By Dr. Robert Pate, PsyD

Raise your hand if you are tired of staring at screens? Even reading this blog…it’s rough, right? You spend hours each day watching WebEx or Zoom classes, reading your textbooks online, scrolling through social media updates, responding to emails, writing papers, playing games, and, if you’re like me, setting your alarms for the next morning. We do all this, then we wake up and do it all over again. Ugh.

As much as I appreciate the wonderful things technology allows us to do, including remote learning, ordering food deliveries, socializing, and a thousand other things, it can get old pretty fast. My wife and I are part of a couples Bible study and we have been meeting every other week and working through the book of Exodus since early in 2020 before COVID-19 hit the USA in full force. As we’ve gone through the study together, we have consistently lamented the fact that we cannot gather together in person.

Two nights ago we covered the passages in Exodus where in God leads the Israelites “the long way around” in the desert out of his mercy, knowing that if they went directly through Philistine territory without first developing their identity as a free and empowered people in the desert, they would flee to “lesser evil” of their chains in Egypt. I don’t know about you, but pretty much all of 2020 feels like “the long way around.” I don’t know what purpose God might be working out in all of the myriad hardships so many people have suffered through this year, but I have to trust there’s something on the other side.

When I think about all the time we’ve spent staring at screens because of COVID-19, I am struck by both the emotional and sometimes physical pain I experience as I sit in my chair hour after hour at work and home, as well as the great benefits derived from making use of the available technologies to continue educating my students, helping my therapy clients, and connecting with friends and loved ones.

Perhaps you’ve found yourself in a similar position lately. You’re burned out, eyes dry and red, nerves a bit frazzled, and maybe feeling some of the loneliness creep in. After several weeks of remote learning, remote socializing, and developing a “new normal” for digital higher education this academic year, I hope you are finding ways to care for your emotional and physical needs. More specifically, if you are experiencing what some have termed “Zoom Fatigue” I hope you will consider the suggestions below for reducing the mental, emotional, and physical strain that our beloved screens can exert on us over time.

1. Take a break! If you’ve been in front of your screen for a couple hours of class already today, make sure to stand up, walk around, and get outside if possible anytime your instructor gives you a break. When possible, schedule screen breaks in your day. If there’s a “bathroom break” in a class/meeting and nature isn’t calling you at that point, get up anyway! Don’t sit in front of your device when you don’t have to. And don’t just exchange your laptop for your phone. Setting boundaries around screen time can be tremendously helpful. Stop looking at all screens for a few minutes. My wife, a molecular biologist who has read just about everything there is to read on COVID-19 and its impacts, passed along a recommendation she recently came across…every 20 minutes, spend 1 minute looking 20 feet away. This should help your eye muscles to focus in different ways and avoid exhaustion.

2. Exercise! This can look any way you want. Stretching, walking around your room, walking to Wanda’s, playing a sport with a few other students (still possible even if social distancing/wearing masks), just do something! Maybe some push ups? A solo dance party? (I won’t share a picture of me doing either, though I hear laughter is good medicine.) This should improve your circulation and help your joints to not stiffen as much throughout the day. Remember, your body is used to walking to your car, walking to the next class, walking to lunch, walking to class again, and walking back to your dorm/car.

3. Play! If you can find a game to play that does not involve a screen, great, but if that’s the only option you’ve got, that’s still helpful. Engage your mind in creative tasks. Downloading information constantly is helpful, but only to a point. Hopefully your instructors are providing some critical/creative thinking experiences in class, but either way, find time to build/solve/create something. Maybe put together some IKEA furniture, build some Legos, spend a few bucks to create a flower garden for your window sill, etc. The point is to do something fun and creative to keep your spirits up, even if you can’t do your preferred leisure activities like attending a concert, intramural sports, spending time at the gym, or taking an art class with friends.

4. Talk to someone about it! If you are finding yourself heading down a less-than-healthy path, whether mentally, emotionally, or physically, talk to a friend, instructor, pastor, family member, or maybe a therapist. CBU has a fantastic counseling center with plenty of therapists who specialize in helping people get through tough times. There are lots of other options for getting professional help, but the CBU counseling center can be a great place to start. It’s convenient and cost-effective. Consider giving them a call. You don’t have to be broken, crazy, or diagnosable to go to therapy. In fact, all of the students in my program (I teach in the Doctor of Psychology, PsyD, program here at CBU) are required to complete at least 40 hours of individual psychotherapy to help them be the best therapist possible for their clients.

5. Finally, if you can, consider sitting outside for class/meetings/therapy/social time. I have some therapy clients I meet with through a software program designed to be safe for therapy, and a few of them will sit on their balcony, sit out in their car, sit at a relatively empty park, or anywhere else they can to be out of the house while we have our sessions together. Whenever you can get away from a desk, do it! Even standing at your desk can help. Just get out of the sitting position. I’m currently building myself a standing desk at my house for when I’m working at home. What can you be doing to help your mind and body?

This has been a tough season for most of us, and some much more so than others. Take a few minutes each day to reset your mind and body by changing the scenery, infusing some fun time, and getting physically active. We don’t know how long this will last, but as we take “the long way around” COVID-19, let’s make sure that we are as mentally, emotionally, and physically healthy as we can be on the other side. God bless you as you make your waythrough the rest of the semester!

By Dr. Kendra Flores-Carter

Phillipians 1:6 reads “that the one who began a good work among [us] will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ” Today I hear the word cultural humility in every meeting, conference, and seminar I attend. Diversity and inclusion seems to be a leading theme for many organizations trying to restructure their administration to meet the needs of marginalized populations. As a marginalized person of Color it is amazing to see all of the strategic planning around having a culturally diverse approach in program innovation, development, and implementation. But as always I have questions on how organizations can competently and effectively incorporate cultural humility in their program development.

Cultural humility refers to the attitudes and practices of working with individuals, groups, and families with a presence of humility. Additionally, it means taking a stance that is other-oriented rather than self-focused. Furthermore, it means investing in learning, communicating, offering services, and making decisions that considers the cultural dynamics of marginalized population intended to serve. Moreover, having a concrete understanding that in order to proceed with any type of program development or program planning an organization must be prepared to consider all these factors before moving forward to fulfill their targeted goals around program development to truly serve marginalized communities.

