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Mindfulness: medveten närvaro i socialt arbete

Edén, Nilla and Persson, Li (2008)
School of Social Work
Abstract
Our curiosity was awakened when we became aware that many social workers use "mindfulness" methods in their profession. In this study, we used qualitative methodology in our desire to examine and understand why the mindfulness approach, with its roots in eastern philosophy, is becoming established in society at large and, simultaneously, being used in the social work field. We were interested in when and why social workers choose to use mindfulness with their clients. Our prior research has revolved around development and use of methods in social work, and on the human reaction to stress.

We conducted seven semi-structured interviews, which incorporated four comprehensive questions:

1. Why has the mindfulness method become established in... (More)
Our curiosity was awakened when we became aware that many social workers use "mindfulness" methods in their profession. In this study, we used qualitative methodology in our desire to examine and understand why the mindfulness approach, with its roots in eastern philosophy, is becoming established in society at large and, simultaneously, being used in the social work field. We were interested in when and why social workers choose to use mindfulness with their clients. Our prior research has revolved around development and use of methods in social work, and on the human reaction to stress.

We conducted seven semi-structured interviews, which incorporated four comprehensive questions:

1. Why has the mindfulness method become established in the social work field and in the culture in general?

2. Why do social workers use mindfulness?

3. How do they incorporate mindfulness into their work?

4. What experiences have they had in working with mindfulness?

In our treatment of our empirical material we used a hermeneutics approach and, in addition, phenomenological elements in order to preserve the subjective experience and reporting of the social workers we interviewed. Two theoretical perspectives supported our analysis and understanding of the information from the interviews: Jürgen Habermas's framework of "Life World vs. System" from his Theory of Communicative Action and Aaron Antonovsky's Sense of Coherence.

Our results indicate that it is the increasing stress in society that contributes to why a mindfulness approach has caught hold in the social work field, and in society as well. Mindfulness is scientifically approved, efficient, and helpful to both clients and social workers. (Less)
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author
Edén, Nilla and Persson, Li
supervisor
organization
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
mindfulness, social work, social workers, stress, medveten närvaro, socialt arbete, socionomer, Social sciences, Samhällsvetenskaper
language
Swedish
id
1320198
date added to LUP
2008-10-20 00:00:00
date last changed
2008-10-20 00:00:00
@misc{1320198,
  abstract     = {{Our curiosity was awakened when we became aware that many social workers use "mindfulness" methods in their profession. In this study, we used qualitative methodology in our desire to examine and understand why the mindfulness approach, with its roots in eastern philosophy, is becoming established in society at large and, simultaneously, being used in the social work field. We were interested in when and why social workers choose to use mindfulness with their clients. Our prior research has revolved around development and use of methods in social work, and on the human reaction to stress.

We conducted seven semi-structured interviews, which incorporated four comprehensive questions:

1. Why has the mindfulness method become established in the social work field and in the culture in general?

2. Why do social workers use mindfulness?

3. How do they incorporate mindfulness into their work?

4. What experiences have they had in working with mindfulness?

In our treatment of our empirical material we used a hermeneutics approach and, in addition, phenomenological elements in order to preserve the subjective experience and reporting of the social workers we interviewed. Two theoretical perspectives supported our analysis and understanding of the information from the interviews: Jürgen Habermas's framework of "Life World vs. System" from his Theory of Communicative Action and Aaron Antonovsky's Sense of Coherence.

Our results indicate that it is the increasing stress in society that contributes to why a mindfulness approach has caught hold in the social work field, and in society as well. Mindfulness is scientifically approved, efficient, and helpful to both clients and social workers.}},
  author       = {{Edén, Nilla and Persson, Li}},
  language     = {{swe}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Mindfulness: medveten närvaro i socialt arbete}},
  year         = {{2008}},
}