Santa Clara University

Shauna Shapiro Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Counseling Psychology

Shauna L. Shapiro, Ph.D. is a Associate Professor of counseling psychology at Santa Clara University, and previously served as adjunct faculty for Andrew Weil’s Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona. Dr. Shapiro’s research focuses on mindfulness meditation and its applications to psychotherapy and health care. She began her study of psychology and meditation at Duke University, graduating summa cum laude, and received her doctorate in clinical psychology from the University of Arizona.

Dr. Shapiro pursued her study of meditation in Thailand and Nepal, as well as in the West, training in mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT).

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Dr. Shapiro has conducted extensive clinical research investigating the effects of mindfulness-based therapies across a wide range of populations, and published over 50 book chapters and peer-reviewed journal articles. She is the recipient of the American Council of Learned Societies teaching award, acknowledging her outstanding contributions to graduate education in the area of mindfulness and psychotherapy. Dr. Shapiro lectures and leads mindfulness training programs nationally and internationally for health professionals on the growing applications of mindfulness in psychology and health care. Dr. Shapiro co-authored, The Art and Science of Mindfulness, with Dr. Linda Carlson, which will be published by American Psychology Books in June, 2009.

Doctor Shapiro on her current interests:

My research over the past decade has focused on mindfulness, an ancient Buddhist practice, which has been integrated into western psychology as a universally and culturally applicable intervention. Mindfulness is defined as the awareness that arises out of intentionally paying attention in an open, caring, and non-judgmental way. Hundreds of empirical studies demonstrate the beneficial effects of mindfulness meditation in treating depression, anxiety, chronic pain, insomnia, substance abuse, heart disease, eating disorders and cancer. However, my current research interests expand upon the focus of reducing negative symptoms, and additionally explore the positive effects of mindfulness, which include enhancing psychological qualities such as compassion, empathy, and spirituality. I would like to see the paradigm for research in meditation, and psychology in general, broaden to include a vision of optimal health, encompassing a more holistic, systemic approach to health. My intention is to conduct rigorous empirical research that moves toward this paradigm shift by exploring the positive effects of mindfulness across diverse populations, including parenting and education. I am also interested in exploring the precise mechanisms of action involved in mindfulness practice, determining mediators through which the transformational changes occur.