2011 - 2012 Certificate Program in
Mindfulness and Psychotherapy
offered by
The Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy
and
The Barre Center for Budhist Studies
Thursday Evenings
September 2011 through May 2012
BACKGROUND
Over the past decade, mindfulness, the cultivation of intentional, present-focused awareness, has emerged as a significant influence on contemporary psychotherapy. Grounded in the 2500 year-old tradition of Buddhist meditation and psychology, mindfulness is a key component in a wide variety of empirically validated interventions, including Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and Dialectical Behavior Therapy. Neuroscientists are mapping how mindfulness training can change the brain, and scholars are taking a fresh look at the nature of “self,” emotion regulation, compassion, wisdom, and the far reaches of human potential. The principles of mindfulness offer a compelling, new understanding of how psychological problems are created and alleviated.
Mindfulness is a core healing process in psychotherapy. It can be used to strengthen the therapy relationship and to enhance the lives of patients and clients through the formal or informal practice of mindfulness meditation. Clinicians who practice mindfulness meditation may reap the rewards of more sustained interpersonal connection and enjoyment of the therapy process.
PROGRAM OVERVIEW
Responding to the growing interest of psychotherapists of all theoretical orientations, this nine-month program will comprehensively explore the integration of mindfulness and psychotherapy. We will examine the application of mindfulness to a wide range of clinical populations and conditions, will compare and contrast Western and Buddhist perspectives on health and healing, and will practice meditation together. The clinical and academic material will be studied in a manner that embodies the qualities of mindfulness, suffusing the inquiry with awareness, insight, and compassion for self and others, engaging both mind and heart.
In all, students will receive over 120 hours of classroom-based faculty contact, 8 days of retreat-based meditation practice instruction, small group case consultation, and individual meditation consultation. Those completing the course will receive continuing education credit and a certificate from the Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy.
CURRICULUM
The course will emphasize three dimensions of the learning process: study, practice (clinical and meditation), and a learning community.
Class topics from last year include:
- Historical overview of mindfulness in psychotherapy
- Essentials of Buddhist psychology
- Models of illness, models of cure
- The neuroscience of meditation and mindfulness
- Clinical research on mindfulness: Methods and outcomes
- Mindfulness as training for the psychotherapist
- The art and science of mindful self-compassion
- Transforming Trauma with Compassion & Wisdom: A Path toward Post-traumatic Growth, Resilience & Flourishing
- Depression: Finding a way in, finding a way out
- Mindfulness and the addictions
- Psychophysiological disorders: Beyond symptom management
- Mindfulness and the psychotic ordeal
- Overcoming disordered eating through mindful awareness
- Integrating mindfulness into medical practice
- Child’s Mind: Integrating mindfulness into work with children, teens, and developing minds
Mindfulness and Couples Treatment - Psychotherapy as relational mindfulness practice
- Good behavior: Implications for psychotherapy
- Meditation and transference in mindfulness-oriented psychotherapy
- “Self” and “ego” in Buddhist and Western psychology
- Integrating positive psychology into mindfulness-based practice
A workbook of selected readings on mindfulness and psychotherapy will be provided. Enrollees are encouraged to select a topic of special interest and develop a theoretical, clinical, or research project throughout the certificate program that might lead to a professional publication. Group case consultation will be provided to program participants.
Participants will be expected to commit themselves to daily meditation practice for the duration of the course. This is essential to understand how mindfulness works and to apply it creatively in psychotherapy. To support this commitment, ongoing instruction and practice in meditation will be offered in each class, and periodic consultation with experienced meditation teachers will be available. Most course instructors have had decades of both meditation and clinical experience, and all possess significant expertise in their area of application.
SCHEDULE
The program will consist of:
- weekly, three-hour seminars from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM on Thursday evenings from September, 2011 through May, 2012,
- a five-day intensive residential program at the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies in Barre, MA from September 20-25, 2011,
- and an additional three-day residential retreat at the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies in Barre, MA from April 26-29, 2012.
The cost of the seminars and residential retreats is included in course tuition.
LOCATION
- Weekly seminars will meet at a location near Cambridge, on public transportation, with ample parking.
