Enhancing professional counselling practice with mindfulness meditation.

Abstract

The purpose of this review was to gather evidence about the influence of mindfulness meditation on a counsellor's professional practice when approached as self-care. Relevant literature was searched and critically analysed, guided by an assessment of levels of evidence and an appraisal framework. Results indicated that as a self-care approach, mindful meditation may enhance professional practice by reducing stress and anxiety, yet increasing selfcompassion and personal confidence. The findings further revealed that the practice of mindfulness meditation has been associated with core counselling attributes such as clearer thinking, increased capacity for reflection, empathy, and compassion. Overall, however, the results do not provide conclusive evidence of a direct causal relationship between mindfulness meditation and enhancement of professional practice. Implications based on the evidence gathered are provided for individual practitioners and organisations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of New Zealand Journal of Counselling is the property of New Zealand Association of Counsellors and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)