Mindful Self-Compassion for Future Sustainability Professionals

Dealing professionally with sustainability-related issues can be stressful in several ways. On the one hand, many of the current sustainability-related problems are highly threatening and increasingly leading to fears about the future especially among young generations (Hickman et al., 2021). At the same time, developing solutions to these problems is highly complex, and their effectiveness is uncertain, which affects the psychological need for certainty and control (Mälkki & Raami, 2019). On the other hand, it is particularly the desire for a more sustainable future that motivates people to engage professionally with sustainability-related issues. However, given the high urgency and overwhelming variety of sustainability-related challenges, this motivation is often accompanied by an inability to recognize one's own boundaries and needs, resulting in a personal overload (Russell & Victoria, 2022).

Against this background, sustainability scientists have recently looked into skills and practices that can be helpful for professional actors to cope with the aforementioned challenges. Mindfulness practices have received increasing attention in this context (Fischer et al., 2017; Thiermann & Sheate, 2020). Their effectiveness in raising awareness of internal states and processes, cultivating a more benevolent, compassionate attitude, and overall increasing personal well-being has been proven in various professional contexts. In the context of sustainability, however, the empirical findings on the potential of such practices have to date been sparse and contradictory (Frank et al., 2021). In particular, there is a lack of targeted information on the effectiveness of standardized and reproducible programs (e.g. Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, Mindful Self-Compassion).

In this course, students have the opportunity to experientially explore if and how participation in a Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) training supports them in their dealing with sustainability-related challenges. For this purpose, students engage in a self-inquiry-based learning process in which they systematically document and analyze their experiences with the training.

This course is open for students across all programs and degree levels. Also Master and PhD students are welcome to join the course.

• Explain the rationale underlying the practice of (mindful) self-compassion in an educational context

• Reflect on the effects and usefulness of the offered activities in a differentiated, embodied way

• Engage with, verbalize, and reflect upon the experience of embodied practices delivered throughout the course

• Apply a basic form of thematic analysis to analyze the reported experiences with the course

• Assignment portfolio (%) Students write a diary reflecting their experiences with the course.
• Assignment report (100%) Students analyse their own diaries in groups using thematic analysis and summarize the results in a report

No previous knowledge is required to participate in this course.

• Frank, P., Fischer, D., Stanszus, L., Grossman, P., & Schrader, U. (2021). Mindfulness as self-confirmation? An exploratory intervention study on potentials and limitations of mindfulness-based interventions in the context of environmental and sustainability education. The Journal of Environmental Education, 52(6), 417-444. https://doi.org/10.1080/00958964.2021.1966352 Hickman, C., Marks, E., Pihkala, P., Clayton, S., Lewandowski, R. E., Mayall, E. E., Wray, B., Mellor, C., & van Susteren, L. (2021). Climate anxiety in children and young people and their beliefs about government responses to climate change: A global survey. The Lancet. Planetary Health, 5(12), e863--e873. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2542-5196(21)00278-3 Mälkki, K., & Raami, A. (2019). Transformative learning to solve the impossible: Edge emotions and intuition in expanding the limitations of our rational abilities. In E. Kostara, A. Gavrielatos, & D. Loads (Eds.), Transformative Learning Theory and Praxis; New Perspectives and Possibilities. London: Routledge. Neff. K. & Germer, C. (2018). The Mindful Self-Compassion Workbook: A Proven Way to Accept Yourself, Build Inner Strength, and Thrive. The Guilford Press Russell, S. V., Victoria, S. (2022). Exploring the Emotional Experiences and Coping Strategies of Sustainability Change Agents. In R. H. Humphrey, N. M. Ashkanasy, & A. C. Troth (Eds.), Emotions and Negativity (Research on Emotion in Organizations, Vol. 17, pp. 35-61). Bingley, UK: Emerald Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1746-979120210000017009 Thiermann, U. B., & Sheate, W. R. (2020). The Way Forward in Mindfulness and Sustainability: a Critical Review and Research Agenda. Journal of Cognitive Enhancement, June. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41465-020-00180-6