For many organizations and businesses its easy to include an inclusion and diversity clause in a policy or mention the idea of practicing cultural competency. However, practicing cultural humility is easier said than done. I say this because I seeso many programs today that are targeted towards helping and assisting marginalized populations but I rarely see people of Color in the forefront of creating those programs. How can businesses and organizations create diversity and inclusion programs without the voices of the people the programs are design serve?It’s quite baffling to me to see programs created time after time without the input of the intended population.

To truly exercise cultural humility organizations needs to take into account the lived experiences of the people they provide services too. The stark reality is that many leaders in organizations tend to believe the stereotypes about marginalized groups. Sometimes these biased beliefs are based on what was socially learned or what is shown in the mainstream media. Often times those realities are far from the actual true experiences of marginalized populations.

As a society it is important to understand that from the moment we are born we are socially programmed to believe a set of ideas about certain groupsof people. Sometimes even if it’s not the intent these ingrained beliefs are what controls or influence the decisions made as leaders of organizations. Therefore, it is very important that organization leaders check their biases and ensure that they facilitate an environment where all voices are heard when creating programs that serves communities or color.

Building programs that are targeted towards marginalized population should always includethe voices of those populations. When theirvoices are missing it leaves room for programs to becreated based on biased stereotypical beliefs rather than true facts. Likewise, assumptions are often made about marginalized groups based on media or social conditioning beliefs rather than getting evidence from a qualitative standpoint.Yancu & Farmer(2017) theorized the need for internal practices that leads organizations to have greater cultural awareness, reduced implicit cultural biases, and increased sensitivity to the power dynamics in cross-cultural interactions. Basically, if organizations are open to those principles program development would be much more inclusive.

I believe that practicing cultural humility is God’s working within our souls to give us authentic love and kindness towards others. Most importantly God want us to consider others before ourselves. In the end cultural humility could definitely be an asset to leaderswho may have come from privileged backgrounds with little to no understanding of the experiences of marginalized populations. When we know better we do better but we have to make that lifelong commitment to always be self-aware of our own biases before making decisions that affects the lives of othersthat are not like us.

Hi, my name is Erin Smith, and I’m a control junkie. For me, time is a puzzle solved with color coded calendars, carefully curated schedules, and heavily researched expectations over future events. I have learned that I can quell a lot of anxiety when I over plan and over prepare for what is to come (and what might be, could be, may eventually be).

This characteristic is helpful….to an extent. But, when I am honest with myself, I know that this kind of control only gets me so far. (It also sometimes reinforces rigidity, which is not psychologically helpful, and sometimes it exacerbates my anxiety. Also not helpful….both topics for a future blog, perhaps.) An honest appraisal of the world, however, indicates that there are so many things, many important things, out of my control. This doesn’t mean that I’m powerless, only that there are limits to what my planning, preparing, and careful execution can produce.

Case in point: A pandemic.

Are there things that I, personally, can do to help mitigate the spread and impact of the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19? Absolutely. This is why I wear my mask, social distance, and wash my hands often. Taking control and ownership of these behaviors is important. At the same time, can I, personally, stop the coronavirus? No, not on my own. I think, more to the point, I personally cannot ensure the maintenance of life-giving breath to my body. I contribute to my health—yes!—but I am ultimately not in exclusive control of whether my life will continue.

For a self-confessed control freak, this stark recognition of what is not in my hands is really difficult. It probably shouldn’t be because this truth is not new, it’s just usually unobserved. A paradox of the Christian faith (one that, coincidentally, mirrors my understanding of human agency from a psychological perspective) is that what we do matters—we have control!—but we are not ultimately in control (at least not total control!). My pastor once referred to this tension for our control as “radical responsibility and radical grace”. There is so much nuance here, nuance that I think is important, but instead of focusing there, I want to share what I have been practicing this pandemic to help mitigate the anxiety that bubbles up when I am faced with so much uncertainty. This is not a magic pill, it’s not a substitute for professional mental health care, when needed, nor is it the only thing I do. With all those caveats, one thing that has been really important to me during this season of uncertainty, change, and difficulty is the practice of gratitude.

What is gratitude?

When we are thankful and expressive of appreciation, we are being grateful. Researchers can talk about gratitude as a disposition (relatively stable way of interacting in the world), an emotion (the physiological reaction that prompts an emotional experience of thankfulness), and as a mood (moods are more stable than emotions, but less enduring than dispositions). I think it’s interesting to differentiate these three experiences of gratitude because it means that even if you are not naturally (or “dispositionally”) grateful, you can still develop habits of gratitude that will impact your emotional experiences and longer-lasting mood states.

What does gratitude “do”?

In addition to the straightforward instructions in Scriptures to practice gratitude (e.g., Ps. 106:1; Col. 3:16; Heb. 12:28-29), researchers have noted that grateful people tend to be healthier (physically and mentally), more likely to attain their goals, and more helpful toward others, among other effects¹.

One of the things that gratitude does is that is refocuses yourself off yourself and, it turns out, when we think of ourselves less we tend to be less consumed with anxiety, distress, loneliness, etc. Reflecting on what we have to be grateful for reminds us that beyond the difficulties of the present moment, there is life-giving hope, purpose, relationship, love, and acceptance. 

I want to be clear that gratitude doesn’t make your problems go away. It doesn’t make you ignore the realities that you are facing. (That is delusion, not gratitude.) What gratitude does do is it promotes a form of cognitive reframing that gives you a different vantage point on your situation. During this pandemic I have doubled-down on my efforts to practice and express gratitude. This hasn’t made the pandemic and my associated anxieties magically disappear, but it has helped anchor me in my gratitude to God, to people made in His holy image, and to the beauty in the good creation we inhabit. Gratitude has helped me look at the same world with new eyes. With new compassion. With new energy. By looking for points of thankfulness and seeking ways to express it, I have moved myself from a place of anxiety over the unknowns and the fluctuations closer to a place of peace. Even if nothing goes as planned (I still do like color coded calendars, after all), I have so much to be grateful for, a gratitude that moves me to more fully see my neighbor and love my neighbor in word and in action.

