Conferences
Meditation and Psychotherapy: Helping Our Patients, Helping Ourselves
May 6-7, 2011. Boston Park Plaza Hotel, Boston, Massachusetts
Co-sponsored by Harvard Medical School/Cambridge Health Alliance.
This is the 5th annual Meditation and Psychotherapy conference, co- directed by Christopher Germer, Ron Siegel, and Judy Reiner Platt. The purpose is to explore the latest developments in the convergence of Buddhist psychology and the modern practice of psychotherapy. This year, we are pleased to host Howard Cutler, MD, co-author of The Art of Happiness (written with His Holiness the Dalai Lato ma), and prominent scholars, clinicians, and scientists in the field. This course is intended for health and mental health clinicians, researchers, educators, and others interested in the principles and practices of meditation.
14 CE’s are available to most health care professionals.
See Details.
Seminars and Workshops
Certificate Program in Mindfulness and Psychotherapy
September 2012 - May 2013
Co-sponsored with The Barre Center for Buddhist Studies.
Consisting of a five day-long residential program in a retreat-like setting, a three day-long residential meditation retreat, and weekly classes in the Boston area, this nine-month program will comprehensively explore the integration of mindfulness and psychotherapy. With the guidance of approximately 20 faculty comprised of specialists in their areas, 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. Those completing the course will receive continuing education credits and a certificate from the Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy.
See Details.
Buddhist Psychology Lecture Series: Conversations at the Edge
October 2010 - June 2011. Monday Evenings, 7:45 PM - 9:45 PM, Arlington, Massachusetts
Co-sponsored with The Arlington Center.
Returning for a sixth year, this monthly CE program is intended for psychotherapists who are interested in Buddhist psychology, meditation, or mindfulness. Each lecture will address theoretical and clinical issues at the interface of mindfulness and psychotherapy.
Topics will include: (1) bringing mindfulness techniques to couples work, (2) mindfulness-based treatment of anxiety, (3) helping clients move mindfully from resentment to forgiveness, and (4) mindful aging.
These evenings offer an opportunity to gather with colleagues in an informal setting to discuss and explore the leading edges of Buddhist psychology and modern psychotherapy. Most lecturers are long-term meditation practitioners with specific areas of clinical expertise. Didactic presentations will be followed by Q & A and discussion, moderated by Tom Pedulla, LICSW.
2 CE’s are offered each evening to psychologists, social workers, nurses, LMFTs and LMHCs.
See Details.
Buddhist Psychology Film Series
October 2010 - May 2011. Saturday Evenings, 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM, Arlington, Massachusetts
Co-sponsored with The Arlington Center.
This monthly series offers the audience a lively and entertaining learning experience. The emotional challenges of everyday life, especially those found in relationships, will be brought vividly to life through the medium of film. Afterwards, a faculty member of the Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy will lead a discussion focused on how Buddhist psychology and mindfulness practice can illuminate and alleviate these different forms of suffering. Attendees will learn and understand core ideas of Buddhist psychology, such as clear seeing, interconnectedness, and self-compassion.
3 CE’s are offered each evening to psychologists, social workers, nurses, licensed marriage and family therapists, and licensed mental health counselors.
See Details.
The Power of Mindfulness: Inside & Outside The Therapy Hour
January 21-22, 2011. Seattle, Washington
February 3-4, 2011. Denver, Colorado
March 11-12, 2011. Portland, Oregon
Sponsored by the Institute for the Advancement of Human Behavior
With Ronald D. Siegel, PsyD
Day One: Mindfulness for Personal and Interpersonal Fulfillment is designed to help you to understand mindfulness practice theoretically and experientially and see how it can enrich and enliven your life both inside and outside of the therapy hour. We will explore how mindfulness practice can help us to deal with an ever-changing, uncertain world filled with complicated interpersonal relationships, and investigate the role of mindfulness in working with loneliness, alienation, illness and loss. You’ll gain insights from both scientific and Buddhist Psychology into paths and obstacles to greater well-being.
