Mindful Happiness

Anthony Quintiliani, Ph.D, LADC

  • Home
  • Dr. Anthony Quintiliani
    • About
  • Mindful Happiness
  • Mindful Expressions Meditation CD
  • Contact

July 25, 2016 By Admin

Helping Professions and Emotional Balance

Helping Professions and Emotional Balance

Helping professions must practice to achieve emotional balance.  Working conditions for the helping professions have become more and more difficult over time, especially with the advent of so called “helpful technologies” and ever-increasing governmental/funding requirements for documentation.  When I started in the (behavioral mindful-happiness-emotional -balancehealth) field of clinical psychology and addictions in 1985, the entire medical record was a total of 6 pages.  The assessment report, treatment plan, progress notes, releases, communications, and termination report were added as expected.  The for-profit attack on health care has only made matters worse.  And even large non-profits with $1,000,000 plus CEOs and CFOs, again, cut into salary and benefits for staff as well as placed additional pressure to produce, produce, produce and produce. The very organizations dedicated to helping people with serious medical and psychological needs have, themselves, become little more than stress-mills – burning out otherwise dedicated and professional personnel. Staff dissatisfaction and rampant staff turnover have added yet more stress to the “helping environments.”  The preponderance of novice inexperienced counselors fresh out of graduate school adds more stress. For an eye-opener, examine closely how some emergency rooms and in-patient psychiatric facilities deal with seriously mentally ill consumers.  Restraints, restraints, restraints appears to be the treatment of choice, or perhaps the treatment that can be delivered by tired, frustrated, perhaps burned out staff.  It appears in the age of technological advances and concerns about money in health care (even

Medicaid will shift to values-based reimbursement), have resulted in a work environment NOT AT ALL conducive to good mental health.  Personally, I am in favor of outcomes-based reimbursement so long as the designated outcomes are set by informed, experienced clinicians and NOT some government bureaucrat who may never have had professional experience sitting with a client or patient. In such a hostile environment, even clinical supervision (if existing) has become a review of utilization and case audit discrepancies rather than helpful clinical  inputs and emotional maintenance activities.  So, what is the helper who remains in such an environment to do?  The American Psychological Association has presented some sound advice on this matter.  Under the heading of “Research-based strategies for better balance” here is what the association recommends for helper self-care.

  1. Practice Mindfulness on a Regular Basis – Even the most critical meta-analyses have documented beneficial effects of mindfulness, meditation, and yoga on stress, anxiety, depression, physical pain, and emotion regulation (i.e., addictions). Some support exists for improved sleep quality and even greater happiness. Check in with yourself during the day and take a  brief mindfulness break with or without your client/patient. Practice regularly on your own for the best results. Some studies have documented that regular mindfulness practices improved executive brain functioning, reduce limbic power, and buffers stress reactivity.
  2. Reframe, reframe, reframe – What are the pay-offs from your work?  Pay more attention to positive in the workplace than to negatives. Even neutral (or even better, positive) reappraisal may be helpful. It is a good idea to take a brief mental break to note what good things have happened at work. What is your emotional status at the time of the check-in?
  3. Seek support from positive psychology – Strive to be in charge of you emotions. Positive emotional experiences support resilience, self-esteem, satisfaction and even gratitude. Practice simple gratitude (another mindfulness tool) about what you do have rather than what you want.
  4. Use social and emotional support – Connect emotionally with your colleagues, and use the time for mutual support rather than moaning and groaning about “how bad” things are at work. Remember in eye-to-eye/face-to-face communications your mirror neurons are always “on;” so be aware of the impact your facial, behavioral and verbal emotions have on co-workers.  Keep it positive and supportive!
  5. Use supervision well – If you have acceptable supervisions at work, be aware that the pressure on supervisory staff is even more serious. An effective supervisor should know more than you know, and a good supervisors should be able to support you keeping things in balance. If you do not have adequate supervision at work, consider purchasing better supervision on your own – even if it is once a month it can be helpful.
  6. Move your body and get outside if possible – Mindful movement is an under-utilized mindfulness ractice in health care settings. Yoga stretches, exercise, qi gong, and tai chi movements can be very helpful in transforming your negative energy into positive energy. If possible enjoy nature as much as possible WHERE you work. Get some fresh air and sunlight into your body.
  7. Use more self-compassion – Self-compassion is another under-utilized mindfulness practice in health care systems. Life is made up of suffering, joy/happiness, and neutrality/boredom. When you suffer, practice self-compassion; when you are happy, practice gratitude; and, when you are bored, wait for impermanence to change everything. Then start allover again.  Self-compassion will assist you in showing compassion for the suffering people you are helping, rather than viewing them as part of your work problem. This is simply projection at it’s worst.
  8. Practice spirituality or religion – If you are involved deeply here, these practices may be highly effective in helping you cope better with work and other demands, and be more fulfilled in life.
  9. Lastly, reflect on personal meaning – Reflect on your personal meaning in life and how work makes up part of that aspect of yourself. The rewards you obtain from helping others may be greater than you think, so long as you are not totally stressed out doing it. Take time to be with your personal meaningfulness.