How can you leverage gratitude in your own life?

I want to reiterate that practicing gratitude is a practice. It won’t come naturally to everyone. It’s also not panacea. I really wish I could tell you that for every anxious thought I reflect on one thing to be grateful for and *poof!*: anxiety gone. But that would be a lie. This is an ongoing effort. What I can tell you is that there are lots of good reasons to pursue the practice of gratitude—Biblical and scientific reasons.

Here are two ways you can intentionally practice gratitude. Try it. Tell me how it felt in the comments below.

1. An easy introduction: At the end of every day (for at least two weeks), reflect back on your day and make a physical list of five things you are grateful for. Think of your family, friends, pets, or when you received help (as starters).
2. A slightly more intense practice: Spend 15 minutes writing a letter to someone for whom you are grateful, but have never expressed gratitude to. Don’t worry about your spelling or grammar, instead be as specific and concrete as possible, detailing what this person did, why you are grateful, and the impact this person and their actions had on your life. If you feel so inclined, put the letter in the mail or schedule a zoom call and read it to them directly. Research shows that we tend to underestimate how gratitude will impact a person; if you feel inclined, share your gratitude and you and the recipient of the gratitude will reap positive psychological effects!  If possible, repeat this exercise several times a week.

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Notes:

1. Check out the work of Dr. Emmons, the preeminent researcher on gratitude: https://emmons.faculty.ucdavis.edu/. You may also find this (someone old, but still relevant) chapter interesting: Emmons, R. A., McCullough, M. E., & Tsang, J.-A. (2003). The assessment of gratitude. In S. J. Lopez & C. R. Snyder (Eds.), Positive psychological assessment: A handbook of models and measures (p. 327–341). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/10612-021 Copy available here: https://sites.hofstra.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/86/2019/11/Gratitude-chapter-for-Pos-Assessment-volume.pdf

2. If you are looking for more of these kinds of activities, check out https://ggia.berkeley.edu/

By Dr. Kristin Mauldin, Ph.D.

In my last blog, I talked about empathy. I spoke about taking the courageous step to show vulnerability in order to connect with others. But what about when we don’t really relate? In day to day life, such as sitting next to a peer in class, you may be quite different from that person, but it probably is a short distance from your experiences to theirs. For example, you may be quite comfortable in small crowds but can understand your shy peer’s nervousness in a new class since you get nervous in large crowds. Or perhaps your longest relationship was only 3 months and that break up hurt, so you can wrap your head around a 2-year long relationship break up hurting a lot. But what about connecting and empathizing with others whose experience is very different from your own?

This is a big issue with people who have chronic and long-term physical disabilities. Able-bodied individuals can have a really difficult time understanding those with physical disabilities and, due to fear of offending them, may even avoid interacting with them. Back when I was in graduate school at Miami University, I TA’d a Social Psychology course for Dr. Tim Dowd. Dr. Dowd taught about the responsibility of the person with the physical disability to advocate for themselves and teach others how to interact with them. He discussed how it was not realistic, or fair, to expect the general public to understand how to interact with them, especially given how varying disabilities can be. Not all professors could, perhaps, get away with delivering this message, but Dr. Dowd could. Dr. Dowd had full-blown AIDs and was already in its rather advanced stages when I met him. He passed away just 5 years later from complications of his disease.

Though the person with the physical disability needs to advocate for and communicate their needs, there is still some responsibility on the side of the able-bodied individual. For example, if you have a friend or a classmate with a limitation, you can ask them about it, and even do your own research on their condition. An honest question such as, ‘Do you mind if I ask you about your condition? I don’t want to offend you, I just want to understand, but I can understand if you don’t want to talk to me about it.’ is usually appreciated. Another common misconception is that a person with a physical disability wants sympathy. This is usually the LAST thing that person wants, but I can understand why the able-bodied individual might think that.

A person who is able-bodied may look at a person with a chronic condition/long term limitation and think, ‘Oh, that is similar to when I broke my ankle. That was so hard.’ And it is likely that, during that time, the person appreciated sympathy. With a short term condition, sympathy is usually welcome, but with a long term condition, it can just be insulting and, at times, infuriating.

Let me try to explain. When a condition is long term and/or permanent, it becomes a part of that person. It does not define who they are, but it is a part of them. It is not something they are suffering temporarily that will go away. So when you feel sorry for them, it is like you are telling them that you are sorry they are who they are. Much like if I told you, ‘Oh, I am so sorry you are short.’ or ‘It must be tough to be blonde.’, ‘Well, that must be a lot tougher for a female.’, or ‘It must be difficult being of ___ race.’ Condescending and insulting, right?

The other thing that it does is it blocks out their accomplishments. Making these types of statements highlights what you (clearly) perceive as their weaknesses, instead of highlighting, or even recognizing, their strengths. If there was a word for the opposite of empathy, this might be it. So, let’s stop for a moment and consider the strengths I am talking about. Fall semester of 2019 I had a student with a chronic physical condition that left her exhausted and in pain most days. When she was able to make it to class, I knew it was a big accomplishment. Now, she could have excused herself from every class and had a legit medical excuse to do so, but, she didn’t. I have been teaching for a long time and have heard many lesser excuses for missing class, the most recent being that the student didn’t feel up to leaving their house because it was raining. When I saw my student coming in to class looking exhausted and miserable, I saw her as a tough, resilient student who was pushing through to get her education despite what her disease was putting her through.