- The September five-day and April three-day intensive retreats will be held at the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies, 149 Lockwood Rd., Barre, MA, approximately 90 minutes west of Boston.
- Space permitting, a limited number of remote learners will be admitted to the program. These individuals will be able to participate in all classes in real time over the internet, but will be expected to attend the two residential retreats in Massachusetts.
WHO SHOULD ATTEND
Psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, psychiatric nurses, licensed mental health counselors, and marriage and family therapists are invited to apply to the program. In recent years other professionals have enrolled, and will be considered on a case by case basis. Preference will be given to mental health professionals who are well established in their clinical practice, who have had at least some exposure to mindfulness meditation, and who wish to deepen their understanding of mindfulness and its clinical applications. Course size will be limited to 25 students.
Here’s some unsolicited feedback from course graduates:
This has been such an important experience for me … the combination of the source material, the commitment to and support for meditation and the wonderful connections in the group has had an enormously positive on both my life and my work. Introducing aspects of mindfulness into my clinical work has begun to add a new energy and another dimension to the therapy.
Barbara Furstenberg, PsyD
[This] has been transformative for me personally and professionally—what a fabulous sangha it’s been and a tantalizing intellectual journey as well.
Laura Warren, MD
Every wish I had for developing a sangha, a community of therapists of “like mind” and an increased knowledge of applying mindfulness to my work in multiple ways has been fulfilled … I feel it is invaluable in many ways.
Barbara Van Zoeren, LICSW
When I signed up for the class, it was done to help me bring mindfulness into my work. As it turns out, something that I had not expected has happened—I have brought meditation and mindfulness into my own life in a way that has become so important and valuable to me, and has had a deep impact on my life.
Jeanne Mahoney, MSW
Without even knowing I found precisely what I needed. The incredible classes, exciting speakers, relaxing retreats, new friends … all made this year simply unforgettable.
Hila Brukman Tuksar, Art Therapist
It is hard to verbalize the surprisingly profound impact this experience (so much more than a course) has had on me. It has been so complete—spiritually, emotionally, professionally and intellectually.
Amanda Peacock, LCSW
ABOUT THE INSTITUTE FOR MEDITATION AND PSYCHOTHERAPY (IMP)
IMP is a non-profit educational organization dedicated to promoting dialogue and teaching mental health professionals how to integrate the principles and practices of Buddhist psychology into psychotherapy. It began over 25 years ago as a study group consisting of psychotherapists with long-term meditation and clinical practices. Details of other CE programs can be found under the Programs listing page.
PROGRAM FEES
This program’s fees are tiered, allowing you to pay according to your means.
Program fee: $3,900
Benefactor fee: $4,300
Scholarship fee: $3,500
- Those registering at the benefactor rate will be able to count the cost above the basic program fee as a tax deduction.
- Those requesting the scholarship rate must complete the brief additional item on the program application.
- A non-refundable deposit of $500 is due upon notification of acceptance.
- The remaining balance is due no later than August 15, one month prior to the start of the program.
CANCELLATION & REFUND POLICY
The deposit is non-refundable. Refunds of the balance of tuition cannot be granted once the program begins.
ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS
- Preference will be given to licensed mental health practitioners, ideally in active professional practice, and secondarily, to experienced mindfulness practitioners still in professional training.
- This course involves a strong experiential component in the form of developing and continuing a daily personal mindfulness practice. Applicants should have enough personal experience of mindfulness (or a closely related practice) to enable them to make an informed decision before committing to the course.
- Applicants will be screened for admission by the Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy.
APPLICATION PROCESS
Applications are still being accepted.
Completed applications should be mailed to:
Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy
Certificate Program
35 Pleasant Street
Newton Center, MA 02459
Or email with “Certificate Application” in the subject line to:
mailto:mail@meditationandpsychotherapy.org
Please attach the application;
do not cut and paste the application into the body of the email.
DOWNLOAD APPLICATION
Click here for MS Word format 
Click here for PDF format 
FACULTY in current and previous programs (subject to change without notice)
Paul R. Fulton, EdD, Course Director. Founding board member and former President, Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy; former Director of Mental Health, Tufts Health Plan; Private Practice, Newton; Co-Editor: Mindfulness and Psychotherapy.