Day Two: Mindfulness-Based Clinical Interventions will focus on the integration of mindfulness practice into psychotherapy. First we'll examine how mindfulness practice can enhance therapeutic presence and transform understanding of the causes of psychological suffering. We will then discuss when and how to introduce various mindfulness techniques to our clients or patients. Special techniques for treating depression, anxiety, chronic pain, stress-related medical disorders and childhood distress will be introduced.
12 CE’s are offered to psychologists, social workers, nurses, licensed marriage and family therapists, and licensed mental health counselors.
See Details.
Psychotherapy as a Wisdom Tradition
March 25, 2011. Psychotherapy Networker Symposium, Washington DC
Daylong workshop with Christopher Germer, PhD
In this workshop, we’ll discuss the nature of wisdom and its different manifestations in different circumstances, including spiritual enlightenment, psychological acuity, self-knowledge, and emotional freedom. Using meditation, lecture, clinical vignettes, poetry, research, and discussion, we’ll explore wisdom as an active, ongoing life practice, focusing on how to cultivate the preconditions of genuine wisdom: openness, full presence, non-defensiveness, and compassion. We’ll discover how mindfulness and self-compassion can help us to cultivate healing relationships, prevent burnout, promote understanding and acceptance of ourselves and others, guide us through impenetrable situations, and, ultimately, show us how to “live well.”
CE’s are available to conference attendees.
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The Art of Mindful Listening
March 26, 2011. Psychotherapy Networker Symposium, Washington DC
Daylong workshop with Ronald D. Siegel, PsyD
Personal worries, unanswered phone messages, social plans, sleepiness, and other such distractions can make listening a challenge. In this workshop, we’ll explore mindfulness practices that’ll help you clear away the mental and emotional obstacles to full presence and engagement with your clients. You’ll learn how to use these practices to distinguish between personal conflicts and those of your clients, hold theoretical models and maps more lightly, and successfully surf waves of threatening emotion in sessions. By the workshop’s end, you’ll know how to use mindful awareness to focus on the causes of suffering beneath symptoms of anxiety, depression, substance abuse, and other disorders. You’ll also have a powerful ally to help you experience more moments of genuine psychological freedom and connection with your clients.
CE’s are available to conference attendees.
See Details.
Mindfulness for Pain Control
March 27, 2011. Psychotherapy Networker Symposium, Washington DC
Daylong workshop with Ronald D. Siegel, PsyD
According to new scientific evidence, the true cause of most chronic back, neck, and sciatic pain, isn’t damaged spinal discs or other structural problems, but a cycle of psychological stress, muscle tension, and avoidance of activity for fear of further “injury.” Mindfulness—awareness and acceptance of present experience—is a powerful tool for interrupting the cycles maintaining these conditions. This workshop will introduce the Back Sense program, a step-by-step, mind-body approach that integrates advances in rehabilitation medicine with psychodynamic, behavioral, and mindfulness-based techniques. You’ll learn how to use research evidence to help clients see that their pain isn’t due to structural damage or abnormalities and how to interrupt the cognitive, affective, and behavioral components of chronic pain cycles and free them from what might otherwise be continual, lifelong suffering. You’ll also learn ways to apply these techniques in the treatment of other common stress-related conditions.
CE’s are available to conference attendees.
See Details.
The Mindful Path to Self-Compassion
June 10-12, 2011. Kripalu Center, Stockbridge, Massachussets
Weekend workshop with Christopher Germer, PhD
What would happen if you were kind to yourself—at least as kind as you are to others—when you notice the ways you are less-than-perfect? How do you respond to life’ s problems—work pressure, illness, rejection? It’ s easy to become overwhelmed with emotion in tough situations and to start battling against what we’ re feeling—and against ourselves. What if you developed a new habit of comforting and soothing yourself instead?
This workshop will provide simple tools for responding in a kind and compassionate way whenever you suffer, fail, or feel inadequate. You will learn how to
• Stop being so hard on yourself
• Handle difficult emotions with greater ease
• Motivate yourself with kindness rather than criticism
• Transform your relationships, both old and new
• Use mindfulness and self-compassion exercises in everyday life.