This issue is very relevant in athletics. Dr. Jessica Stapleton, professor of psychology at University of North Florida and Sport Psychology consultant for USA Para-PowerLifting, was very concerned that the Para-Power Lifters would not accept her since she is able-bodied. Thankfully, her knowledge and understanding of these athletes was clear and they were happy to have her. She is a prime example of someone who ‘gets’ that culture. She talks about how tough and gritty they are, and how she respects them as athletes (personal correspondence). She lights up when talking about wheelchair rugby players as well. And who wouldn’t? Those athletes are about as tough as they come (don’t believe me? Check out some of the YouTube videos of their games!). Paralympic sprinter Aimee Mullins set a record when sprinting on prosthetic legs and has since then talked about how her disability has likely led to her strength, confidence, and success. In fact, in her TED talk, she questions whether she would choose to get rid of her disability if given the choice (https://www.ted.com/talks/aimee_mullins_changing_my_legs_and_my_mindset).

The Paralympic Games originated in 1960 with 400 athletes representing 23 countries (International Paralympic Committee, 2014), yet there was difficulty getting the public to buy in. Yet why? While it is impressive watching an athlete in peak shape perform feats of athleticism that outreach those of so many others, why wouldn’t performing similar feats but with severe physical challenges,draw similar support? There is a focus on the limitation here, rather than recognition for the grit, tenacity, and sheer hard work it must take for these athletes to perform such achievements.

Athletes with physical disabilities face several challenges in addition to their own physical limitations. Some additional barriers are the cost of specialized equipment, obtaining transportation to practice, and finding suitable facilities/trainers (McLoughlin, Weisman Fecske, Castaneda, Gwin & Graber, 2017). There is a severe paucity in coaches trained to work with these athletes, and of those over 90% are men, making it even tougher for female athletes with disabilities (Alexander, Bloom, & Taylor, 2020). Even just finding people to work with and associate with that understand their condition and goals can be very difficult. For example, one athlete was instructed by his coach to join the Special Olympics training team despite the fact that he had a physical disability, not a mental disability trainer (McLoughlin, Weisman Fecske, Castaneda, Gwin & Graber, 2017).

So, you just met someone with a physical disability. How do you act towards them? Treat them with respect. Talk to them normally, not in a patronizing voice or manner. If you see that something is clearly inconvenient for them, ask if you can be of help, or even express understanding of their frustration. And if you see them pushing hard and performing well, let them know you see how tough they are. There are many resources online as well with suggestions for interacting with individuals with specific conditions (e.g. https://www.dhs.state.il.us/page.aspx?item=32276)

Finally, I want to tie this in to the current state of the nation. In these odd times, we can begin practicing empathy towards those we may not relate to well; the elderly. With COVID-19 spreading and people lining up around grocery stores to get toilet paper, it can be easy to laugh at some of what we perceive as overreactions, or even to become irritated with the inconvenience. For healthy college students and my immediate family, the risk of being harmed by the virus is probably quite low. My middle child has asthma, so we are taking extra cautions, but overall we aren’t too worried. But then I talk to my parents, and I can hear the fear in their voices. They are in their mid-70s with intermittent health issues and they have put themselves on quarantine, as have most of their friends. My parents are highly educated, logical people, and they are scared. And that makes sense. The risk may be rather low, but the cost is incredibly high. Let’s take some time to think about those around us (physically and virtually) that are elderly and/or with health conditions. If that were us, we would be scared too. Let’s put in that extra bit of effort to try to empathize with others and if we aren’t sure how we can ask.

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What are your thoughts? Share them below!

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References:

Alexander, D., Bloom, G. & Taylor, S. (2020). Female Paralympic athlete views of effective and ineffective coaching practices. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 32(1), 48-63.: Motivations, Barriers, and Facilitators.AdaptedPhysicalActivityQuarterly, 34(4), 421–441.

International Paralympic Committee. (2014). Official website of the Paralympic movement Retrieved from https://www.paralympic.org.

McLoughlin, G., Weisman Fecske, C., Castaneda, Y., Gwin, C., & Graber, K. (2017). Sport Participation for Elite Athletes With Physical Disabilities: Motivations, Barriers, and Facilitators. Adapted Physical Activity Quarterly, 34(4), 421–441.

By Megan Sands and Dr. Jacqueline Gustafson, EdD

You hop off the plane full of wonder and excitement, eager to change the world.  Everything around you feels beautifully unfamiliar; the different smells, language, and horizons draw you in.  You look out the window and see the children running towards the car, laughing and grinning ear to ear.  They have been awaiting your arrival.  For the next several weeks you play, sing, and dance, bringing joy to so many faces.  You connect with the people and the culture in an inexplicable way until the van returns to take you home.  You’ve been forever changed by the things you saw and the people you served, ready to share your story, to tell the world what this has meant to you.  You post about it on Instagram, you share your stories with family and friends.  In quiet moments, your thoughts wander, filled with hope that you might one day visit again.  But what fills the daydreams of the children in this story?  What are their hopes and dreams?  Do they dream of the day when you will visit again?  Or, possibly another team?  Or, maybe they dream about the day when they might get to ride away….

Have you participated in short term mission or service trips?  We hope that you have, because it can be an amazing experience for both those serving and those being served!  What about the moments and days after the trip?  Your world was likely impacted in so many ways.  What is often not considered is the way in which those whom we serve, or host communities, are truly impacted by our service, interaction, and presence.  Serious consequences can follow our exciting short term visits.  A rise in “volunteer tourism” presents concerns of very possible dependency and exploitation of host communities (Hartman et al., 2014).  Hartman et al. noted that popularity in these international short term service programs has created a market of selling these experiences as a commodity. 

Certainly the intent of such trips, in a variety of different forms, is “doing good.”  However, unfortunately some challenges can occur when acts of service are seen as “unquestioned good.”  Some responses suggest that the risk to host communities is simply too great, no matter how well intentioned.  While others argue against these concerns with the attitude that “at least we care,” “we are doing something, what are you doing?” or “at least we are trying to help.”  So what’s the right response?  Is there a space for short-term service and engagement?  Can the goals of service be advanced while also safeguarding against risks to vulnerable populations?  

