Amit Bernstein
About the keynote
More than 71 million refugees – forcibly displaced by conflict, persecution and other forms of human brutality – face a global crisis of trauma, loss, injustice, despair, and uncertainty. In this lecture, I will explore how the contemplative science community may work to promote social justice and human rights for refugees.
I will share the story of my group’s efforts to ally with, study and care for the E. African refugee community in Israel. I will focus on the development and study Mindfulness-Based Trauma Recovery for Refugees (MBTR-R) – a 9-session mindfulness and compassion intervention that is trauma-sensitive and socio-culturally-adapted for refugees.
I will thereby reflect on the transformative potential of mindfulness and compassion training to help refugees cultivate moments of inner refuge and safety, and ultimately, a process of recovery and healing.
About the speaker
Amit Bernstein, PhD, is a Professor of Psychology, Director of the Observing Minds Lab at the University of Haifa, and member of the Israel Young Academy.
Amit is interested in how wellbeing and suffering are impacted by the ways in which we process, experience and respond to our internal states, and thereby, how mindfulness and mental training may be used therapeutically.
His team is currently studying the nature and function of attention in mental health, the salutary and curative properties and mechanisms of mindfulness, and the therapeutic translation of this work to care for vulnerable refugee populations. In his most important and rewarding job, he is Yonatan’s, Noga’s and Mia’s father.