Carers are particularly vulnerable to feeling stressed, worried and worn down by the vast demands that often come with caregiving, be they physical, psychological or emotional. Mindfulness can be enormously beneficial to carers, whether professional or voluntary, as a means of developing greater inner stability, resilience and gaining more control over their thoughts, feelings and emotions. Mindfulness is an evidence-based approach that is proven to help protect against stress, anxiety, depression and burnout. Dr Cheryl Rezek provides an accessible introduction to mindfulness, and explains how simple mindfulness practices and psychological concepts can be used to manage the day-to-day demands of caring effectively, helping caregivers to gain a greater sense of control and maintain a more positive and balanced outlook. The book includes easy-to-use and enjoyable mindfulness exercises, short enough to fit into a busy day, as well as accompanying audio tracks to support and guide the reader through these exercises. An essential read for all those involved in caring for people with acute or long-term health and mental health conditions, disabilities and other support needs, including relatives and other informal carers, adoptive parents and foster carers, as well as professional medical, health and social care staff.

Today more than 40 million people in the U.S. find themselves responsible for caring for a parent, relative, or friend. Building Better Caregivers, developed by the author team of the bestselling Living a Healthy Life with Chronic Conditions, shares the best in caregiving research and the most important lessons learned from thousands of caregivers. With a focus on reducing stress through the use of practical skills and tools, this book will help you manage your caregiving tasks so you can maintain a happy, fulfilling life while also meeting your caregiving obligations.

Mindfulness in Positive Psychology brings together the latest thinking in these two important disciplines. Positive psychology, the science of wellbeing and strengths, is the fastest growing branch of psychology, offering an optimal home for the research and application of mindfulness. As we contemplate mindfulness in the context of positive psychology, meaningful insights are being revealed in relation to our mental and physical health. The book features chapters from leading figures from mindfulness and positive psychology, offering an exciting combination of topics. Mindfulness is explored in relation to flow, meaning, parenthood, performance, sports, obesity, depression, pregnancy, spirituality, happiness, mortality, and many other ground-breaking topics. This is an invitation to rethink about mindfulness in ways that truly expands our understanding of wellbeing. Mindfulness in Positive Psychology will appeal to a readership of students and practitioners, as well as those interested in mindfulness, positive psychology, or other relevant areas such as education, healthcare, clinical psychology, counselling psychology, occupational psychology, and coaching. The book explores cutting edge theories, research, and practical exercises, which will be relevant to all people interested in this area, and particularly those who wish to enhance their wellbeing via mindfulness.

This book brings together a cutting-edge selection of the most current applications of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT), giving clinicians as well as researchers a concise guide to current and future directions. Each chapter begins with in illustrative case study to give readers an example of how MBCT would be used in the clinical setting, followed by an overview of the condition, the theoretical rationale for using MBCT, modifications of MBCT for that disorder, evidence for MBCT use. Chapters also discuss practical considerations of MBCT, including patient selection, home practice, group size, format, and facilitator training. Written by some of the world’s leading physicians using MBCT, Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy: Innovative Applications is of great value to psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, and therapists.

This groundbreaking guide leads you through the most essential mindfulness practices—from breathing exercises to body awareness techniques—for improving your physical and mental health. Written by a team of practicing therapists led by Sarah Silverton, this self-help guide reveals how mindfulness can help you self-treat depression, stress, anxiety, chronic illness, and childcare and relationship issues. As we progress through each chapter, we learn how to become aware of unhelpful automatic reactions to our emotions, feelings and experiences. Rather than ‘reacting’ to life as we always have, mindfulness shows us how to observe our experience and as a result behave in a way that is gentler, wiser, and more positive. Practical, accessible and featuring uncomplicated exercises to help the reader fully understand and adopt the mindfulness approach, this book truly is a breakthrough: the most friendly and engaging title available on the subject; and one which, like a trusted therapist, guides the reader through his or her problems and questions, anticipating their needs with kindness and compassion. “This book has so much potential to help people and contribute to the flowering of greater well-being and sanity on this planet.” —Jon Kabat-Zinn, author of Mindfulness on the Go

'A book full of practical wisdom and clarifying detail' - Mark Williams, co-author of The Mindful Way Through Depression Inspired by Eastern meditative practices, mindfulness is a simple yet powerful approach to treat depression, anxiety, relationship issues and many other common problems. Featuring practical, illustrated step-by-step exercises to help you fully understand and adopt the mindfulness approach, and master key techniques such as breathing, relaxation, body scanning and concentration building. As you adopt these approaches, you can completely engage in the present moment, and in the process overcome negative thoughts and feelings. It also includes chapters on using mindfulness to self-treat such specific problems as depression, stress and anxiety, and relationship issues. Written by a team of practising therapists led by Sarah Silverton, The Mindfulness Breakthrough truly is a breakthrough for self-treatment: a friendly, engaging and most of all practical guide; and one which, like a trusted therapist, leads you through your problems and questions, anticipating your needs with kindness and compassion. Mindfulness is recommended by doctors and psychologists as a gentle, practical and highly effective treatment option, and in 2010 the UK's National Institute for Clinical Excellence recommended mindfulness as the treatment of choice for recurrent depressive illness.