Refer to Weir, K. (July/August, 2016). Monitor on Psychology.Washington, DC: The American Psychological Association, 42-46.  Go to this blog (Mindfulhappiness.org) to review other posts on self-care, self-compassion, etc. Note: Some items noted here come from my blog not the APA article.

emotiona-balance-mindful-happiness

By Anthony R. Quintiliani, PhD., LADC

From the Eleanor R. Liebman Center for Secular Meditation in Monkton, VermontChiYinYang_EleanorRLiebmanCenter

Author of Mindful Happiness  

CLICK HERE  or any image below to Order 

Mindful Happiness cover designs.indd

MindfulHappiness_Amazon           mindful-happiness_barnes_and_noble

Filed Under: Emotional Regulation, Featured, Happiness, Meditation, MIndfulness, MIndfulness Activities, Mindfulness Training, Practices Tagged With: EMOTIONAL BALANCE, MINDFUL HAPPINESS, MINDFULNESS TRAINING, PROFESSIONALS EXERCISE

Twitter

Mindful Happiness -Currently in Production

Mindful Happiness Posts

Inner Workings of Self-Medication Process   To continue our discussion about the self-medication process we will first turn to the human brain.  The human brain is the most complex system known to science.  Here, my comments will be basic.  Self-medication often has roots in the quality of our earliest childhood experiences (attachment and object relations with […]

Equanimity, Suffering, and Resilience It is said that equanimity (Pali – upekkha), the seventh factor of enlightenment and the tenth perfection, is an end-product of life-long personal practice in meditation and/or meditative yoga. It is about “walking the walk.” Some practitioners note that equanimity is the foundation for other helpful states of mind and body. […]

What Consciousness Really Is Considering that we have been to the moon and back, and more recently surveyed important moons of Saturn, science is still a very long way from understanding how the human brain works – and even further away from having a clear, agreed-upon interpretation of human consciousness.  Consciousness is the “stuff” of […]

The True Nature of Phenomena Here I will present common steps in the process of vipassana meditation.  My presentation will end with a brief discussion of nirvana (enlightenment). 1) It will be helpful not to have strong conceptual intention about your goal of attaining insight.  You will know when you have entered it via your […]

Showing Deep Love & Respect Loved Ones Lost This is a very brief post about love and respect for “lost loved ones” – those special people who have left their human body and mind behind. Two Rituals 1) Loving Kindness Meditation for Lost Loved Ones After breathing slowly and deeply for a few minutes in silence, […]

Journaling and Grief Process Regular brief journaling may be helpful in your grief and horror regarding significant personal losses of self and/or others. Here are the various ways it may be helpful to you. Writing and reading about your personal loss experience may help you to make sense of the process, and at the same […]

The Failed “War on Drugs” – Let’s Try Treatment On Demand and Fund It The New York based Drug Policy Alliance (drugpolicy.org) and other sources have provided some important information about our failed drug and alcohol policies. Here are a few astounding facts.  The United Stares has about 5% of the world’s population, but it […]

