Mind Ninja

Mind Ninja launches Mission Mindful for dental organisations and practices on 4th December

Dr Mahrukh Khwaja, dentist, Positive Psychologist (MAPP) and founder of Mind Ninja, has launched a new campaign called ‘Mission Mindful’ which aims to encourage dental professionals to make mental well-being and flourishing a priority at work.  Mission Mindful, which launches on 4th December, combines a package of resources including a mindfulness webinar, a 31-day mindfulness calendar and a new edition of the evidenced based Mind Flossing toolkit.

Mission Mindful aims to help those working in the dental sector to take an active approach to mental well-being, through integrating mindfulness when working and at home. Intervention research for healthcare professionals has demonstrated that mindfulness based programmes have led to a decrease in negative well-being markers like burnout, and increase in positive markers like positive emotions, resilience and quality of life.1  

Putting well-being into action

The Mission Mindful campaign addresses the problems of high stress, burnout, disengagement and low levels of happiness at work.  The resources are designed to have the greatest impact by building habits that stick, and comprise:

  • 1-hour live mindfulness/resilience webinar
  • 31-day digital mindfulness calendar featuring daily prompts to encourage ways to infuse mindfulness at work
  • Mind Flossing toolkits second edition: designed to help integrate mindfulness and well-being activities long after the webinar
  • Well-being blogs/social media posts

Mind Flossing toolkit second edition

Dr Khwaja’s second edition Mind Flossing Toolkit is a more interactive version of the first edition was launched in 2021 to much acclaim.  It is designed to increase positive emotions, positive thoughts and actions of the whole team. The second edition includes:

  • A practical deck of 60 cards covering 11 well-being categories, eg emotions and thoughts, self-compassion, journaling, gratitude, self-care.
  • 13 guided meditation audios which pair up with the cards, which include topics such as body scan, gratitude meditation and burnout recognition. Scan QR code on the card to listen.
  • Durable presentation box and redesign of edition 1 cards

The story behind Mind Ninja

Mind Ninja was founded by Dr Khwaja after her own bout of burnout and depression. ‘With nothing of its kind available in the dental industry, I envisioned a system of support that, just like daily flossing and brushing, takes a preventive maintenance approach to mental health. And with prevention in mind’.

Sharing evidence based strategies to improve mental health and resilience

Dr Khwaja, who is an expert in psychological well-being for dental professionals, listed by FMC as one of Dentistry’s Top 50 Dental professionals 2021-2023, created the first live well-being programmes, innovative workshops and written the first mental well-being book specifically for the profession, ‘Resilience and Well-being for Dental Professionals’ published by Wiley-Blackwell.  She has worked in with dental professionals facilitating webinars, workshops, podcasts and panels for NHS Health Education England, Colgate, Unilever, Dental Protection, Acteon, BDA, Wesleyan, and Association of Dental Implantology, to name a few.

In setting up Mind Ninja, Dr Khwaja’s vision was to increase the mental well-being of all dental professionals across the globe, by harnessing evidence-based mind tools which draw from Positive Psychology, neuroscience and mindfulness, and are delivered creatively in the form of workshops, programmes and products.

Her Mind Flossing toolkit was successfully received – with over 800 dental professionals benefiting from the toolkit, and organisations like NHS Health England (Midlands) adopting the toolkit as part of a resilience programme for their Foundation Dentists. Early industry partners included: Acteon, Practice Plan, NSK and mental health charity for dentists, Confidental.

Encouraging as many dental industry, organisations and teams to be involved

To spread the important message of the campaign: putting well-being into action, the 31-day mindfulness calendar will be available complimentary to all interested in sharing on socials and with their clients/employees. This calendar can also be repurposed and shared on the many well-being days.

To register your interest and discuss the ‘Mission Mindful’ campaign further over a call, email Dr Khwaja directly via her email, mahrukh@mind-ninja.co.uk. Please also see attached media kit sharing more details about the Mind Flossing toolkit.

