Jason Auslander
April 19, 2018
https://www.aspentimes.com/news/pitkin-county-deputies-dispatchers-gaining-mindfulness/
To help better prepare Pitkin County sheriff’s deputies and emergency dispatchers for stressful situations and coping with the aftermath, the agency is taking part in a pilot program for “mindfulness.”
The practice teaches about “consciously attending to the present moment with as much wisdom and clarity as possible without bias or pre-judgment,” said Laura Bartels, executive director of the Mindful Life Program in Carbondale.
And while it might sound “soft” in the context of law enforcement, the program is beneficial to those in high-stress jobs like policing because it teaches skills that allow “inner well-being,” Bartels said.
“It’s about, ‘How do I respond in high-stress situations in a way I feel good about and doesn’t lead to burn out?'” she said.
Sixteen members of the Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office — including dispatchers, deputies and front office staff — are two weeks into the eight-week program, which meets for two-and-a-half hours once a week, said Alex Burchetta, director of operations for the Sheriff’s Office.
The idea for participating in the program came from Brett Loeb, the director of the Pitkin County Regional Emergency Dispatch Center.
Loeb said that when he worked as emergency dispatch supervisor in Grand Junction before coming to Aspen, he and his staff dealt with officers being shot, committing suicide and other emotional, traumatic incidents.
“I realized that, especially in dispatch, there’s not much to help people deal with mental traumas,” Loeb said.
So when he came to Aspen, one of his priorities was to find a way to help his staff deal with those traumas, as well as other issues like “compassion fatigue.”
He said he met Bartels at a Pitkin County wellness open house and took the eight-week mindful life course offered by her program along with one of his supervisors. Loeb said he’d never had any experience with meditation and other contemplative concepts taught in the course, but has found it valuable not only in his professional life but his personal life, too.
“It really struck a chord with me,” he said.
The course teaches participants to accept the actual results and realities of a situation — rather than get caught up in expectations — and not worry about things a person can’t control, Loeb said. It also teaches people to accept that they’ve done their best and not second guess their actions, project their personal insecurities or beat themselves up over what happened in the end, he said. For example, he supervised a dispatcher who told him she pictured her own child while talking a parent through CPR on their child.
“You can imagine how unhealthy that is,” Loeb said.
The practice is about understanding your values and acting in line with them when presented with a difficult situation, Loeb said.
That includes understanding emotional triggers and controlling them, he said. It’s about how a person shows up — for a shift, for a conversation, for a talk with your kid about homework — and whether the words and actions expressed therein line up with those values, Loeb said.
“If you can do that most of the time, it leads to genuine happiness,” Loeb said. “I truly believe it’s making me happier and less stressed and less of a person I don’t want to be.
“It’s better than anything I’ve seen in our industry.”
Burchetta said mindfulness can allow deputies to envision how to react in difficult situations, not get caught up in emotions and focus on the task at hand. It also can cut down on the traumatic aftermath a deputy might experience in dealing with, for example, the death of a child or a fatal car accident.
“Often we send people out and we let them fall apart and then spend the next few days trying to put them back together again,” Burchetta said. “Seldom do we act proactively to deal with situations in the moment.”
Pitkin County Sheriff Joe DiSalvo said it’s the only program the agency has ever tapped to try to help his staff’s mental health before a tragedy occurs.
The pilot program is costing Pitkin County’s Wellness Program $2,500 for the 16 people to take the course, Burchetta said. It could continue in the future if it proves beneficial, he said.
“I think it’s great,” Burchetta said. “It’s an interesting program and it’s definitely new for law enforcement. I think people will see a tangible difference.”
[email protected]
Mindfulness Foundations Course, June 4 – July 23 in Oceanside, CA
Join the Mindful Life Program Foundations Course, June 4 – July 23, 2018 at the Oside Wellness Workshop in Oceanside, California. Give yourself the gift of this lively and engaging opportunity to learn to live mindfully, with attention and intention, cultivating genuine happiness and a meaningful life. The course teaches the practice of meditation and the practical application of mindfulness in daily life. Empower yourself to integrate the four key areas of mindfulness – attention, wisdom, values, and an open heart – into your life in practical, accessible and universal ways.
Concentration – Developing attention skills through meditation training.
Wisdom – Understanding one’s biases, labeling, projection and pre-judgment. Increasing emotional intelligence and learning to respond rather than react.