In response to the concern of protecting vulnerable populations, Dr. Jacqueline Gustafson (CBU), Dr. Amanda Howard (Samford University), and Nicole Wilke (Christian Alliance for Orphans) have developed Principles and Practices for Just Engagement: An Evidence Based Curriculum for Short Term Missions and Service with Orphans and Vulnerable Populations.  This online curriculum combines scientifically-informed guidelines for and alternate models of best practices in engagement.  The mission of the project seeks to provide access for churches, nonprofits, and university-based programs to educate service providers and reduce risk for host populations.  The curriculum provides an alternative perspective and approach to short term service and mission work.

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The project seeks to bring awareness to, and advocate for, best practices in short-term volunteer projects serving orphans and other vulnerable populations.  Like the introductory story shows, service can connect people, promote cultural understanding, and improve host communities’ quality of life.   The project includes developing and deploying a free online evidence-based curriculum for short-term missions and service intended to benefit orphans and vulnerable populations.  Expert opinions have been collected on best practices in their respective fields and experiences.  Researchers, church leaders, and nonprofit organizational leaders who have participated in short term missions and service projects speak on various topics to build this curriculum.    Ethical considerations are addressed by the experienced individuals in interactive modules to better prepare teams for service.  Some important ideas taught in this curriculum include vulnerable populations, cultural humility, child protection, impact and evaluation, media/ethical storytelling, and alternative engagement.  We hope to educate and challenge well-intentioned service teams to do the most good in the most ethical way. 

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What are your thoughts? Share below; we would love to hear from you!

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References:

Hartman, Eric, et al. “Fair Trade Learning: Ethical Standards for Community-Engaged International Volunteer Tourism.” Tourism and Hospitality Research, vol. 14, no. 1-2, 2014, pp. 108–116., doi:10.1177/1467358414529443.

Resources:

Fair Trade Principles and Rubric for University Administrators and Faculty: https://compact.org/ftl/

Working with Vulnerable Children: https://cafo.org/ovc/

Short-Term Missions: https://cafo.org/ovc/missions/

Faith to Action (n.d.) Short Term Missions: Guidance to Support Orphans and Vulnerable Children: https://www.faithtoaction.org/wp-content/uploads/Short_Term_Missions_Guidance_Support_Orphans_Vulnerable_Children.pdf

Ethical Short Term Missions & Volunteering (n.d.): https://ethicalmissionstrips.org/ethicalframework

By Krystal Hays, PhD, MSW, LCSW

This is the second part of a Blog series on Dr. Hays’ journey into social work. Check out part one here: https://blogs.calbaptist.edu/cshb/2019/10/17/finding-my-way-home-a-journey-through-social-work-part-1/

“Can I really do this? Am I smart enough? Do I have what it takes? What if I fail?” These were all questions I asked myself as I started my first day as a PhD student in social work. I had dreamt of this day and made it through a difficult and competitive application process. However, now that the reality of becoming Dr. Hays began to settle in, so did the doubts. I was experiencing a fairly common phenomenon called imposter syndrome which is defined as feelings of inadequacy despite evidence of success (Clance & Imes, 1978). Research suggests that women, people of color, and other underrepresented groups often experience self-doubt and insecurity in the face of success and this was certainly the case for me (Joshi & Mangette, 2018). Although I do not believe I met the criteria for any clinical diagnosis, my feelings of insecurity certainly contributed to my trepidation about doctoral studies.

Nevertheless, I had to believe that God opened the door to doctoral studies for a reason. I needed to trust that I had the capacity to learn new skills, complete my classes, and write a dissertation. Philippians 4: 6-7 would become my guiding scripture which reads, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (NKJV). After all, doctoral studies was ultimately a means to an end. The end goal was to develop knowledge and interventions to address the excessive burden of mental illness experienced by African Americans. Also, I needed to find ways to bridge the gap between mental health professionals and the church. I had to keep clients like Ruth in mind; my 50-something year old female client with Major Depression who struggled to recover and reconcile her faith with her emotional turmoil. I was privileged to champion the cause for health for Ruth, and so many like her.

My PhD program was definitely challenging in more ways than one. However, I made valuable relationships with fellow students and faculty advisors who supported me. I had the opportunity to travel around the country sharing about my research and passion for advocating for those who cannot advocate for themselves. Also, I was beginning to develop a love for teaching. Although the imposter syndrome crept in from time to time I was certainly more confident about ability to do the work God called me to do.

After five long years, lots of classes, more papers than I can count, and one new baby boy added to the family, I was finally set to defend my dissertation and graduate. Commencement was held on a pleasant and sunny Southern California day. My closest family members and friends were there to cheer me on as I was “hooded” on stage in front of thousands of onlookers. As my name was called and the tile of my dissertation was read something interesting happened. Several students graduating with their master’s degrees who were sitting in the crowd stood and cheered. It was as if somehow my receipt of a PhD was an inspiration for them and cause for celebration. This brief moment would stick with me as a reminder that every success I experience is a shared success and that I should always be mindful of my ability to influence and inspire those who come behind me.

Now, my journey through social work has led me to a career in higher education. As an Assistant Professor of Social Work I enjoy walking alongside the next generation of clinicians and community change agents as they begin their own journey through social work. Moreover, I am privileged to have the opportunity to serve as the Director of the Doctor of Social Work program that will receive its inaugural cohort of students in the fall. This is more than a dream come true for our University, our College, and myself. I am overjoyed thinking about the many students who will be able to access doctoral level education to take their careers to the next level. This is especially significant when you consider that only 4.5% of the total United States population has completed doctoral level education (U.S. Census Bureau, 2018). Knowing firsthand the tremendous impact my doctoral program had on my career trajectory I look forward to helping others fulfill their dreams and lead change efforts in communities around the globe. My journey through social work is far from over, in fact, a new chapter may have just begun.

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What are your thoughts? Share below; we would love to hear from you!

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To learn more about the Doctor of Social Work program at CBU please visit www.calbaptist.edu/DSW

Clance, P. R. and Imes, S. A. (1978). ‘The impostor phenomenon in high achieving women: Dynamics and therapeutic intervention’. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice, 15, 241–47.

