Mindfulness-Based Anti-Oppression - Dr. Seonaigh MacPherson

Taking place as part of BPM330: "Mindfulness-Informed Interventions for Mental Health" taught by Rose Mina Munjee at the University of Toronto, the "Diverse Perspectives on Mindfulness" speaker series brought together scholars whose work integrates diverse disciplines, traditional and ancient approaches, a wide range of applications, and fosters culturally sensitive and trauma-informed mental health and wellbeing in mindfulness-informed applications. The series explored ways of incorporating mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) into biomedical mental health approaches from professional, societal, and personal perspectives.

Dr. Seonaigh MacPherson received her Ph.D. from UBC in 2000 for an ethnographic study of a Tibetan monastic education, A Path of Learning: Indo-Tibetan Buddhism as Education. Seonaigh is a full professor and coordinator of the Graduate Certificate in Mindfulness-Based Teaching and Learning (MBTL) at the University of the Fraser Valley in BC. She also has an upcoming co-authored book with Dr. Pat Rockman: Mindfulness-Based Teaching and Learning: Preparing Mindfulness Specialists for Education and Clinical Care, Routledge (early in 2023). She has published widely, including a book with Routledge (2011) on Education and Sustainability: Learning Across the Diaspora, Indigenous, and Minority Education Divide. Mindfulness Studies: Seonaigh began practicing meditation over 40 years ago, which led to travels and sojourns in Sri Lanka and India. She has studied with leading meditation teachers, including with HH the Dalai Lama, Ven. Tara Tulku, and Jon Kabat-Zinn. She has taught Buddhism at the University of Alberta and, more recently, introduced undergraduate courses in mindfulness and wellbeing at UFV.