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Papers by Scott Rogers

Richmond Journal of Law and the Public Interest, 2016

The legal profession is embracing mindfulness—an avenue of personal and professional growth and d... more The legal profession is embracing mindfulness—an avenue of personal and professional growth and development. In so doing, lawyers, law students, judges, law faculty, and other members of the legal profession are reporting meaningful changes to their health and wellbeing, the quality of their social relationships, and their effectiveness and productivity at school and work. These reports corroborate the experience of a great many mindfulness practitioners and is consistent with medical and neuro-scientific research exploring the cognitive, physical, and emotional benefits associated with mindfulness practice. While mindfulness is often discussed in the context of feeling less stressed and being better able to focus, the mindfulness practice (and living a mindful life) is not really aimed at these changes—or any change, for that matter. Mindfulness is about much more—it’s about relating more effectively to challenging situations without needing people and circumstances to change in or...

OF MINDFULNESS 487 (Amanda Ie et al. eds., 2014); Many of these events were in conjunction with t... more OF MINDFULNESS 487 (Amanda Ie et al. eds., 2014); Many of these events were in conjunction with the Center for Contemplative Mind in Society and the Florida and Arizona state bar associations.

Mary E. Mckay, DNP, ARNP, CNE School of Nursing and Health Studies, University of Miami School of... more Mary E. Mckay, DNP, ARNP, CNE School of Nursing and Health Studies, University of Miami School of Nursing and Health Studies, Coral Gables, FL Jill Steiner Sanko, BA, BSN, RN, ARNP-BC, CHSE-A University of Miami School of Nursing and Health Studies, University of Miami School of Nursing and Health Studies, Coral Gables, FL Scott Rogers, JD, MS, BS, . School of Law, University of Miami School of Law, Coral Gables, FL

New research reveals that re ghters and military personnel who participated in mindfulness traini... more New research reveals that re ghters and military personnel who participated in mindfulness training programs tailored to their professions experienced improved attention and resilience. These improvements can better equip these professionals to manage stressors on the frontlines of their high-demand occupations, say University of Miami researchers. Recognizing the similarities faced by rst responders and active-duty military service personnel in high-stress, high-demand environments, Amishi Jha, a cognitive neuroscientist and associate professor of psychology in the University's College of Arts and Sciences, built upon previous research utilizing Mindfulness-based Attention Training (MBAT).

At the same time that the legal profession is experiencing great upheaval, mindfulness is being e... more At the same time that the legal profession is experiencing great upheaval, mindfulness is being embraced as an important vehicle for assisting both the individual and the larger collective in responding to the many challenges posed by a rapidly changing world. A secular practice with roots reaching back thousands of years, mindfulness is commonly regarded as a tool for reducing stress, achieving greater focus and concentration, and working with anxiety, depression, substance abuse, pain, and a host of other physical and emotional challenges. Whereas five years ago there was little mention of mindfulness in the law, today it is a widely recognized term. Furthermore, a growing number of law schools are offering mindfulness programs, legal conferences are organizing mindfulness presentations and workshops, and legal organizations are introducing mindfulness to their members. “Mindful Ethics,” an approach that we developed for integrating mindfulness and professional responsibility, is ...

Military Medicine

Introduction Mental skills such as focusing attention and managing emotions are essential for opt... more Introduction Mental skills such as focusing attention and managing emotions are essential for optimal performance in high-stress occupations. Studies with military samples have demonstrated that mindfulness training (MT) led to improved computer-based cognitive performance. Materials and Methods To examine the impact of MT on operational performance, mental skills, and psychological health, a short-form program, Mindfulness-Based Attention Training (MBAT), was delivered to active duty soldiers as part of two randomized trials. Participants in study 1 (n = 121) and study 2 (n = 77) were randomized to one of three conditions: MT with proctored practice, MT with unproctored practice, or a waitlist control. Weekly 2-hour MBAT sessions were offered to participants in both MT conditions for 4 weeks. Beyond these sessions, participants also engaged in mindfulness practice that was proctored (within the occupational context) or unproctored (left up to the individual) for four subsequent wee...

