Co-Designing a Socially Engaged Mindfulness Intervention for Social Work Students: A Participatory Research Note

Abstract

Mindfulness practice has strong potential to enhance social work education: the practices enhance wellbeing and may also support capacity for social action (e.g., advocacy, community organizing). This research note centers our participatory approach—a best practice but underutilized in mindfulness research—in developing a socially engaged mindfulness (SEM) intervention for social workers. We detail our collaborative process with a Social Work Student Advisory Board and a Community Advisory Board (i.e., SEM teachers, practitioners and academics) to develop the SEM curriculum. Ultimately, this project aims to support social work students in bringing mindfulness to their practice, with the intent to support sustainable social engagement. Our project has important recommendations for collaborative research and future directions for the social work profession.