Mindful writing for faculty and graduate students: A pilot mixed-methods study of effects of a six-week workshop

ABSTRACT

Faculty at institutions of higher education face increasing pressure to publish and become productive writers, which may lead to distress and subsequent lack of productivity. The current pilot study examined the effects of a modified version of Robert Boice’s “Blocked Writers Program”, in conjunction with formal training in mindfulness meditation. The modified program lasted six weeks. Eleven faculty and graduate students at a large Midwestern university in the United States participated in the program and answered weekly open-ended assessments regarding their writing. Improvements, particularly with regard to emotions contributing to writer’s block, were supported by the weekly open-ended responses. Although these findings are promising, evidence of the program’s effectiveness needs further support from future research that includes a larger sample size and a control group.

KEYWORDS:

• mindfulness
• mindfulness workshop
• writing
• writing block
• writing anxiety

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Data Availability

Data for this study are available on OSF: https://osf.io/nzysc/

Additional information

Funding

The reported studies were not funded.

Notes on contributors

Donna Strickland

Donna Strickland is an Associate Professor Emerita at the University of Missouri, Columbia, Department of English. She is also a Licensed Professional Counselor at the University of Missouri Counseling Center. Her current research and teaching interests involve mindfulness and contemplative approaches to writing as well as attachment theory and relational psychotherapy.

Mollie A. Price-Blackshear

Mollie A. Price-Blackshear is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at the University of Central Arkansas, Department of Psychology and Counseling. Her research and teaching interests involve intergroup relations, intergroup attitudes, stereotyping and prejudice, intergroup contact and cooperation, research methods, and meta-analytic methods.

B. Ann Bettencourt

B. Ann Bettencourt is a Professor of Psychology at the University of Missouri, Columbia, Department of Psychological Sciences. Her research and teaching interests include applying mindfulness theory and practices to improve intergroup and interpersonal relationships, including intergroup contact and cooperation, individual and couple functioning, especially among breast cancer survivors. Dr. Bettencourt has expertise in meta-analytic methods.