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This article examines the results of a survey about mindfulness competencies in the area of counseling and psychotherapy; it specifically addresses competencies needed for training clients in the use of mindfulness methods. The study investigated whether experts on mindfulness (N = 52) agreed with a proposed set of 16 competency statements. It also asked about recommended levels of personal mindfulness practice for those new to the specialty. In general, participants agreed on the proposed 16 competencies. Here we offer recommendations about mindfulness practice for counselor preparation, cultural competency, continuing education, and clinical applications, and suggest questions for future research.
Mindfulness has been referred to as (a) a psychological process; (b) a method or technique; and (c) a skill that can be acquired (Alien, Blashki, & Gullone, 2006; Hayes & Shenk, 2004; Hayes & Wilson, 2003). As a psychological process, mindfulness has been described as being intentionally present to internal and external events (stimuli) occurring in momentary experience (Baer, 2003; Bishop et al., 2004; Kabat-Zinn, 1990). Mindfulness necessitates that one "monitor the focus of attention"- in other words, self-regulate attention-which requires metacognition (knowledge or observing of thoughts; Alien et al., 2006, p. 286). For this reason a method of instruction is provided: First, practitioners place conscious, nonjudgmental attention on an object of focus (e.g., breath, sight, sound, or bodily sensation). Second, when they notice that attention has drifted, practitioners bring it back to the object. Training clients in mindfulness methods therefore means training them to practice a technique grounded in a philosophy that is oriented toward certain psychological processes that with practice can be developed as a skill.
Germer (2005) and Kabat-Zinn (2003) distinguished between formal and informal mindfulness practice. Formal practice refers to structured mindfulness meditation (sitting in meditation for 20 minutes several times a week) and is associated with "sustained, disciplined introspection" (Germer, 2005, p. 14). Informal practice is about bringing mindfulness processes to ordinary daily activities. For example, one self-regulates attention to listen to ambient sounds at a bus stop, notice taste while drinking a glass of water, or observe the warmth of the water while washing dishes.
MINDFULNESS IN COUNSELING
The literature offers promise that mindfulness-based methods are both professionally and personally beneficial for counselors and are efficacious for helping clients...