{"id":237153,"date":"2025-10-30T10:51:45","date_gmt":"2025-10-30T14:51:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=237153"},"modified":"2025-11-07T11:40:21","modified_gmt":"2025-11-07T16:40:21","slug":"finding-presence-using-mindfulness-to-transform-social-work-education-at-uconn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2025\/10\/finding-presence-using-mindfulness-to-transform-social-work-education-at-uconn\/","title":{"rendered":"Finding Presence: Using Mindfulness to Transform Social Work Education at UConn"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cWho wants to be the bell ringer today?\u201d asks doctoral student and guest facilitator Vivien Roman-Hampton.<\/p>\n

\"engaged<\/a>
Doctoral student and Engaged Mindfulness guest facilitator Vivien Roman-Hampton seeks a volunteer to ring the meditation bell.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Around her, 14 Master of Social Work students set aside their notebooks, pens, and Starbucks lattes. They lower their heads and close their eyes.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday, we\u2019re going to focus on the awareness of sound,\u201d Roman-Hampton continues softly. \u201cListen for what\u2019s in this space right now\u2014the vents, the projector, my voice. Maybe other sounds from beyond these walls. Really anchor into them. Be aware that they exist\u2014like us.\u201d<\/p>\n

The room falls still. The steady hum of an air vent muffles voices from outside the classroom. A paper rustles. Five minutes pass.<\/p>\n

Then, MSW student Jade Hardrick \u201922 (SSW) strikes a copper bowl.<\/p>\n

Gong<\/em>. And the meditation concludes.<\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t a typical lecture at the UConn School of Social Work. It\u2019s week six of Engaged Mindfulness, an experiential course designed to help future social workers develop a deeper, more compassionate understanding of themselves, others, and their environment. These essential skills are crucial for thriving in one of the nation\u2019s most emotionally demanding professions, often shaped by trauma, burnout, and systemic stress.<\/p>\n

“Social workers carry the world\u2019s challenges on their shoulders,” says Associate Professor and course instructor Caitlin Elsaesser. “By practicing mindfulness\u2014an energy of awareness\u2014we nurture the presence and compassion that make transformative healing and advocacy possible.”<\/p>\n

While the students practice mindfulness during meditation, the practice isn\u2019t limited to sitting still or doing a specific exercise; you can be mindful\u202f”while playing basketball, walking, or even responding to emails,” she says. “It\u2019s more about\u202fhow\u202fyou bring your attention to the present moment.\u201d
\n
\nThe “Wishes Jar”<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"mindfulness<\/a>
MSW student Julia Goncalves reads a note from the “wishes jar.”<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After meditation, Elsaesser passes around an oversized glass container stuffed with folded color papers. It\u2019s known as the\u202f\u201cwishes jar.\u201d On the first day of class, students jotted down wishes to share for themselves or their peers. MSW student Mia pulls out a folded colored paper and reads it: \u201cMy wish is for you to be happy and safe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mia passes the jar to classmate Julia who passes it to Jessica. \u201cMy wish is for me to get to know myself,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s part of mindfulness \u2014 listening to yourself,\u201d Elsaesser says. \u201cThis is the same skill you, as social workers, will use to listen deeply to others.\u201d<\/p>\n

The moment becomes a gateway to deeper connection. Students transition into what Elsaesser calls \u201ccommunity care time\u201d\u2014a mindful listening exercise where each person shares a reflection.<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s prompt: What is something you could use community support with, but have been afraid to ask for?<\/em><\/p>\n

Participation is optional, but MSW student Alana\u00a0Frenkel speaks up. She admits she struggles to ask for help. Around her, several classmates nod in agreement.<\/p>\n

Now in her final year of the MSW program, Alana\u00a0Frenkel says she \u201cfelt intrinsically compelled\u201d to enroll. As a crisis response clinician intern, she uses mindfulness every day.<\/p>\n

\u201cI appreciate how we\u2019re able to blend concepts we’ve learned in other MSW classes\u2014like oppression, suffering, and activism\u2014but hold them in a different light,\u201d Frenkle says. \u201cMindfulness practices will help me be a better social worker. It\u2019s helping me regulate my own emotions, slow down my reactions to real-world experiences.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Personal Journey of Healing <\/strong><\/p>\n

When MSW student Diana Mendoza registered for the Fall 2024 Engaged Mindfulness class, she didn\u2019t know what to expect.<\/p>\n

\u201cI enrolled with no expectations,\u201d she recalls. \u201cWhat I didn\u2019t know was that this class would take me on a deeply personal journey. It became so much more than a course\u2014it was a life-changing experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