Values – Living a meaningful life. Developing healthy habits and responses that are in alignment with one’s personal values.
Open heart – Developing healthy relationships and connections. Cultivating skills of compassion, loving-kindness, empathic joy and equanimity.
Enrollment includes:
Read the full description for the course under the Programs tab, and read more feedback from recent participants here.
Dates: Mondays, 6:30 – 9:00 pm from June 4th – July 23rd
Cost: $250. Inquire about group discounts. Payment plans and scholarships are available. Our mission is to help everyone, regardless of their ability to pay. To apply for a payment plan or scholarship, please email the facilitator (see organizer information).
To register: Please call or email Taro Thomas
Facilitator: Taro Thomas
Mindfulness Foundations Course, June 3 – July 22 in San Clemente, CA
This New Year, offer yourself the gift of mindfulness. Join the Mindful Life Program Foundations Course, June 3 – July 22, 2018 in San Clemente, California. Give yourself the gift of this lively and engaging opportunity to learn to live mindfully, with attention and intention, cultivating genuine happiness and a meaningful life. The course teaches the practice of meditation and the practical application of mindfulness in daily life. Empower yourself to integrate the four key areas of mindfulness – attention, wisdom, values, and an open heart – into your life in practical, accessible and universal ways.
Concentration – Developing attention skills through meditation training.
Wisdom – Understanding one’s biases, labeling, projection and pre-judgment. Increasing emotional intelligence and learning to respond rather than react.
Values – Living a meaningful life. Developing healthy habits and responses that are in alignment with one’s personal values.
Open heart – Developing healthy relationships and connections. Cultivating skills of compassion, loving-kindness, empathic joy and equanimity.
Enrollment includes:
Read the full description for the course under the Programs tab, and read more feedback from recent participants here.
Dates: Sundays, 6:00 – 8:30 pm from June 3 – July 22nd
Cost: $250. Inquire about group discounts. Payment plans and scholarships are available. Our mission is to help everyone, regardless of their ability to pay. To apply for a payment plan or scholarship, please email the facilitator (see organizer information).
To register: Please call or email Taro Thomas
Facilitator: Taro Thomas
Pitkin County deputies, dispatchers gaining ‘mindfulness’
Jason Auslander
April 19, 2018
https://www.aspentimes.com/news/pitkin-county-deputies-dispatchers-gaining-mindfulness/
To help better prepare Pitkin County sheriff’s deputies and emergency dispatchers for stressful situations and coping with the aftermath, the agency is taking part in a pilot program for “mindfulness.”
The practice teaches about “consciously attending to the present moment with as much wisdom and clarity as possible without bias or pre-judgment,” said Laura Bartels, executive director of the Mindful Life Program in Carbondale.
And while it might sound “soft” in the context of law enforcement, the program is beneficial to those in high-stress jobs like policing because it teaches skills that allow “inner well-being,” Bartels said.
“It’s about, ‘How do I respond in high-stress situations in a way I feel good about and doesn’t lead to burn out?'” she said.
Sixteen members of the Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office — including dispatchers, deputies and front office staff — are two weeks into the eight-week program, which meets for two-and-a-half hours once a week, said Alex Burchetta, director of operations for the Sheriff’s Office.
The idea for participating in the program came from Brett Loeb, the director of the Pitkin County Regional Emergency Dispatch Center.
Loeb said that when he worked as emergency dispatch supervisor in Grand Junction before coming to Aspen, he and his staff dealt with officers being shot, committing suicide and other emotional, traumatic incidents.
“I realized that, especially in dispatch, there’s not much to help people deal with mental traumas,” Loeb said.
So when he came to Aspen, one of his priorities was to find a way to help his staff deal with those traumas, as well as other issues like “compassion fatigue.”
He said he met Bartels at a Pitkin County wellness open house and took the eight-week mindful life course offered by her program along with one of his supervisors. Loeb said he’d never had any experience with meditation and other contemplative concepts taught in the course, but has found it valuable not only in his professional life but his personal life, too.
“It really struck a chord with me,” he said.
The course teaches participants to accept the actual results and realities of a situation — rather than get caught up in expectations — and not worry about things a person can’t control, Loeb said. It also teaches people to accept that they’ve done their best and not second guess their actions, project their personal insecurities or beat themselves up over what happened in the end, he said. For example, he supervised a dispatcher who told him she pictured her own child while talking a parent through CPR on their child.