Joshi, Aishwarya and Mangette, Haley (2018) “Unmasking of Impostor Syndrome,” Journal of Research, Assessment, and Practice in Higher Education: Vol. 3 : Iss. 1 , Article 3.

U.S. Census Bureau (2018) Annual Social and Economic Supplement to the Current Population Survey, 2000 and 2018

Spring break. Graduation. A dinner and movie out with friends. You had all the plans. I had all the plans. And then, in what seemed like a totally surreal 48 hours around March 12, we didn’t. If your experience was anything like mine, you spent a few days in something akin to a fog of “what is happening?!” I noticed it first when I went to Target with my kids to buy one of their friends a birthday present. There I was, somehow oblivious with some Frozen II trinkets, surrounded by anxious-looking people with carts full of dog food and poptarts, because all the bread, peanut butter, sanitizer, and (yes) toilet paper had already sold out. It felt like an alternative reality. In some ways, it still does.

There are many things to think about in the context of this worldwide pandemic. Below I want to direct you to some of the interesting, thought provoking, and useful reflections I have come across in the recent days. Although a health issue, this pandemic—and our reaction to it—reflects important psychological and a spiritual issues as well.

Things did not go as planned. At least, not our plans. In the coming days, as we spend more time by ourselves and in our thoughts, may we choose to not just spend more time on Netflix or scrolling mindlessly through Instagram. May we, instead, reflect and use this unexpected moment to learn and grow in the midst of whatever trials this moment brings us. May we take each day as it comes because now is a moment when it is abundantly clear that we should not worry about tomorrow because today has enough trouble of its own.

Below, I link to a few things that I have found interesting. Since everyone is talking and writing about COVID-19, I do not claim that this is an all-encompassing list or even the most essential list. Instead, I have listed a few of the ideas that I’ve been thinking about the most as, perhaps, these things may be useful for you.

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In the comment section, please feel free to share your own thoughts, what you’ve been thinking about, and anything you have read or listened to that you have found particularly helpful, informative, or encouraging. Please be mindful of our CBU cultural standards in your comments.

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1. Pandemics do not have to be times of increased productivity. The first weekend the recommendations for social distancing went in place, followed shortly by Governor Newsome’s “Shelter in Place” order for Californians, my email and social media feeds were swamped with all the ways I could use this “newfound time at home” to live my best life. Some of the tips, resources, and business opportunities were helpful; at the same time, many felt a bit predatory. The implicit message behind many of these emails and posts was that I wasn’t really spending my time well unless I exercised more, cooked new foods, and took on a new hobby, all while adjusting to the reality of working from home with a baby, a preschooler, and a school-aged child (all home, all the time). It wasn’t until I read the Christianity Today: Women newsletter penned by Kate Shellnutt (Editor of CT Women), that I had words to identify my emotional reactions. Psychology is clear that disruptions to routines or sudden changes in environment can, indeed, be useful in spurring behavior change, depending on how you approach the disruption. In that sense, yes, the restrictions on travel and socializing may be useful in addressing some bad habits and working to foster better ones. However, as Kate pointed out, it is dishonest to not address the incredible stress that this pandemic is causing. In these moments of stress and—for many—great suffering, there are surely opportunities to refocus on our priorities and prioritize our souls. This kind of intentional prioritization of what is truly important will not sweep aside the realities of the difficulties of the moment; it will, however, mean that the realities of this difficult moment will not make this moment all-consuming. As our movements and routines are necessarily more limited, I am mindful that the push to be productive—for the sake of productivity—misses the mark. As the author of this piece reflects on the push for productivity, “hustle culture never stops, quarantine or not.” Especially in these moments, I am mindful of the reality that hustle is not the defining feature of God’s call on my life.

2. Stop touching your face! We all touch our faces….all the time. It’s a really hard behavior to break, though a particularly good one to change if you want to help prevent the spread of illness to others (and yourself). This podcast highlights why and this article provides some tips on how to actually change this behavior. (One hint: don’t think about your behavior as preventing you from getting sick; rather, think about your moral responsibility to help others not get sick!)

3. In times of uncertainty: God is good. I have been thinking about how to talk about this for about 2 weeks. I am now at the point of finally getting words on computer, yet I fear I am still too close to my own thoughts to be able to eloquently push words together in a way that clearly communicates, encourages, and (if relevant) challenges. So, I’m not going to try to do those things. Instead, I would encourage you to think about 20 prayers to pray during this pandemic, one theologian’s reflections on how to think Christianly in this public health crisis, or how this cultural moment might offer some important long-term opportunities for communities of faith to partner with scientific communities in a way that may lay the groundwork for fixing the perception that Christians are anti-science.

Additionally, I find myself more frequently confronting my own selfish sinfulness as I am more easily agitated, frustrated, and prone to anger with disruptions to my routine and things not working out “as they should.” And yet, as I continue the devotions through Proverbs written by Timothy and Kathy Keller, I am continually reminded that these moments of stress and suffering are the ones that God uses to refine my character as God works everything for His good. In my weakness, God’s mercy and grace is all the more apparent, if I will only slow down enough to rest in His presence. Even when I can’t make sense of what is in front of me: God is good.

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By Dr. Joshua Fuller

When was the last time you actually thought about taking a breath? As we go about our day, we think about project deadlines, appointments, and who will win the next (American Idol). We think about what we have to do, where we have to go, and with whom we have to meet. Rarely do we give much thought to an essential aspect of life, breathing. Experts say that focused breathing can improve respiratory and cardiovascular function, decrease the effects of stress, and improve physical and mental health (Pal, Velkumary, and Madanmohan, 2004).With the business we all have in our day, who has time to think about breathing? Each day we take about 26,000 breaths, each one just as vital as the next.

Recently, the father of a dear friend of mine passed away. When I went to the funeral, I saw a picture of the man. He wasn’t very old. In fact, he looked healthy, happy, and full of life. He looked about the age of my father, which was possible because my friend and I are the same age. I thought about how quick and delicate life is, and the importance of every moment. Often times I’ve wanted to slow down so that I could enjoy a moment for just a little longer. As it turns out, slowing down breathing can help this desire(Jerath et al., 2006).