Gloria Taraniya Ambrosia, meditation instructor at the Insight Meditation Society, Barre Center for Buddhist Studies, and elsewhere.
Christopher Bullock, MD, Attending Physician and Co-Director, Division of Integrative Therapies, Cambridge Health Alliance; Faculty, Harvard Medical School and Boston Psychoanalytic Society and Institute.
Hugh Byrne, PhD, meditation instructor with Insight Meditation Community of Washington and MBSR instructor.
Jack Engler, PhD, Clinical Instructor in Psychology, Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School at Cambridge Health Alliance; Founding Board Member, Insight Meditation Society, and Faculty and Founding Board Member, Barre Center for Buddhist Studies, Barre; Private Practice, Cambridge; Co-Author: The Consumers Guide to Psychotherapy; Transformations of consciousness: Conventional and Contemplative Perspectives on Development; Contributing Author: Psychoanalysis and Buddhism; Buddhism and Psychotherapy across Cultures.
Christopher K. Germer, PhD, Clinical Instructor in Psychology, Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School at Cambridge Health Alliance; Director of Continuing Education, and Faculty, Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy; Private Practice and Supervision, Arlington; Co-Editor: Mindfulness and Psychotherapy.
Trudy Goodman, EdM, LMFT, is the co-founder and Guiding Teacher of the Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy and the founder of InsightLA.
Jack Kornfield, PhD, Co-Founder IMS and Spirit Rock. He holds a Ph.D. in clinical psychology and is a husband, father, activist and author of A Lamp in the Darkness, Wise Heart, A Path with Heart, and After the Ecstacy, The Laundry.
Sarah W. Lazar, PhD, Assistant in Psychology, Massachusetts General Hospital; Instructor in Psychology, Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School; Faculty and Board of Directors, Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy; Contributing Author; Mindfulness and Psychotherapy; Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Rehabilitation.
Nick Luchetti, MS, Senior Clinician, Windhorse Associates.
John Makransky, PhD, professor, Department of Theology, Boston College, author of Awakening through love: Unveiling Your Deepest Goodness.
Stephanie Morgan, PsyD, MSW, Faculty and Board of Directors: Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy; Contributing Author; Mindfulness and Psychotherapy; Private Practice, Manchester-by-the-Sea.
Andrew Olendzki, PhD, Executive Director, Barre Center for Buddhist Studies, Barre; Teacher at numerous colleges and universities; Contributing Author: Mindfulness and Psychotherapy.
Tom Pedulla, LICSW, Clinician, Program for Psychotherapy, Cambridge Health Alliance; Faculty and Board of Directors, Meditation and Psychotherapy; Board of Directors, Cambridge Insight Mediation Center; Private Practice, Arlington, MA.
Lawrence Peltz, MD, Medical Director, Bournewood-Caulfield partial hospitalization program, Woburn, MA. He has worked in the addiction field since 1985, Trained in Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction, and taught in the UMass Prison Project.
Susan Pollak, MTS, EdD, Clinical Instructor in Psychology, Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School at Cambridge Health Alliance; Faculty and Board of Directors: Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy; Co-Editor: The Cultural Transition; Contributing Author: Mapping the Moral Domain; Evocative Objects: Things we Think With; Private practice, Cambridge, MA.
Lizabeth Roemer, PhD, Associate Professor of Psychology, University of Massachusetts, Boston; Co-Editor: Acceptance and Mindfulness-Based Approaches to Anxiety: Conceptualization and Treatment; Practitioner’s Guide to Empirically Based Measures of Anxiety; Contributing Author: Mindfulness and Acceptance: Expanding the Cognitive Behavioral Tradition.
Alice Rosen, MSEd, LMHC, Director of Education for "Feeding Ourselves"; Co-founder of "Coming to our Senses About Food, Body and Power"; Psychotherapist and educator specializing in body awareness, and Internal Family Systems; Private practice, Concord, MA.
Deborah Rozelle, PsyD, Senior Fellow, Garrison Institute.
Zev Schuman-Olivier, MD, Research fellow, Mass General Hospital Center for Addiction Medicine.