References:

  1. Kaisti, I., Kulmala, P., Hintsanen, M. et al. The effects of mindfulness-based interventions in medical students: a systematic review. Adv in Health Sci Educ (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10459-023-10231-0
  2. Yogeswaran, V., El Morr, C. Effectiveness of online mindfulness interventions on medical students’ mental health: a systematic review. BMC Public Health 21, 2293 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-021-12341-z

More about Dr. Mahrukh Khwaja

Dr. Mahrukh Khwaja is a dentist, positive psychologist, accredited mindfulness teacher, and the founder of Mind Ninja, an award-winning wellness enterprise dedicated to improving mental health and resilience among the general public and healthcare professionals. With nothing of its kind currently available in the dental industry, she envisioned a system of support that, just like daily brushing and flossing, took a preventive maintenance approach to mental health. Drawing on the neuroscience of well-being, and positive psychology, she developed Mind Ninja as a solution that would help fellow dental professionals build mental resilience, foster connection and meaning, and thrive.

Mind Ninja’s comprehensive range of training, coaching, and wellness products, including the signature Mind Flossing Toolkit, have been implemented by a diverse range of organisations, including NHS Health England, Unilever, Colgate, King’s College London, Acteon, British Dental Association, and the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow. Dr. Khwaja has been named Top 50 in Dentistry three years in a row (2023, 2022, 2021) by FMC for her work on Mental Health in Dentistry. She is also the author of the book Resilience and Well-being for Dental Professionals, published by Wiley-Blackwell.

Real Good Dental enlists Mind Ninja to support employees with their mental health

The rise in mental health awareness is well reported within the dental profession. Despite this, little action is taken to help prepare dental students for such a high-pressure job and many report a lack of support whilst working in the dental practice.

Real Good Dental, however, is looking to support its workforce and recently hosted an event for its employees called Mental Health within Dentistry with Dr Mahrukh Khwaja, founder of Mind Ninja.

‘We’ve had a few conversations with dentists and dental nurses previously and they’ve said they have struggled with their mental health.’ Lizzy Holden, social media manager at Real Good Dental, said. ‘Many dentists suffer from burnout, it’s a risk much higher than any other profession. It’s a statistic we want to tackle.

‘Now we’re offering Real Good Dental team members gym memberships, access to mental wellbeing apps, discounts for various wellbeing support. So, we’re trying to tackle it in a few different ways.’

‘Mental wellbeing is really crucial’

The day gave attendees tools to better understand their mental health and recognise when to rest and focus on themselves. As well as giving them the tools to be more resilient to external forces.

With breakout sessions throughout the day, it gave delegates the opportunity to network, discuss their own experiences and help support each other.

‘I’m so grateful that Real Good Dental hosted today. I’m not aware of other practices or other owners that provide this level of support,’ Ushadevi Vijayakumar, dentist at University Dental Care Edinburgh, said.

‘But I’m so grateful that they’re working with this on this.

‘I was keen to learn new techniques and have a change and break from my usual routine. And there are practical things I will definitely take away from today and implement in the practice.’

If you are looking for help to achieve and maintain clinical excellence for patients, as well as access to a network of experts to support you at every turn, please visit www.realgooddental.com, email tom.corcoran@realgooddental.com or call 0131 374 7825 for further information.

Celebrate happiness at work with Mind Flossing cards from Mind Ninja

The Mind Flossing Toolkit officially launches today during International Week of Happiness at Work and Friendship Month and consists of a deck of cards to nurture greater well-being and resilience. 

The Happiness at Work manifesto states: ‘Let’s create a workplace to stimulate fun, appreciation, positive feedback, awesome challenges, trust, meaningful results and own responsibilities. Let us, as employees, employers, entrepreneurs, organisations, and especially as human beings, work together to make happiness at work the norm and not the exception.’

The cards themselves are a self-intervention toolkit drawing from the science of well-being – positive psychology. They are designed as a pocket-sized guide you can carry with you, to nudge you to take intentional well-being actions. Bite-size activities range from meditations and journaling to creative exercises that can be done with patients and at home.

In line with the Happiness at Work manifesto, the Toolkit offers the opportunity to explore well-being under the umbrella of mindfulness and self-compassion, including team resilience, gratitude, optimism, character strengths, values and meaning.