When we breathe, our diaphragm contracts expanding our chest cavity. Our intercostal muscles pull our ribs up and outward and our chest cavity is expanded even more. Due to the difference in atmospheric pressure, air rushes in through our mouths/nostrils/trachea/larynx and into our lungs.The lungs capture oxygen and release carbon dioxide, much like an exchanging of goods or a trade. Oxygen rich blood travels throughout the body breathing life into every organ, tissue, and cell.No thought required.This is called metabolic breathing.However, when we are nervous or stressed, our breathing changes and becomes shallow. The shallow breaths don’t give enough time for the oxygen/carbon dioxide exchange(Novotny, S. and Kravitz,L.).We receive less oxygen for our bodies and can’t function optimally.

Have you ever thought about a complex issue or difficult choice and found yourself taking a long deep sigh? Your body desperately wants oxygen in order to perform these difficult cognitive tasks. Taking a deep breath, like before a speech or presentation, is called behavioral breathing. In this way, we can control when and how much we breathe. The physical effects of breathing are most apparent in examples like the Haenyeo of Jeju. With cognitive breathing, women calm themselves to such an extent that they remain underwater for several minutes.

When we are frustrated or stressed, our body responds to our mental state and our breathing follows suit. Our breathing becomes stressed, shallow, and unfulfilling. When we take a moment to breathe, that stress can be reduced. We can breathe it out. Slow breathing resets our neuronal pathways and allows for oxygenated rich blood to circulate through the body efficiently (Jerath et al., 2006).

References: Jerath, R., Edry J.W, Barnes, V.A., and Jerath, V. (2006). Physiology of long pranayamic breathing: Neural respiratory elements may provide a mechanism that explains how slow deep breathing shifts the autonomic nervous system. Medical Hypothesis, 67, 566-571.

Pal, G.K. Velkumary, S. and Madanmohan. (2004). Effect of short-term practice of breathing exercises on autonomic functions in normal human volunteers. Indian Journal of Medical Research, 120, 115-121.

Novotny, S. and Kravitz,L. (n.d.). The Science of Breathing.Retrieved from http://www.unm.edu/~lkravitz/Article%20folder/Breathing.html

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What are your thoughts? Share below-CBU student comments left within a week of the publication of this blog will be entered into a raffle for a CSHB external battery to keep your phone charged when you are on the go. Winners notified via email.

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By Dr. Joshua Fuller

As human beings we’ve developed the ability to imagine things that don’t exist or never could. We have the capacity to move ourselves to a cognitive representation of a differing place and time. This capacity to make mental simulations provides much of the bedrock for our accomplishments and the creation of modern as well as historic marvels. For instance, you can imagine eating a chocolate fudge popsicle while sitting on a bench, the hot sun beating down on your face and beads of sweat forming on your nose. You can imagine the freezing bone chilling wind that howls through the valleys in January as you walk home from school with your brown knit hat and goose-filled down jacket. Imagining these scenarios gives you the opportunity to prepare for them. You might anticipate the cold and pack your gloves in your bag so your hands won’t freeze, or you might imagine the heat from the sun on a cloudless hot summer day and decide to wear shorts instead of pants. The ability to create a representative world in the mind is quite possibly our greatest asset.

In addition to creating virtual cognitive worlds, we can simulate events. For example, when sitting at home watching your favorite TV show, you suddenly think about your homework and what your teacher would say tomorrow at school. You can simulate the conversation in your mind. She would ask, “Did everyone do their homework?” You look at the ground trying to be as invisible as possible hoping she forgets to check. Thinking of events like these, though they are considered unpleasant mind wanderings, motivates us to do our homework.

As it turns out, this is more pertinent to your happiness than what activities you engage in or many other happiness assessments. In a study by Matthew Killingsworth and Daniel Gilbert, participants reported their happiness, current activity, and if their mind was wandering. They pioneered a web application that allowed participants to report their immediate experience at the time of questioning via iPhone. The process by which data is collected from real-world emotional experience is called the experience sampling method (ESM). This type of data collection is quite valuable in that it reduces potential biases contained in other survey methods. The researchers asked at random times during the day how happy were participants, was their mind wandering, and what participants were doing. Based on the responses, the researchers found that unpleasant wanderings of the mind caused lower levels of happiness.In fact, to where the mind wandered effected happiness more than the activities that people were doing. In another text, Daniel Gilbert explains some of the rationale for why the mind wanders and why it is so helpful. It seems logical that mind wanderings and dreams as well frequent negative or unpleasant thoughts. When sitting in an airplane waiting to takeoff, we think of it crashing into the sea or an engine failing. Gilbert explains that this most likely evolved to combat negative events. If we think of the worst case scenario and it doesn’t happen, we feel good or at least relieved that we landed safely. These constant worst case scenarios that plague our minds mollify the impact of negative events but come at an emotional cost.Those that had wandering minds during an ESM experiment reported being much less happy than anyone else.

Perhaps being “in the moment” can have positive impact on our mental health. A multitude of research has demonstrated that specific activities can bring our attention to a focused present time frame. Activities like prayer, writing letters of gratitude, or journaling have been shown to increase mental health. These effects aren’t limited to just feeling happy. Practiced on a regular basis, these interventions can promote productivity, social relationships, and even help you live longer. If this sounds like something you would like more information on, I would encourage you to read The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor or The How of Happiness by Sonja Lyubomirsky.

References:

Killingsworth, M. A., & Gilbert, D. T. (2010). A Wandering Mind Is an Unhappy Mind.Science,330(6006), 932. doi:10.1126/science.1192439

Gilbert, D. (2006).Stumbling on happiness. New York, NY US: Alfred A. Knopf.

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What are your thoughts? Share below-CBU student comments left within a week of the publication of this blog will be entered into a raffle for a CSHB external battery to keep your phone charged when you are on the go. Winners notified via email.

