title: Befriending death: A mindfulness-based approach to cultivating self-awareness in counselling students.
abstract: The importance of self-awareness in counselling education is widely recognized; however, strengthening this vital aspect is often left to educators' discretion. The author addresses this deficiency by first exploring four theoretical constructs: mindfulness, emotional regulation, death anxiety, and relationship dynamics. Then, she outlines a practical learning activity on the topic of death. The main exercise involves a guided meditation in which students imagine both a worst-case and best-case scenario of their own death, while practicing mindfulness, followed by a debriefing period and a written self-reflection. This activity can be used by educators to promote greater self-awareness in master's level counselling students.
authors.affiliation: a Division of Arts and Sciences, City University of Seattle-Vancouver , Vancouver , British Columbia , Canada.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Stella
mesh_terms: D001007:Anxiety / Q000523:psychology; D001293:Attitude to Death; D001364:Awareness; D003376:Counseling / Q000193:education*; D004501:Education, Medical / Q000379:methods*; D004644:Emotions; D006801:Humans; D064866:Mindfulness; D011584:Psychology / Q000193:education*; D013334:Students; D013663:Teaching