The benefits of using these cards include:

  • Increased self-awareness
  • Emotional literacy
  • Emotional regulation
  • More effective communication
  • Improved relationships
  • Better engagement at work.

The cards also address common negative thoughts such as imposter syndrome and perfectionism (the latter is a common trait amongst dental professionals and can lead to increased psychological distress).1

Speaking about the Mind Flossing Toolkit, creator of the cards, as well as a dentist and positive psychologist, Mahrukh Kawaja – AKA Mind Ninja – commented: ‘Over the years, it has been well established that working in dentistry is stressful, with a BDA survey very sadly revealing a high level of stress and burnout amongst a survey of more than 2,000 UK dentists, 17.6% of whom admitted they had seriously thought about suicide.’

Mahrukh continued: ‘Now, of course, there are added pressures in the post Covid era. If at all possible, we need to intervene before any of our colleagues reach crisis point and that is one of the reasons why I created this deck of cards. The cards are evidence-based, drawing together many psychological strands in an effective way. What’s more, the content of every card has been carefully chosen and curated with dental professionals in mind.

Mind Ninja is also delighted to have two industry partners for the launch of the Flossing Toolkit and thanks both Acteon and NSK for their support of the initiative, with both recognising the value of the cards to support the wellbeing of dental professionals through a larger order for their customers.

These lucky recipients will be among the first to learn how to create habits that stick, by unpacking the key takeaways from psychology and neuroscience, in no small part thanks to the engaging use of illustrations that depict the diverse community in dentistry.

Stancey Coughlan, commercial director at Aceton

Recognising the exceptional psychological value of the cards is partner Acteon, on whose behalf, commercial director, Stancey Coughlan, remarked: ‘At Acteon, we strive every day to support one another and our customers in our professional endeavours. When I heard about the Mind Flossing Toolkit, I knew it was something that dental care professionals would find invaluable, to boost well-being as an individual and as part of a team.

‘But I also recognise the importance of supporting dental professionals beyond Acteon’s sphere, which is why partnering with Mind Ninja made perfect sense for our business and our ethos. We couldn’t be happier to be at the start of this journey with Mind Ninja, offering an incredible opportunity to improve well-being across the UK.’

Alex Breitenbach, Managing Director of NSK UK

 

Commenting on NSK’s partnership with Mind Ninja, Alex Breitenbach, Managing Director of NSK UK Ltd, stated: ‘NSK UK is delighted to be working with the Mind Flossing Toolkit as we have a common aim to improve the life of dental care professionals and their patients.

‘Ikigai is a Japanese philosophy that helps people lead a happy healthy life and now NSK has taken this concept and developed a completely new approach to oral hygiene to help dental care professionals unlock their potential to excel in daily practice.’

Nigel Jones, Sales and Marketing Director, Practice Plan Group

Also offering invaluable support is partner Practice Plan. As Nigel Jones, Sales and Marketing Director, Practice Plan Group, said: ‘One of things I’m most proud about working at Practice Plan is the way we can help to transform the working life for many dentists and their teams, with many dentists citing the reason for change being to create a better work/life balance and a less stressful working environment for the entire team. The well-being of the whole practice team is paramount and so it was an easy answer when approached to support with the Mind Flossing Toolkit. A fantastic and very simple, but effective resource for practices and their teams to remember that their well-being really does matter.’

Indeed, Mind Ninja would love to see people supporting one another other, checking in on each other’s emotional well-being. So, in celebration of their friendship and to promote all round happiness at work, why not purchase the cards for a dental colleague or your whole team, to show how much you care?

For further information and to purchase the Mind Flossing Toolkit, please visit www.mind-ninja.co.uk/shop.

Reference:

  1. Collin V, O’Selmo E, Whitehead P. Stress, psychological distress, burnout and perfectionism in UK dental students. Br Dent J. 2020 Nov; 229(9): 605-614. doi: 10.1038/s41415-020-2281-4. Epub 2020 Nov 13. PMID: 33188344