Connecting to Inner Guidance: Mindfulness Meditation and Transformation of Professional Self-Concept in Social Work Students

Abstract

This paper describes a unique technique of training social work students: self observation via guided meditation. A workshop was conducted with two groups of students: one participated in a single-session mindfulness meditation; the other participated in this as well as three additional sessions. The workshop trained students in creative focusing while facilitating connection to inner guidance (inner voice). Tuning in to inner guidance is presented as a developmental process and an important source of knowledge about the "self." Students' experiences included various bodily sensations, interactions with a guiding figure, verbal messages or advice, and significant insights. Messages and insights were content analyzed; examples presented illustrate transitions in students' personal and professional self-concept.