Military Care Providers Project

Overview

The Center has worked with the US Army to explore the uses of meditation to restore resiliency in chaplains and medical caregivers. The project includes a research report on The Use of Meditation and Mindfulness Practices to Support Military Care Providers. That report served as the basis of a meeting at the National Cathedral in Washington DC in February 2009, a one-day dialogue between mindfulness meditation and contemplative neuroscience subject matter experts (practitioners and scientists) and Army leaders. The symposium focused on research related to the use of mindfulness training and contemplative practices with caregivers, soldiers, and family members.

A meditation retreat for chaplains and medical caregivers is being arranged for fall or winter 2012/2013. If funding is raised, the retreat participants will be measured for increases in attention and compassion by The Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education (Project Compassion) at Stanford University, Neuroscience Department, led by James Doty, MD, Professor in the Department of Neurosurgery. If the retreat is considered successful in helping caregivers increase resiliency and compassion, the Army hopes to offer meditation to many more of its staff.