The practice of mindfulness has been shown to produce many benefits for mental health and well-being. Despite this, people may feel that practicing mindfulness is burdensome or not feasible in their busy lives. We recently spoke with Nkenji Clarke, PhD, NCC, about how clinicians can help their clients to incorporate mindfulness into everyday life and the benefits for their own work.
What are the benefits of practicing mindfulness regularly? How often is practice necessary to get those benefits?
I don't think we would be talking about mindfulness if it wasn't important, right? There are so many benefits to mindfulness, especially if completed daily. I often encourage my clients or colleagues to engage in mindfulness at least a couple of times a week and then work up to multiple times a day.
Mindfulness has a direct impact on mental health, even beyond helping with anxiety or feelings of stress. As evidenced by research and personal lived experience, mindfulness helps with your thought patterns and self-awareness. How can you be grounded within yourself and present with your body and become more aware of who you are and what you need?
Research shows that mindfulness has cognitive benefits as well. It can improve memory and focus, which positively impacts academic work such as teaching and scholarship. I think mindfulness for both professional counselors and clients is really important.
I view mindfulness as a protective factor for burnout and self-efficacy, all things that promote psychological well-being. As helping professionals, we can't do the work to help others if we're not helping ourselves.
Mindfulness also allows us to be good leaders and good advocates. Counselors are called to be leaders, social justice advocates, collaborators, and change agents who are able to make sound decisions and good judgment calls. And it's difficult to take those actions when you are disconnected from yourself and not being mindful with your decision-making.
Does practice make it easier or more effective to incorporate everyday mindfulness?
Absolutely. If you start doing it little by little each day, mindfulness becomes a habit, something that encourages joy and ease—a moment to pause throughout the day. The ability to get creative with mindfulness activities is also a benefit. We need to use creativity in a positive way; why not use it for mindfulness?
Mindfulness is especially important for folks who have minoritized identities because of the additional personal and systemic stressors experienced. These stressors often stem from various -isms and -phobias such as racism, sexism, classism, ableism, queerphobia, xenophobia, and other forms of discrimination. Safe spaces in academia may be limited for folks with minoritized identities, and I really, really encourage my peers or my clients, those of us who have minoritized identities, to practice mindfulness. As helping professionals, we are not only here to help others; we must be dedicated to helping ourselves too.
Practicing mindfulness daily, I contend, may be a lifesaver for not only clients but professional counselors too. Also, mindfulness is something that can help the profession advance, if you will. Research has discussed—thinking of Dr. Cheryl Holcomb-McCoy, Dr. Norma Day-Vines, Dr. Natoya Haskins, and Dr. Angie Cartwright—the experience of Black and minoritized counselors, both in-training and professional. In fact, practicing mindfulness, if you identify, is seen as a coping skill. Start your day with mindfulness before beginning potentially intense or stressful tasks.
What are some common activities that can be done mindfully?
I often tell my clients that mindfulness is an opportunity to welcome yourself back home. If you are feeling stressed, anxious, and disconnected from yourself, remember that you weren't always in that state. Mindfulness allows you to come back to yourself and experience grounding that really honors the invitation of presence—to be present with yourself, be present with others, be present in your environment and to move a little slower, more intentionally.
Something that I welcome my clients to do—I even do it myself—is waking up slowly. It’s something I found really beneficial, and my clients and students also say, “Yeah, this works for me.” This practice includes not looking at your phone first thing in the morning. Slowly open your eyes, come back to consciousness, and say, “OK, I'm awake now.” Plant your feet on the floor and feel it underneath your toes or feel your slippers underneath your toes and take a moment to sit up and be present. Jumping first thing on the phone is not good for your eyes or nervous system. It also encourages you to check email, or return that text, or scroll on social media and hear other people's thoughts and feelings instead of connecting with yourself. You really want to be intentional about starting off slow in the morning. If you can, consider mindfulness movement; you can do stretching or yoga, go for walk—it just depends how much time you have available.
When you're sitting at your desk—I do this a lot—I keep my feet planted on the floor. Sometimes I close my eyes, or I focus on the wall or my plant, and I'm intentional about loosening my jaw, dropping my shoulders, and resting my hands. And I do the 4-4-4 breathing technique—breathing in for 4 seconds, holding for 4 seconds, and letting out for 4 seconds. I also do this with my clients when they come in and it seems appropriate for what they need in the moment. We do breathing techniques or body scans, and I find that it's really supportive as an accessible mindfulness activity.
Something else that I like for homework with clients, and even myself, is journaling. Being mindful while writing really goes hand in hand with journaling. invites presence and increased self-awareness about your thoughts and thought patterns. One approach is gratitude journaling—just saying what you're grateful for and really seeing the cup as half full instead of half empty.
Is it possible to perform other daily activities in a mindful way?
It’s important to be present in the activities that you're doing. Especially in the digital age, and sometimes as clinicians, we’re frequently on call, but doing our best to be present with our clients and not glancing at our phone or email is essential. Additionally, it models mindfulness to our clients.
When it comes to dedicated mindfulness activities, are there any that can be done in only a brief time? How can someone practice mindfulness when they have only 5 minutes free?
Often that's what it feels like—that we do not have enough time to practice mindfulness. Not true! Something that is quick and can empower someone to maybe extend those 5 minutes, and that I like to do, is being present, breathing, and affirming myself. It's important just to be present, to pause, and to be one with self. Step away if you can. I'm thinking about folks who might have partners and children at home, or classes back-to-back and meetings.
Take a moment to pause, step away, and be present with yourself. In that moment, breathe. You might use the 4-4-4 method as I mentioned earlier, or you might just want to take a few deep breaths. This allows one to release stress or tension, and it continues to strengthen that invitation to be present. While you are closing that out or while you're in the middle of those 5 minutes, it's important to affirm yourself, repeat those affirmations. Choose affirmations that will ground you, whether it be a word, short phrase, or full sentences.
This brief mindfulness activity strengthens your ability to breathe, think clearly, and be one with yourself, and hopefully that feeling stays with you until the next time you practice mindfulness.
Nkenji K. Clarke, PhD, NCC, earned her doctoral degree in counselor education and supervision from The Pennsylvania State University, where she previously earned her master’s degree in school counseling. She is a 2022 NBCC Minority Fellowship Program Fellow. Inspired by the motto of her undergrad institution, Spelman College—“a choice to change the world”—Dr. Clarke declared her specialty as Equity and Leadership in School Counseling. She is currently an Upper School Counselor at a K–12 school and also has experience in clinical counseling and career counseling. Her clinical counseling approach is rooted in person-centered and Black feminist therapies to support undergraduate students and young adults. Her career counseling experience includes undergraduate students from diverse backgrounds and graduate students enrolled in STEM programming. Dr. Clarke’s research niche includes Black girlhood, belonging and well-being for underserved student communities, and school counseling.
