Student Wellness is sponsoring an eight-week group for students on campus called The Mindful Way. The group focuses on developing awareness, enhancing focus, living in the moment, being non-judgmental and experiencing a sense of inner calm in everyday life. This group is open to any student who wants to join. The program is in place to benefit participants’ minds and bodies through simple types of meditation.
This idea was started from the mindful way stress reduction program that was created in 1979 by Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn, a molecular biologist. The program is designed to teach people who deal with many different types of stressful conditions. The various conditions include illness, chronic pain or stress from their busy lives, and the focus is on teaching people how to take better care of themselves. The mindful way method has been the subject of many clinical studies and has been found helpful when used in conjunction with other traditional treatments. There are over 300 mindful way programs in the United States, and they are also being offered in Canada, Europe and Asia.
Dr. Evie Gerber, Counseling Services and Student Wellness are working together to bring this program to Elizabethtown College to help students manage mental health concerns and the daily stress of college. “I facilitate the group; I adapted the group from the evidence-based mindfulness program,” Gerber said. A simple perk of the group is that it is completely free and is confidential for any full-time student on the campus.
This eight-week program started meeting on Feb. 26 and will run through the end of April. They meet every Wednesday from 11 a.m. to noon. The weekly meetings are held in various spots around the campus. Because this is a new program on campus, they kept the group open for any new members to join through the first several weeks of meetings. “The group focuses on developing a mindful approach in day-to-day life through mindfulness-related exercises and mindfulness meditation,” Gerber said. During the various discussions, they explore the mindfulness in common concerns. The focus is put on managing stress, depression, anxiety and many different types of emotional reactivity.
When attending, students participate in verbal instruction and audio resources, as well as receive handouts to take home. “Students get information and experiences in the group and then take the skills and practices from group and do them on their own throughout the week,” Gerber said. This tactic then furthers the students’ wellness by practicing and continuing their meditation at home by themselves. The students will then have the opportunity to keep going after the eight-week program is over so that they will have the tools to continue with their mindfulness practice.
Along with the exercises, the group involves the development of consistent mindful meditation. This consistent meditation is achieved by engaging in weekly assignments that are given in the group and then integrating the concepts into daily life. Self-observation of one’s thoughts can benefit not only the mind but also can help to regulate stress and anxiety. Along with attending meetings, simple home practice of one hour a day for six days a week can help to further mental wellness.
Many students do not know how to handle the daily stress that they may encounter in the college environment. Because of this recognized need, Student Wellness started this group in hopes to better serve the students who may be struggling. Gerber believes that through simple daily meditation, students can better manage stress and other concerns in more adaptive ways. “Mindfulness practice often provides benefits in areas of attention and focus. It can also be helpful with mental health concerns such as depression and anxiety,” Gerber said.
