Introduction

Persistent pain poses a significant therapeutic challenge and has refocused our attention on the dynamic interactions between the bio, psycho and social factors of the pain experience. Focusing our attention on the person rather than on the tissues has caused a shift in treatment from a single-minded focus on eliminating pain to the much bigger goal of improving quality of life and enabling patients to re-engage in life roles that are meaningful to them. This shift in focus mirrors the essence of mindfulness where the goal is not to eliminate pain or stress, but to teach patients to be self-aware and respond to pain and stress in more constructive and healthy ways. Despite its benefits, convincing patients to engage in mindfulness practice might pose its own challenges. There are also safety considerations, especially when working with patients with a history of trauma. The practical guidelines provided in this course will help you to introduce and implement mindfulness into therapeutic practice, empowering your patients to explore and experiment with mindfulness practice and ultimately be in control of their own pain experience.

Aims

The purpose of this course is to provide practical applications to enable you to integrate mindfulness into clinical practice.

Outline

This course is made up of videos, reading, forum posts and a final quiz. The course content is split into the following sections:

1. Video
2. Reading activity
3. Quiz

Target audience

This course is aimed at Physiotherapy and Physical Therapy clinicians, students and assistants. Other interested professionals such as athletic trainers, occupational therapists, nurses or medical doctors interested in this subject are also invited to participate.