One session focused on the theme of suffering. During a body scan meditation, Elsaesser asked students to locate where they physically felt emotional pain.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll of a sudden, I started to cry,\u201d Mendoza says. \u201cI kept thinking, please stop crying, everyone is looking at you, but the tears wouldn\u2019t stop. And then I reminded myself\u2014it\u2019s okay to feel what I\u2019m feeling. In the past, I would\u2019ve judged myself, but I\u2019ve learned to give myself grace and permission to feel everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the past, I would\u2019ve judged myself, but [through Engaged Mindfulness] I\u2019ve learned to give myself grace and permission to feel everything.\u201d \u2014 MSW student Diana Mendoza<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

That moment, she says, marked the start of a healing process.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve learned more about myself in one semester than I have in 32 years,\u201d Mendoza reflects. \u201cNow, when someone\u2019s angry or frustrated, I try to respond with awareness instead of reacting. I\u2019ve learned their anger isn\u2019t about me\u2014they\u2019re just going through something themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

Learning to Respond, Not React
\n<\/strong>
\nMendoza\u2019s classmate Camille Fortin, a 2025 MSW graduate and LMSW says the class changed the way she manages emotional intensity in her work and uses mindfulness techniques to navigate high-stress environments.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the most valuable lessons I learned in the class was non-violent communication,\u201d Fortin says. \u201cI learned how to gain space from emotions so that you can feel anger without becoming anger. This practice created a pause\u2014a chance to respond rather than react.\u201d<\/p>\n

She adds, \u201cIt\u2019s helped me engage more compassionately with myself and others. I\u2019ve learned that behind every behavior is a need, and that empathy can be more effective than judgment in fostering understanding.\u201d<\/p>\n

These insights, Fortin says, are transforming her practice as a social worker and therapist. She\u2019s currently completing a fellowship at the Yale Child Study Center, offering Intensive In-Home Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Services<\/a> (IICAPS). \u201cBy grounding myself in observation and empathy rather than assumption, I\u2019m better able to hold space for others without becoming overwhelmed or reactive.\u201d<\/p>\n

From Research to Real-World Practice<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"mindfulness<\/a>
Fourth from left, Associate Professor Caitlin Elsaesser leads a meditation exercise with Engaged Mindfulness co-designers, Assistant Professor Gio Iacono, Professor Lisa Werkmeister Rozas, and doctoral student Vivien Roman-Hampton.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Before developing the course, Elsaesser, Roman-Hampton, Assistant Professor GioIacono, and Professor Lisa Werkmeister Rozas, director of the Puerto Rican and Latino Studies Project, co-designed a research project titled Creating a Socially Engaged Mindfulness-Based Intervention.<\/p>\n

Supported by grants from the Trust for the Meditation Process<\/a> and UConn\u2019s Institute for Collaboration on Health, Intervention, and Policy<\/a> (InCHIP), the project created an eight-week intervention blending traditional mindfulness, compassionate listening, and critical reflection on oppression and social change\u2014helping participants connect inner practice with outer action.<\/p>\n

The results were striking. Students reported measurable increases in mindfulness, compassion, and sense of belonging\u2014mirroring what researchers were seeing firsthand.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe feedback was powerful,\u201d Elsaesser says. \u201cStudents told us, \u2018This is the first place I\u2019ve felt I could really be myself.\u2019 That sense of authenticity and belonging became the seed for the full course.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Mindful School in the Making
\n<\/strong>
\nToday, Engaged Mindfulness anchors a larger vision: developing a \u201cmindful school\u201d\u2014a community where compassion and presence are integrated into every aspect of learning, teaching, and practice.<\/p>\n

In addition to the course, Elsaesser and her colleagues host the School of Social Work Mindful Practice Group, which meets weekly and is open to all students, faculty, and staff.<\/p>\n

For Elsaesser, mindfulness is not a retreat from the world but a way to engage with it more intentionally.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing mindful isn\u2019t just about managing stress,\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s about awareness\u2014of ourselves, our bodies, and our connection to others. It\u2019s deeply countercultural in a society that teaches independence and productivity above all else.\u201d<\/p>\n

She pauses, then adds:<\/p>\n

\u201cOur hope is that by cultivating presence, our students will go into the world not just to serve others\u2014but to be with them, fully and compassionately. That\u2019s where social work begins.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“Social workers carry the world\u2019s challenges on their shoulders,” says Associate Professor and course instructor Caitlin Elsaesser. “By practicing mindfulness\u2014an energy of awareness\u2014we nurture the presence and compassion that make transformative healing and advocacy possible.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":201,"featured_media":237175,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_crdt_document":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2269,1870],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[2514],"class_list":["post-237153","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-inchip","category-ssw"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-12 13:53:59","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237153","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/201"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=237153"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237153\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":237395,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237153\/revisions\/237395"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/237175"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=237153"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=237153"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=237153"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=237153"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=237153"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}