial worries
Trauma and secondary traumatic stress (STS)- students and advisers
Introduction of self-care
Fostering resilience
Self-compassion, empathy, and compassion
Learner Outcomes
Skills/qualities:
Mindful listening
Mindful communication
Developing a voice of compassion for self and others
Practices:
Focused Attention
Open Awareness
Being Fully present
Numerous mini-breathing practices