Home > Staff & Locations > Staff Biographies

Donald McCown, MAMS, MSS, LSW

Staff Therapist, Paoli office
215-382-6680 ext. 4239

Don's approach to therapy is informed by the practice of mindfulness - paying attention to what is happening in the present moment in mind, body, and relationships, without judgment and with kindness. Whether with children, adolescents, adults, couples, or families, he works collaboratively to help clients identify and understand habitual patterns and to do something new. His particular interests include working with families with adolescent and adult children with developmental disabilities, where his unique position as the middle child between two developmentally disabled siblings adds "bred in the bone" understanding; anxiety and depression in artists and professionals, where his 25 years of experience as a creative executive in advertising provides an informed perspective; and mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) for high school and college students and professionals, where his expertise allows him to fine tune a curriculum for specific needs.

Don is a licensed social worker with a Master of Social Services degree from Bryn Mawr College and a Master of Applied Meditation Studies degree from the Won Institute of Graduate Studies.

He is trained in mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) — including professional training under the direction of Jon Kabat-Zinn, and completion of the most advanced levels of training offered through the Center for Mindfulness at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. He has further completed both a two-semester practicum and one-year internship with Thomas Jefferson University Hospital's MBSR program. Don teaches MBSR to patients and professionals at Jefferson, and is a Lecturer in the University's College of Health Professions. He has also been a member of the full time faculty of the Won Institute of Graduate Studies.

Don publishes and presents on mindfulness and its applications in health care and education. His publications include, Teaching Mindfulness: A practical guide for clinicians and educators (Springer); a chapter on "Mindfulness and Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction" in the Integrative Psychiatry volume of Andrew Weil's Library of Integrative Medicine (Oxford), and a chapter on "Mind-Body Thought and Practice in Early and Late America" in the Fourth Edition of Fundamentals of Complementary and Integrative Medicine (Saunders-Elsevier).

Don can be reached at 215-382-6680 ext. 4239.

Tip of the Week Article Written by Donald McCown, MAMS, MSS, LSW:

• Mindfulness and the Autism Spectrum