“You can imagine how unhealthy that is,” Loeb said.
The practice is about understanding your values and acting in line with them when presented with a difficult situation, Loeb said.
That includes understanding emotional triggers and controlling them, he said. It’s about how a person shows up — for a shift, for a conversation, for a talk with your kid about homework — and whether the words and actions expressed therein line up with those values, Loeb said.
“If you can do that most of the time, it leads to genuine happiness,” Loeb said. “I truly believe it’s making me happier and less stressed and less of a person I don’t want to be.
“It’s better than anything I’ve seen in our industry.”
Burchetta said mindfulness can allow deputies to envision how to react in difficult situations, not get caught up in emotions and focus on the task at hand. It also can cut down on the traumatic aftermath a deputy might experience in dealing with, for example, the death of a child or a fatal car accident.
“Often we send people out and we let them fall apart and then spend the next few days trying to put them back together again,” Burchetta said. “Seldom do we act proactively to deal with situations in the moment.”
Pitkin County Sheriff Joe DiSalvo said it’s the only program the agency has ever tapped to try to help his staff’s mental health before a tragedy occurs.
The pilot program is costing Pitkin County’s Wellness Program $2,500 for the 16 people to take the course, Burchetta said. It could continue in the future if it proves beneficial, he said.
“I think it’s great,” Burchetta said. “It’s an interesting program and it’s definitely new for law enforcement. I think people will see a tangible difference.”
[email protected]
Mindfulness Foundations Course, May 3 – June 28 in Gunnison, CO
Join the Mindful Life Program Foundations Course, May 3 – June 28, 2018 at the Here & Now Center in Gunnison, Colorado. Give yourself the gift of this lively and engaging opportunity to learn to live mindfully, with attention and intention, cultivating genuine happiness and a meaningful life. The course teaches the practice of meditation and the practical application of mindfulness in daily life. Empower yourself to integrate the four key areas of mindfulness – attention, wisdom, values, and an open heart – into your life in practical, accessible and universal ways.
Concentration – Developing attention skills through meditation training.
Wisdom – Understanding one’s biases, labeling, projection and pre-judgment. Increasing emotional intelligence and learning to respond rather than react.
Values – Living a meaningful life. Developing healthy habits and responses that are in alignment with one’s personal values.
Open heart – Developing healthy relationships and connections. Cultivating skills of compassion, loving-kindness, empathic joy and equanimity.
Enrollment includes:
Read the full description for the course under the Programs tab, and read more feedback from recent participants here.
Dates: Thursdays, 6 – 8:30 pm from May 3 – June 28 (** no class May 24)
Cost: $250. Inquire about group discounts. Payment plans and scholarships are available. Our mission is to help everyone, regardless of their ability to pay. To apply for a payment plan or scholarship, please email the facilitator (see organizer information).
To register: Please call or email Dusty Sylvanson
Facilitator: Dusty Sylvanson
“I am a teacher and appreciate that many people can be trained to teach curriculum. However, Dusty’s personality and demeanor makes him especially suited for teaching a course like this. I don’t know that I’ve met many people who are so naturally kind and supportive.” —Liz, Recent course participant
4 Immeasurables: Afternoon Retreat with John Bruna in Durango, CO
Join John in Durango for an afternoon retreat focusing on cultivating the Four Immeasurable Attitudes in daily life. The afternoon will include teachings, discussion, and meditation time. There will be breaks with tea, coffee, and light snacks. Please feel free to bring some snacks to share as well.
The Four Immeasurables are practices that open the heart, allowing us to deepen our relationship with ourselves and others. The cultivation of equanimity, loving-kindness, compassion, and empathetic joy helps us to counteract distorted and harmful mental and emotional states. This provides the foundation for living a meaningful and fulfilling life in alignment with one’s own personal spiritual beliefs and values. One does not need to be a Buddhist to benefit from these practices; they are universal to people of all faiths, traditions and cultures.
*John will be the guest teacher at the Durango Dharma Center on Monday, April 30th.
Questions: Email John – [email protected]
Registration: To register, click on the secure online donation button below. In the “write a note section”, please include name/s and number of people registering. If you would like to register and make a donation at the retreat rather than online, please email us at [email protected].