Mindfulness, Self-compassion and Family Well-being Conference
October 19-20, 2023 in Seattle Washington
Pre-conference Meeting, October 18, 2023
This conference brings together researchers and practitioners whose work promotes the well-being of children and families through mindfulness and self-compassion. The latest research findings and their applications are presented. The focus is on advancing the science of mindfulness and self-compassion to enhance children’s well-being by supporting the well-being and social-emotional skills of the parents, caregivers, educators and practitioners in children’s lives. This will be an intimate conference with rich opportunities for discussion and networking.
Registration closes on 10.10.2023
Keynote Speakers:
Susan Bögels, Ph.D.
Susan Bögels, Ph.D., Professor of Family Mental Health and Mindfulness at the University of Amsterdam, psychotherapist, specializing in Cognitive Behavior Therapy and mindfulness for children and their families, founder and director of UvA Minds, an academic treatment clinic for parents and children in Amsterdam. Bögels’ main research themes are the intergenerational transmission of psychopathology and mindfulness for parents and children.
Mindfulness in the life cycle of families: A developmental and relational perspective » (click here for abstract)
Families, and their members, are constantly evolving and going through different life phases: from desire for a partner/co-parent to all phases of partnership/co-parenting, including the relationship with ex-partners and the empty nest. From desire for a baby to pregnancy, childbirth, baby, toddler, child, adolescent, young adult, adult child, their partner, grandchild. Families are faced with opportunities and threats along the way: school/work-related, social/relational, physical and mental health-related, and environmental. For parents, their family of origin can be a source of support and strength, but also a source of trauma and suffering. Experience is passed on to next generations, both the strengths and learnings, as trauma and suffering when there is no space to heal.
This is where mindfulness can play an important role, helping parents to become aware of what is being triggered by their child (or partner/co-parent), and heal their inner child, thereby relating to their current family in a new way. Mindfulness, practiced in a systemic context, therefore not only has a positive effect on (the relationship to) our own complaints, such as anxiety, depression or ADHD, but also on the relationship with family members, such as with children and partner/co-parent, and their complaints.
I will demonstrate this system perspective using data from research on mindfulness for families, on mindful parenting, on mindfulness for mothers with their baby or infant, and finally on mindfulness for pregnant couples.
Nirbhay Singh, Ph.D.
Nirbhay Singh, Ph.D., Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at the Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, CEO of MacTavish Behavioral Health, LLC in Raleigh, NC, and current or past editor of three international Journals (Mindfulness, Journal of Child and Family Studies, Advances in Neurodevelopmental Disorders)
Mindful Parenting: Being Present for Yourself, Your Children, and Your Family » (click here for abstract)
Parenting is a ubiquitous task that we engage in almost without a second thought and then find how formidable it is. Mindful parenting has been espoused by mindfulness teachers and researchers over the last 25 years as a valued activity that focuses on the emotional, intuitive, and deeply personal experience of being kind, loving, and compassionate parents. The approach is rooted in sati, our lifelong friend mindfulness, which guides us on a moment-by-moment basis in executing this and all other endeavors in this life until our breath turns into air. This keynote will focus on the historical development of mindful parenting that began as a trickle, then slowly became a minor stream, and is now on its way to merging with the ocean. It will provide a nuanced view of the rapidly growing field of mindful parenting, as well as cast a critical eye on its shortcomings. The final emphasis will be on where the field is heading and where it could broaden its research view and, most importantly, how current research can be translated into practice within a public health model of community care for parents and their children.
Symposia Topics:
- Mindfulness research and practice with underserved families and communities, Chair Julie Poehlman
- Mindfulness, parent perinatal mental health and parenting, Chair Stephanie Thompson
- Mindfulness and Behavioral Parenting, Chair Justin Parent
- Mindfulness and Adolescent and Young Adult Mental Health and Well-Being, Chair Tara Chaplin
- Supporting the well-being, resilience and social-emotional skills of providers who work with children and families, Chair Liliana Lengua
Pre-conference Meeting: Mindfulness Measurement Workshop: Innovative Approaches for Families, Schools, and Communities:
There has been a surge in mindfulness research, but little attention has been given to measurement tools for research with children and families. This meeting will provide researchers an opportunity to discuss assessment tools employed in such research. The short-term goal is to begin discussion of the possibility of creating a Mindfulness Research Toolbox so that measures are inexpensive to obtain, easy to administer (within a relatively brief time frame), appropriate to the population being studied, and able to capture multiple relevant domains in the areas of adult and child mindfulness, mindful parenting, self-compassion, and individual and family well-being. The long-term goal is to stimulate research in the area of mindfulness with children, families, and communities and harmonize measures across studies when possible.
Pre-Conference Panel: Innovative Approaches to Mindfulness Measurement for Families, Schools, and Communities
- David Victorson, PhD, Professor of Medical Social Sciences, Research Faculty at the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine at Northwestern Medicine
- Almut Zieher, PhD (Yale University), Kylie Anglin, PhD (University of Connecticut), and Corissa Mazurkiewicz, PhD (Pacific University)
- Jennifer N. Baumgartner, PhD, Program Director at the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health