Introducing Your Clients to Brief Meditations Psychotherapists often ask  about ways to introduce mindfulness and meditation to clients.  There are other posts on this Blog that offer basic introductory information on both content and process. Here I will simply introduce you to four brief, basic meditations for clients suffering from anxiety and/or depression, along with […]

Trauma: Object Relations Therapy Object relations therapists, D. W. Winnicott especially, have presented a logical analysis on how to provide object-relations-oriented therapy to people suffering from the effects of psychological trauma. Such attachment-based trauma therapy provides support and healing from trauma, loss and long-term trauma-effects.  The interventions below combine the best of object relations therapy, […]

Mindfulness and Concentration –  Experience Differences In this post I will explain some basic differences between mindfulness and concentration, both of which are required for effective meditation practice.  This will be the first of three posts dealing with what mindfulness and concentration are, how to experience them briefly in a body-based activity, and how to […]

Counseling/Psychotherapy with Self-Compassion Please begin by ending all conversations, and PLEASE shut-off your phones and/or laptops.  Simply be for a moment in the quietude of your inner self. Please close your eyes if you wish to do so. Contemplate the sacred nature of your profession – saving lives, reducing suffering, being a constant object, practicing […]

Review:  Deepak Chopra’s Idea’s on ” The Future of God” Part 2 of 3 In part 2 of this 3-part series, I will discuss the role played by consciousness in various levels of spirituality.  In the beginning, there was the word.  The word is sometimes associated with pure consciousness, since without consciousness there cannot be […]

  The Tao of Nature I have two interesting stories about nesting robins.  These stories tell of the bonds of birds and their young, and how intelligent these birds can be. The first story happened to me abut 15 years ago. The second story happened today, July 27, 2017. Story 1 I was working in […]

Relapse Prevention Plans – The Basics T. T. Gorski, Anthony R. Quintiliani, Ph.D., LADC The following information about how to develop effective relapse prevention plans has been paraphrased from the Work of Terrence T. Gorski.  It is highly practical and a concrete way to develop your skills in relapse prevention interventions. Intermediate (Marlatt and Gordon) […]

Mindfulness Defined… There are many definitions of mindfulness.  Here I have combined several popular views into one.  This definition and process may be helpful to readers who cannot quite grasp what it is, what it feels like, and what steps can make it happen.   Good luck in your regular practices!   Mindfulness is: Paying […]

Mindfulness-Based Emotion Regulation The following emotional regulation practices (also called emotional balance skills) have been supported by over 2500 years of mindfulness training and current psychological research on human emotions.  These practices/skills are to be practiced before they are needed, and directly applied when they are needed.  Here is the list. 1) Practice noticing and […]

Meditation for Managers and Helpers  Let’s Talk – Contact Me – Click Here I am a Licensed Psychologist-Doctorate and a Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselor with 35 years of clinical experience in community clinics, schools, professional organizations, and universities (OSU, UVM, etc.). I have been the past Clinical Director of Howard Center, and Past President […]

The Principles of Nature and Natural Healing This is an advanced post on Eastern views of healing. From ancient shamanic traditions all the way to today’s AMA approved procedures in energy medicine, healers have been trying to discover and integrate the foundations of nature into healing. This reality exists from shamanic rituals all the way […]

  Mindfulness – Self-Kindness Practice Befriending the self is one of the most difficult things for Americans to do.  It is probably true that self-kindness is difficult for most people; however, the current rampant criticism (I am right! You are wrong!) and extreme greed manifesting in the United States tends to produce two opposite extremes: […]

Advanced Buddhist Practices Abiding in Emptiness The various impediments (enemies) to abiding in emptiness are noted below. We have strong attachment to objects of mind and our sense door pleasures. We experience strong desire and cravings as our norms. We over-attach to forms of affection. We may become stuck in grief related to our experienced […]

Mindful Categories

Mindful Happiness Pages

  • About
  • Contact
  • Dr. Anthony Quintiliani
  • Mindful Expressions Meditation CD
  • Mindful Happiness
  • Site Map

Copyright © 2023 · Mindful Happiness