Meditation in a psychiatric hospital setting.

 This is an extension of another blog post I read from Ven. Thubten Jigme on the same subject. https://thubtenchodron.org/2016/12/rebalance-calm/   This one however is from the trenches. 
I actually work at a psychiatric hospital teaching meditation as an activity therapy. 
In May of 2022 I began at Denver Springs Mental Health Hospital.  Denver Springs is an inpatient facility that provides 'evidence-based, transformational care for a broad range of mental health and addiction concerns in a compassionate, comfortable environment' (From denversprings.com).  Facility has four wards with almost 100 beds.  It serves in one unit, 'Sunrise', children with acute mental health issues from the ages of 12 to 17, a second unit, 'Willows' for adults in the same predicament.  Then there is 'Cedars' for detoxification and addiction and finally the "Heroes" unit called 'Meadows' for active and retired military, police, fire, first responders and medical staff.  
The mission of Denver Springs is 'Changing People's Lives'.  and is its registered motto. 
The vision is to transform the delivery of behavioral health services and provide a solution to the largest challenge of this generation, access to mental health care.  Specifically by;
   

• Engage with patients, families, employees, communities, healthcare providers, and health insurers to increase access to behavioral healthcare

• Provide a continuum of care that delivers the right care, in the right place, at the right time, at the right cost

• Partner to integrate behavioral and medical healthcare to improve the health of populations and reduce the per capita cost of healthcare

• Be nationally known for providing high quality, consistent, evidence-based, and innovative care  

• Decrease suicide rates, decrease addiction-related deaths, reverse the decline in life expectancy, and improve productivity in the communities we serve

• Destigmatize mental illness and addiction, which are conditions that transcend race, gender, age, and socioeconomic class

Denver Springs' values (which I have on the back of my ID badge to work at the hospital are to...
We serve as compassionate healers for those suffering from mental illness and/or addiction
We respect patients, families, co-workers, and our communities
We provide a safe environment for our patients, employees, and visitors
We deliver quality services as defined by nationally recognized metrics and outcome measures

We strive for continuous improvement in all that we do
Compassion
Respect
Safety
Quality
Innovation

So what is it like working there? 

I teach in each of the wards once or twice a week.  I offer guidance as a secular meditation teacher even though I was classically trained by Buddhist monks and ordained as a lay priest in 2006.  I have taught, practiced and learned in Sri Lanka, Thailand, Japan, North Vietnam and the United States. 

I focus on the basics of Buddhist teachings and weave them into the practice in a way that does not alienate or trigger those whom are either agnostic, Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Jewish or even Buddhist.  Meditation is indeed found in each of these practices and not too far from Buddhist practice as I have observed and studied over the past 35+ years.

I focus my teachings on a few basic concepts of meditation and mindfulness; Observing the breath and mind patterns, empathy and compassion, the body scan, gratitude and unattachment.  

Sometimes the class is filled with motivated people that want to get better and find a new way to interact with their minds and the world using meditation as a possible tool.  Other times there are disturbances from some that are too ill at the time to practice or begin to find difficulty in sitting or being still during a session.  This is why I break the classes up into small bite-sized bits, focusing on returning to the breath, the realization and return to practice after a disruption and being intouch but not overtaken by the mind. 

In the class I often tell them the benefits of working together and practicing that way.  The mind is a rough neighborhood, I tell them, best to go with some backup.  

Although nearly all of the people I teach or guide have had some experience with meditation and mindfulness it is important that I start from the beginning each time.  Some used apps like 'Calm', 'Insight Timer', 'Headspace' etc. and others were exposed to the practice by teachers and therapists but few continued on with a practice. 

For that reason, I started holding classes at my private office.  Not necessarily for the people that attended Denver Springs but for anyone else that is interested.  I found quickly the only difference in the reasons TO meditate were in the location.