Psychiatry Research

Motivated by the growing interest in promoting resilience in first responders and other professio... more Motivated by the growing interest in promoting resilience in first responders and other professionals who face threatening professional circumstances, the current study investigated the effectiveness of offering a short-form mindfulness training (MT) program to firefighters. The overarching question was to determine if psychological and cognitive markers of resilience are bolstered via MT. Firefighters (n = 121) were assigned to an MT program (n = 42), an active-comparison relaxation training program (RT, n = 31), or served as no-training controls (NTC, n = 48). Both the MT and RT programs were contextualized for firefighters and consisted of 4, 2-h training sessions delivered over 4 weeks by the same expert trainer, as well as 10-15 min of daily out-of-class practice. Intent-to-treat analyses revealed a significantly greater increase in psychological resilience from baseline (T1) to post-training (T2) in firefighters who received MT vs. RT or no training. In addition, positive affect and objective attentional task performance demonstrated a greater increase over time (from T1 to T2) with more days per week of out-of-class practice for the MT group but not for the RT group. These results suggest that MT moreso than RT bolsters markers of resilience in firefighters.

Mindfulness

Objectives Mindfulness training (MT) guidelines recommend that trainers have familiarity and know... more Objectives Mindfulness training (MT) guidelines recommend that trainers have familiarity and knowledge of the training group as well as extensive MT expertise. Herein, a “train-the-trainer” (TTT) dissemination model was investigated for military service members whose access to MT is threatened by a scarcity of qualified trainers. Methods US Army Master Resilience Trainer-Performance Experts (PEs), who had extensive familiarity with soldiers but no prior MT experience, participated in an MT practicum, and then delivered a 4-week MT program (Mindfulness-Based Attention Training, MBAT) contextualized for military personnel. Soldiers (n = 180) undergoing intensive military field training over the study interval were recruited as participants. MBAT was delivered to soldiers by PEs (n = 89) or by a trainer with extensive MT experience (Mindfulness Expert; ME, n = 45) but no military familiarity. The remaining participants served as no-training controls (NTC, n = 46). Soldiers’ performance...

Current Opinion in Psychology

There has been a proliferation of mindfulness training (MT) programs offered across a multitude o... more There has been a proliferation of mindfulness training (MT) programs offered across a multitude of settings, including military, business, sports, education, and medicine. As such, ascertaining training effectiveness and determining best practices for program delivery are of the utmost importance. MT is often introduced to promote an array of desired effects from better mood, better leadership and management skills, to improved workplace or academic performance. Despite the diversity of factors motivating adoption of MTs, it can be argued from a cognitive training perspective that there should be uniformity in the core cognitive processes strengthened via repeated and systematic engagement in MT exercises. Herein, we explore the hypothesis that MT promotes salutary changes in the brain's working memory (WM) system. We review prior research and highlight aspects of MT programs that may be critical for achieving beneficial WM effects. Further, we suggest that given the centrality of WM in core processes such as emotion regulation, problem solving, and learning, MT programs capable of achieving WM benefits may be best positioned to promote other desired outcomes (e.g. reductions in negative mood). For these reasons, we recommend that more studies include WM metrics in their evaluation of MT programs.

Progress in Brain Research

Cognitive ability is a key selection criterion for entry into many elite professions. Herein, we ... more Cognitive ability is a key selection criterion for entry into many elite professions. Herein, we investigate whether mindfulness training (MT) can enhance cognitive performance in elite military forces. The cognitive effects of a short-form 8-h MT program contextualized for military cohorts, referred to as Mindfulness-Based Attention Training (MBAT), were assessed. Servicemembers received either a 2-week (n ¼ 40) or 4-week (n ¼ 36) version of MBAT or no training (NTC, n ¼ 44). Sustained attention and working memory task performance along with self-reported cognitive failures were assessed at study onset (T1) and 8-weeks later (T2). In contrast to both the NTC and 2-week MT groups, the 4-week MT group significantly improved over time on attention and working memory outcome measures. Among the 4-week more so than the 2-week MBAT participants, working memory performance improvements were correlated with their amount of out-of-class MT practice. In addition to these group-wise effects, all participants receiving MBAT decreased in their self-reported cognitive failures from T1 to T2. Importantly, none of these improvements were related to self-reported task motivation. Together, these results suggest that short-form MT, when delivered over a 4-week delivery schedule, may be an effective cognitive training tool in elite military cohorts.