Ronald D. Siegel, PsyD, is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychology at Harvard Medical School, where he has taught for over 25 years. He teaches internationally about mindfulness and psychotherapy and mind/body treatment, has worked for many years in community mental health with inner city children and families, and maintains a private clinical practice in Lincoln, Massachusetts. Dr. Siegel is coauthor of the self-treatment guide Back Sense: A Revolutionary Approach to Halting the Cycle of Chronic Back Pain, which integrates Western and Eastern approaches for treating chronic back pain; coeditor of Mindfulness and Psychotherapy, and author of a recent book for general audiences, The Mindfulness solution: Everyday Practices for Everyday Problems.
Claire Stanley, PhD, has been a student of Buddhist meditation since 1986. She is the guiding teacher of the Vermont Insight Meditation Center. As an educator, she teaches the integration of mindfulness practices in professional contexts at the Center for Mindful Inquiry, Antioch University New England, and Union Institute and University.
Charles Styron, PsyD, Consulting Psychologist, Caritas Norwood Hospital, Norwood; Faculty and Board of Directors, Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy; Contributing Author: Mindfulness and Psychotherapy. Private Practice, Watertown, MA.
Janet Surrey, PhD, Founding Scholar, Jean Baker Miller Training Institute, Wellesley Centers for Women, Wellesley College; Faculty and Board of Directors: Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy; Contributing Author: Mindfulness and Psychotherapy; Women’s Growth in Diversity; Co-Author: Women’s Growth in Connection; Mothering Against the Odds: Diverse Voices of Contemporary Mothers; We Have to Talk: Healing Dialogues Between Women and Men; Playwright: Bill W and Dr. Bob.
David C. Treadway, PhD, Director, Treadway Training Institute and Private Practice, Weston; National Workshop Leader and Trainer; Author: Before It’s Too Late: Working with Substance Abuse in the Family; Dead Reckoning: A Therapist Confronts His Own Grief; Intimacy, Change and Other Therapeutic Mysteries: Stories of Clinicians and Clients.
Lila Kate Wheeler, editor, Nixon Under the Bodhi Tree and Other Works of Buddhist Fiction.
Christopher Willard, PsyD, author, Child’s Mind: How Mindfulness Can Help our Children be More Focused, Calm & Relaxed.
REQUIREMENTS FOR CONTINUING EDUCATION CREDIT
60 Continuing Education Hours will be granted to those attending a minimum of 80% of the course offerings.
Psychologists: The Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. The Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy maintains responsibility for this program and its content. This course offers 60 hours of credit for the full course.
Social Workers: This program is designed to meet the specifications of the Board of Registration for Social Workers (258 CMR 31.00) and an application is pending approval by the Collaborative of NASW and the Boston College and Simmons College Schools of Social Work to offer CE credit.
Nurses: This course meets the specifications of the Board of Registration in Nursing (244 CMR) for 60 Contact Hours.
Licensed Mental Health Counselors: IMP is recognized by the National Board for Certified Counselors to offer continuing education for National Certified Counselors. We adhere to NBCC Continuing Education Guidelines. This course is approved for 60 contact hours, Provider #6048, and is applicable for Commonwealth of Massachusetts Counseling/Allied Mental Health and PDP accreditation.
Licensed Marital and Family Therapists: Application has been made for certification by the Associations(s) for Marital and Family Therapy, Inc (MA) for 60 contact hours of professional continuing education.
REQUIREMENTS FOR CERTIFICATE IN MINDFULNESS & PSYCHOTHERAPY
A Certificate of completion will be granted to those who; 1) attend at least 80% of the classes, and; 2) demonstrate experiential, conceptual, and practical understanding of mindfulness and its application to behavioral treatment. As much of the learning takes place in one’s own mindfulness practice, personal practice of mindfulness meditation is regarded as a component of the course, and is essential for certification.
REQUIRED READING
Germer, C., Siegel, R., & Fulton, P. (Eds.) (2005). Mindfulness and Psychotherapy. New York: Guilford Press.
Additional readings will be provided at the beginning of the program.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Please contact:
Paul R. Fulton, EdD, Course Director
mail@meditationandpsychotherapy.org
35 Pleasant Street
Newton Center, MA 02459-1812
617-972-1070