Finding Grace in Caregiving arises out of Bradley Hanson’s quest for grace in caregiving his wife, Marion, who has Alzheimer’s Disease. Hanson knows from long experience that caregiving someone with dementia is very tiring and stressful. In search of spiritual practices that would foster patience and kindness, he turned to Scripture for guidance. The heart of the book is reflection on the qualities that St. Paul calls the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, and gentleness. Drawing also on his personal interviews with others across the country who care for someone with some form of dementia, Hanson gives caregivers encouragement, guidance, and hope. Those of us who do long-term caring for someone with dementia, whether we are a family member or professional caregiver, generally try to be patient and kind. Yet the stress and fatigue of long-term caregiving may lead us at times to erupt with anger. Since caring for his beloved wife, Marion, since her Alzheimer’s diagnosis in 2010, Brad Hanson has looked to what St. Paul calls the fruit of the Spirit in strengthening his kindness.

This book provides a timely synthesis and discussion of recent developments in mindfulness research and practice within mental health and addiction domains. The book also discusses other Buddhist-derived interventions – such as loving-kindness meditation and compassion meditation – that are gaining momentum in clinical settings. It will be an essential text for researchers and mental health practitioners wishing to keep up-to-date with developments in mindfulness clinical research, as well as any professionals wishing to equip themselves with the necessary theoretical and practical tools to effectively utilize mindfulness in mental health and addiction settings.

Throughout the world, the population of older adults continues to grow. The rise in geriatric populations has seen an increase in research on clinical diagnostic, assessment, and treatment issues aimed at this population. Clinical geropsychologists have increased their interest both in providing mental health services as well as developing approaches to improve quality of life for all older adults. The Oxford Handbook of Clinical Geropsychology is a landmark publication in this field, providing broad and authoritative coverage of the research and practice issues in clinical geropsychology today, as well as innovations expanding the field's horizons. Comprising chapters from the foremost scholars in clinical geropsychology from around the world, the handbook captures the global proliferation of activity in this field. In addition to core sections on topics such as sources of psychological distress, assessment, diagnosis, and intervention, the handbook includes valuable chapters devoted to methodological issues such as longitudinal studies and meta-analyses in the field, as well as new and emerging issues such as technological innovations and social media use in older populations. Each chapter offers a review of the most pertinent international literature, outlining current issues as well as important cultural implications and key practice issues where relevant, and identifying possibilities for future research and policy applications. The book is essential to all psychology researchers, practitioners, educators, and students with an interest in the mental health of older adults. In addition, health professionals - including psychiatrists, social workers, mental health nurses, and trainee geriatric mental heatlh workers - will find this a invaluable resource. Older adults comprise a growing percentage of the population worldwide. Clinical psychologists with an interest in older populations have increased the amount of research and applied knowledge about effectively improving mental health later in life, and this book captures that information on an international level. The book addresses how to diagnose, assess and treat mental illness in older persons, as well as ways to improve quality of life in all older persons. It has a great breadth of coverage of the area, including chapters spanning how research is conducted to how new technologies such as virtual reality and social media are used with older people to improve mental health. The book would appeal to all psychology researchers, practitioners, educators and students with an interest in the mental health of older adults. It would also appeal to other health professionals, including psychiatrists, social workers, and mental health nurses who work with older people. It is a valuable resource for trainee geriatric mental health workers because it highlights key readings and important practice implications in the field.

This handbook explores the multifaceted ethical dimensions of mindfulness, from early Buddhist sources to present-day Western interpretations of mindfulness. It takes a modern ethical approach to the study of mindfulness, and traces contemporary mindfulness practice from solitary journey to the global whole. Noted practitioners, teachers, scholars, and other professionals lend diverse perspectives to the debate over the moral content of mindfulness and its status as religious, secular, or post-secular practice. Chapters offer new views on the roots of mindfulness in Buddhist moral teachings, ethical mindfulness in interpersonal relationships, and the necessity of ethics in mindfulness-based education and therapy. Chapters also discuss current debates concerning the ethics of mindfulness across the applied fields of education and pedagogy, business, economics, and the environment. Topics featured in this handbook include: · Mindfulness as the true foundation of a naturally ethical life. · Mindfulness and its impact on emotional life, interpersonal relationships, and forgiveness. · How Buddhist ethics informs spiritual practice across the three main vehicles (yanas) of Buddhism and its relation to mindfulness. · “McMindfulness”, or the mass marketization and commodification of mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs). · How an ethic of interdependence formed by Buddhist principles and mindfulness practices can help address the environmental crisis. The Handbook of Ethical Foundations of Mindfulness is a must-have resource for researchers, clinicians/professionals, and graduate students in psychology, complementary and alternative medicine, and social work as well as occupational and rehabilitation therapy, nursing, philosophy, business management, and teachers of Buddhism and meditation.