Journal of Cognitive Enhancement, 2017

We investigated the impact of short-form mindfulness training (MT) vs. relaxation training (RT) p... more We investigated the impact of short-form mindfulness training (MT) vs. relaxation training (RT) programs on sustained attention and emotional well-being in college football players (N = 100) during their high-demand pre-season training interval. Participants received 4 weeks of MT (n = 56) or RT (n = 44) and completed the Sustained Attention to Response Task (SART) and questionnaires assessing emotional well-being before and after the training period. Sustained attention was assessed via SART outcomes indexing performance (A′), reaction time variability (intraindividual coefficient of variation (ICV)), and selfreported mind wandering and meta-awareness (Probe 1, Probe 2), while emotional well-being was assessed via the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS), the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (State; STAI-S), and the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression (CES-D) scale. Overall, behavioral measures of sustained attention (A′, ICV) and self-report measures of emotional well-being (PANAS Positive, STAI-S, CES-D) declined during the training interval, suggesting that this was a highdemand interval with cognitive and emotional consequences. Further, while group effects comparing training programs were non-significant, greater engagement (i.e., practice and adherence) in MT, but not RT, predicted greater benefits, akin to protectionfrom-decline, on SART behavioral indices (A′, ICV). Greater engagement in both MT and RT predicted negative change in anxiety and positive change in positive affect over the highdemand interval. These results suggest that, similar to physical training, athletes must sufficiently engage in MT and RT to experience the distinct and overlapping benefits these programs offer over cognitively and emotionally demanding intervals, such as pre-season athletic training.

Touro Law Review, 2012

are recognizing their crucial role in providing students with services that help them relate more... more are recognizing their crucial role in providing students with services that help them relate more effectively to the high stress conditions in which they study, and that they will encounter as practitioners. 3 Importantly, while mindfulness is often regarded as a method of stress reduction; it is, in fact, a practice rooted in the concentration of attention, the skillful treatment of agitated emotions, and the cultivation of compassion, all of which are fundamental skills for the study and practice of law. While the introduction of mindfulness to legal education is not new, and its history can be traced back more than a decade, 4 exciting changes are taking place as traditional programs that introduce students to mindfulness, as well innovative courses that integrate mindfulness into the curriculum, are emerging on law school campuses. 5 Alongside these changes, a growing number of student groups are being formed that create a space for students to meet and share mindfulness insights and experiential practices. 6 This article explores how the University of Miami School of Law ("Miami Law") is integrating mindfulness into its curriculum and infusing it across the law school community. 7 Miami Law's cre-SOLUTION: A MINDFULNESS PRIMER FOR LAWYERS (2009). 3 The American Bar Association is changing its accreditation standards for law schools, calling on legal education to place more emphasis on each student's professional formation.

Western New England Law Review, 1998

Aristotle spoke of virtue and ethics as a combination of practical wisdom and habituation-an indi... more Aristotle spoke of virtue and ethics as a combination of practical wisdom and habituation-an individual must learn from the application of critical reasoning skills to experience. Perhaps one of the earliest proclamations of the value of experiential learning, the Aristotelian view, reappears throughout history and is captured once again by the Carnegie Foundation's Report on Legal Education, which includes a call for instruction that provides practical skills and ethical grounding to complement the teaching of legal analysis. The Carnegie Report continues to play a role in the ongoing discussion of the need to reform legal education; a debate that is currently driven by market demand and a legal profession in the midst of dramatic realignment. This debate has given rise to suggestions for reform in the areas of legal ethics and professional identity that are supported by reference to theories of moral psychology, cognitive psychology, and various innovative educational strategies. Mindful Ethics is an innovative approach to teaching legal ethics; the short-term goal is to better prepare law students to deal with the reality of practice, to assist in the development of their professional identity, and to provide lawyers with additional tools for responding to the ethical challenges inherent in the practice of law. The longterm, overarching goal is to impact the manner in which the legal profession functions and plays its critical role in society as protectorate of the rule of law. This Article will discuss the methodology by which Mindful Ethics integrates professional responsibility and mindfulness such that lawyers and law students gain a broader insight into their own ethical decision-making. It will also explore recent neuroscience findings concerning the influences of mindfulness II. Aristotle's Ethics: Practical Wisdom for Legal Education?.

W. New Eng. L. Rev., 1998

WHEN PRINCIPLED REPRESENTATION TESTS ANTIDISCRIMINATION LAW Terri R. Day* Scott L. Rogers** In th... more WHEN PRINCIPLED REPRESENTATION TESTS ANTIDISCRIMINATION LAW Terri R. Day* Scott L. Rogers** In this life we prepare for things, for ... client selection decisions are to be regulated by the Massachusetts public accom-modation law.3 Ms. Nathanson, an attorney ...

Mindfulness-Based Treatment Approaches, 2014