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Dr. Fuller is an Industrial / Organizational Psychologist, graduating from Seoul National University in South Korea with a doctorate in social psychology. He specializes in organizational health / well-being and is an assistant professor of psychology at California Baptist University (CBU). In his role at CBU, he serves as the Director of the Organizational Health Lab in the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences and typically teaches courses in statistics, research methods, personnel recruitment and selection, social psychology, and I/O psychology. Beyond his work in education, his research has been disseminated in multiple countries at conferences and in journal publications. His research interests include psychological well-being, happiness, culture and cognition, and organizational development. https://joshfulleriop.wixsite.com/orghealth

By Dr. Kendra Flores-Carter

My life pre-motherhood was filled with “pure niceness.” Over the years, I built amazing high school and college friendships as well as fostered strong mentorships with outstanding individuals that genuinely cared about my well-being. Even though everything in life was good for me there was always the occasional encounter with people that just questioned my Black existence in their spaces. Often times the judgment came from people who didn’t look like me. Most often it was stares of disdain or silent whispers with rolling eyes. My mother worked very hard to instill confidence in me so I was rarely bothered by other people dismissal or disapproval of me as I grew into the woman I am today.

I do recall the first time I was called the “N word”by a patient I provided services to in a public setting. I wasn’t shocked because up until it happened I was waiting for that day to come.That was the day I could finally say someone actually blurted out loudly what others were thinking silently. I remember thinking to myself “Wow” I was finally called the “N” word in real life. Prior to this I was called it through looks of “disdain” and “why are you here” I wasn’t bothered by it and I went about my regular life but I now had the first-hand experience of being boldly discriminated against because of the color of my skin.

It wasn’t until I became a mother that people’s perception of me became a significant deal. I guess in some ways I now saw myself in my children. My children was me and I was them. So my experiences was now their experiences. Childbirth sharpened all my protective factors and heightened my defenses against discrimination and racism. This experience brings me to a very important topic in the healthcare community surrounding childbirth and Black women. The Center for Disease Control (2019)approximates that 700 new and expectant mothers die in the U.S. each year, and an additional 500,000 women experience life-threatening postpartum complications. More than half of these deaths and near deaths are from preventable causes, and a disproportionate number of the women suffering are black.Black women are three to four times more likely to die from a pregnancy related complication when compared to any other races.Additionally, in 2013, the infant mortality rate for non-Hispanic Black infants was more than twice the rate of non-Hispanic White infants, 5.06 deaths per 1,000 live births for White infants, and 11.11 deaths per 1,000 live births for Black infants (Matthews, MacDorman, & Thomas, 2015). According to Sudano & Baker (2006) maternal sociodemographic characteristics, physical health, and behavioral factors contribute to the disparity; however, these factors only partially account for the racial disparity in preterm birth. Racial disparities in birth outcomes in the United Stated are a significant public health issue.Furthermore, the preterm birth-related to infant mortality rate is three times higher among non-Hispanic Black women compared with non-Hispanic White women, 601 preterm-related deaths per 100,000 live births among Black women versus 179 preterm related deaths per 100,000 live births for White women (MacDorman, 2011).

Reflecting on these statistics I ask these questions: Are Black women and babies dying because of the color of their skin? Are Black women and infants dying because of racist healthcare providers? Are they dying because of systemic or institutional racism? To answer these questions it will help to understand that institutional or systematic racism refers to the policies and practices that contribute to structural barriers and the differential access to good, services, and opportunities by race (Jones, 2000).According to Williams & Mohammed(2013) racism and race-based health disparities for Black women contributes to differential quality of care or access to care within the health care system. Black women report experiences of racial discrimination and being treated differently by health care providers, clinic staff, and others during prenatal care (De Marco, Thorburn, & Zhao, 2008). Consequently,there is evidence to suggest an association between racism and the care Black women receives from healthcare providers. Clearly based on the research being a Black woman in the United States is tough. However, being a pregnant Black woman comes with some additional layers of discrimination, racism, and even death as a childbirth complication.

As a Black woman I can honestly say that I never in my life experience discrimination or racism until I migrated from Belize to the United States of America. Coming to the U.S. was a serious wake up call. Being born in Belize a land that accepted my existence from the moment of my birth. Surrounded by healthcare providers who supported my entire existence in the world and work diligently to see me succeed from birth. Giving birth for my mother was completely different when compared to my experience in the United States. As I look back at both of our child bearing and child birth experiences I realize just how much disparities exist for Black women in the U.S. when compared to Black women in other countries. Like many other Black women today in the United States my journey was filled with judgment, neglect, and lack of authentic empathy for the vulnerabilities of pregnancy and postpartum.Having the opportunity to see pregnancy and child birth experiences from a different perspective have definitely heighten my awareness of the differences faced by Black women as it relates to the healthcare services they receive in the United States. It’s definitely unfortunate that maternal and infant mortality continues to be a significant public health concern in the United States. While in 3rd world countries with significant lack technology and experts in maternal fetal medicine manages to have lower maternal and infant mortality rates across all sectors of the population. It’s certainly important for healthcare systems to begin to look into the systemic issues related to racism within their institutions. This is truly the only way to improve child birthing outcomes. The goal should be to help all women have equity in the experiences that surrounds pregnancy and childbirth. The only way this could be achieve is for healthcare organizations to take an honest look at the quality of care being provided to people of color and hold healthcare providers accountable for discrimination and racist practices and behaviors towards consumers. In the future I hope to see some improvements in the statistics related to maternal and infant mortality.

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What do you think? Share your thoughts below. CBU student comments left within a week of the initial posting of this blog will be entered into a raffle for a CSHB external battery to keep your phone charged when you are on the go. Winners notified via email.

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Lab Link 

Maternal Health Lab :: Labs :: Center for the Study of Human Behavior :: College of Behavioral and Social Sciences :: California Baptist University 

CBU > College of Behavioral and Social Sciences > Center for the Study of Human Behavior > Labs > Maternal Health Lab Maternal Health Lab. The research conducted in this lab focuses on maternal child health and maternal mental health, particularly among racial and ethnic minority women.

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