Naropa University

Abstract Empathy fatigue and burnout are at an all-time high within the mental health professions, and there remains a need to understand protective factors that can address these conditions. The current qualitative study investigated how contemplative practice, such as mindfulness meditation and movement-based practices, can support the remediation of empathy fatigue and burnout. Eleven mental health counselors with extensive contemplative practice experience were interviewed, and data were analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Findings revealed that contemplative practice enhanced self-attunement and self-compassionate inquiry, alleviated the symptomology of empathy fatigue and burnout, enhanced transcendent meaning and purpose, promoted therapeutic boundaries, deepened the cultivation of compassion, supported disengagement of client influence after session, and enhanced a sense of personal agency in one's workplace. From this study, we demonstrate that contemplative practices can support a wide variety of flexible and adaptive responses that may mitigate empathy fatigue and burnout or prevent them altogether.

ABSTRACT Uncertainty is unavoidable, and maladaptive responses to uncertainty may underlie the etiology and maintenance of psychopathology. A general tendency to associate uncertainty with aversive consequences, a type of covariation bias, can amplify aversive emotional experiences. To address questions about uncertainty during emotion regulation, we examined the Late Positive Potential (LPP) – an electrocortical marker of attention to and appraisal of motivationally relevant emotional stimuli – during a task designed to measure the effect of covariation bias and its emotional response consequences. Event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded while participants (N = 52) were presented with a pre-stimulus cue that either conveyed information about the valence of an upcoming emotional image, or left them in ambiguity. We replicated findings that demonstrate expectancy biases in a priori and online expectancies of emotion-eliciting images, as well as in a posteriori estimates for concurrence of uncertainty cues and aversive images. Moreover, we demonstrate a novel finding that uncertainty cues amplify the LPP in response to subsequent aversive emotional stimuli. These findings advance research by conjoining existing emotion regulation research on the LPP with study of the effects of uncertainty on emotional appraisal and highlight the importance of accounting for stimulus uncertainty in emotion regulation research.

This book addresses an existing gap in academic arts-based research, whereby, rather than exploring music as an effective therapeutic intervention, it is explored as the central medium or tool of inquiry. Integrating heuristic, hermeneutic, and arts-based grounded theory methodologies, the book conceptualizes and describes the practice of Sonic Stretching as an in-depth example of using sound as an effective and systematic research tool. Stemming from evidence-based insights, the book explores and explains ways in which music and sound can be utilized in arts-based research (ABR) in all disciplines, as opposed to only being used among professional musicians and those operating within music studies. It points to some of the obstacles that have previously prevented this from happening more broadly and, in doing so, aims to help bridge the conspicuous gap in ABR studies, where music and sonic imagination should be. Offering a clear and well-presented example for integrating music and sound into processes of depth psychological inquiry and addressing the impact of colonialization upon embodied knowledge in music and academic research, it will appeal to scholars and researchers working at the intersection of psychology, music studies, education, social justice, and research methods.

Findings in the field of pre- and perinatal psychology reveal that, even as little embryos, we are having experiences, and that these experiences profoundly affect how we live our lives1. Our earliest days establish lifelong tendencies influencing how we connect with ourselves, each other, and our planet.2 This paper examines the intersection of embryo and psyche, how development of one relates to development of the other. Evidence of cellular intelligence, responsiveness, memory, and learning is offered as a foundation for understanding the profound effects of very early experience.3,4 Specific developmental milestones of conception, implantation, and discovery are considered in relation to their psychological effects, underlining the importance of treating the embryo as a sentient, sensitive human being that both models and thrives on love and connection5. It is proposed that supporting new parents from the time of pre-conception in providing a welcoming, safe, loving environment for their baby contributes to a world characterized by these qualities, where we can return to our original potential.

Greetings from Byron Bay—what follows is a postcard version of a seven-year cycle of relational inquiry retrospectively nicknamed The Rainbow of Desire. I outline our practices, explore five basic fields in our approach to new paradigm research, and present an updated version of my seven relationships model as a heuristic for understanding and participating in relational inquiry. As a contemporary spiritual expression, with roots in the Greek-Socratic tradition of research, and informed by Gestalt practice (not psychotherapy), this account may also be of value for persons interested in further Gestalt-transpersonal inquiry, research, and learning.

Dissipation of power in a circuitry has been a key concern in device usage, resulting in critical difficulties such as over-battery or supply depletion. As circuit complexity is reduced, the circuit must adapt to application that exist in day to day scenarios. In this study, a power reduction methodology is designed for circuits in present trending scenarios; these approaches are autonomous of logic since they are in a considerably diminished form as matched to standard stagnant circuitry.

Psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) is a burgeoning treatment with growing interest across a variety of settings and disciplines. Empirical evidence supports PAT as a novel therapeutic approach that provides safe and effective treatment for people suffering from a variety of diagnoses, including treatment-resistant depression, substance use disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Within the palliative care (PC) field, one-time PAT dosing may lead to sustained reductions in anxiety, depression, and demoralization-symptoms that diminish the quality of life in both seriously ill patients and those at end of life. Despite a well-noted psychedelic renaissance in scholarship and a renewed public interest in the utilization of these medicines, serious illness-specific content to guide PAT applications in hospice and PC clinical settings has been limited. This article offers 10 evidence-informed tips for PC clinicians synthesized through consultation with interdisciplinary and international leading experts in the field with aims to: (1) familiarize PC clinicians and teams with PAT; (2) identify the unique challenges pertaining to this intervention given the current legalities and logistical barriers; (3) discuss therapeutic competencies and considerations for current and future PAT use in PC; and (4) highlight critical approaches to optimize the safety and potential benefits of PAT among patients with serious illness and their caregivers.

An interview with Lee Worley, conducted in 2016, discussing the history of contemplative arts at Naropa University, and the relationship between contemplative practices and performer training.

ABSTRACT This author provides a model for using the pelvis to ‘anchor’ the mind in the body and, therefore, the present moment, enhancing the therapeutic relationship through embodied connection. For somatic therapists, the body plays a pivotal role in the therapeutic process, especially the use of the therapist’s own body and body awareness; somatic therapists are specifically taught to track their body sensations and remain in connection to the body while in relationship with a client. The pelvic bowl could provide unique support since across cultures the pelvis is regarded as the centre and the root of the body. Additionally, the pelvis may become an anchor for therapists, potentially cultivating a greater depth of embodiment in their relationships with clients. This model guides therapists through possible movements, visualisations, and contemplative practices to increase pelvic awareness.

There is rapidly growing interest in Western compassion trainings that rely especially on traditional Buddhist practices. This growing body of research distinguishes between two distinct compassion constructs, namely self-compassion versus other-oriented compassion (hereafter, other-compassion). However, the Buddhist traditions from which most studied compassion practices derive emphasize the relevance of compassion for breaking down artificial barriers between self and other. We therefore conducted a comprehensive review of 94 randomized controlled trials on compassion training, examining how the dualistic division of compassion (into self- versus other-compassion) has shaped compassion training research to date. Our review finds patterns both consistent (e.g., a disproportionate focus on the self-oriented benefits of compassion trainings) and inconsistent (e.g., particular pairings of self-other emphasis across training and outcome) with the dualistic division of compassion. Overall, findings reveal the need for more research on social benefits of self- and other-compassion training, as well as less dualistic approaches to compassion.