This weekend is a condensed adaptation of the 8-week Mindful Self-Compassion training program developed by psychologists Christopher Germer and Kristin Neff. It is a weekend journey that will include meditation, talks, personal stories, research, and discussion. Special emphasis will be given to the art of loving-kindness (metta) meditation. All are welcome.
CE’ s available for mental health professionals.
See Details, or call 1-866-200-5203
Mindfulness: An Educational Retreat
June 27-July 1, 2011. New England Educational Institute, Cape Cod, Massachussets
Instructors: Ronald Siegel, PsyD and Christopher Germer, PhD
To incorporate mindfulness into our work and personal lives, we need an intellectual and an intuitive understanding of the practice. In this symposium, participants will develop a solid theoretical understanding of mindfulness from both the Buddhist and western scientific perspectives. Also, participants will receive instruction in mindfulness meditation and be given the opportunity for personal practice in a relaxed and supportive atmosphere.
Through lecture, demonstration, experiential exercise, and small group discussion, participants will examine how mindfulness practice can enhance therapeutic presence and transform their understanding of the causes of psychological suffering across the diagnostic spectrum. Participants will learn when and how to introduce various mindfulness techniques to their clients or patients. They will also learn to utilize special techniques for treating anxiety, chronic pain, stress-related medical disorders, and interpersonal conflicts and to develop creative ways to work with obstacles to mindfulness practice.
15 CE’s available to most health care professionals.
See Details.
This Very Moment: Mindfulness in Psychotherapy
August 22-24, 2011. Stockbridge, Massachussets
A three day residential workshop with Ronald Siegel, PsyD
This experiential workshop will explore the many ways that mindfulness practice can enrich psychotherapy, enliven interpersonal relationships, and contribute to personal well-being. Psychotherapists, human-service professionals, and other psychologically minded people interested in personal development are all welcome to attend. You will learn:
• How to practice mindfulness yourself—both inside and outside your work setting
• Guidelines for tailoring various mindfulness techniques to individuals
• A step-by-step, mindfulness-based program for working with anxiety, chronic pain, and stress-related medical disorders
• How to use mindfulness to augment cognitive behavioral, psychodynamic, and systemic treatments
• Ways to deal with the obstacles and challenges that arise when working with emotional difficulties in yourself and others
Details coming soon.
Compassion: From the Buddha to Psychotherapy
September 2-4, 2011. Barre Center for Buddhist Studies, Barre, Massachussets
Instructor: Christopher K. Germer, PhD
As Buddhist teachings and modern psychotherapy converge at an unprecedented rate, the notion of compassion is revolutionizing our understanding of the path to emotional freedom. Compassion may be understood as a quantifiable skill that allows us to handle and hold seemingly unbearable suffering. How was compassion articulated and embodied in early Buddhism and in later Mahayana perspectives? How do these interpretations play out in the practice of psychotherapy? And what are we learning about compassion from modern science, especially brain imaging and clinical research? BCBS scholars Andrew Olendzki or Mu Soeng will offer teachings on the classical Buddhist perspectives on compassion as part of the program. Participants will also learn practical tools for cultivating the skill of compassion toward oneself and others.
10 CE’s are available for mental health professionals. Please inquire with BCBS.
See Details.
Mindful Self-Compassion: Core Skills Training
October 2-7, 2011. Omega Institute, Rhinebeck, New York
Weeklong training with Christopher Germer, PhD and Kristin Neff, PhD
Self-compassion is a simple, yet remarkably elusive, state of mind. It entails being warm and understanding toward ourselves when we suffer, fail, or feel inadequate, rather than fighting our pain or flagellating ourselves with self-criticism. Self-compassion also means holding our difficulties in mindful awareness and feeling our essential humanness.
Self-compassion is a skill that can be learned by anyone. It’s the practice of evoking good will toward ourselves—the deepest desire of all living beings to live happily and free from suffering. And as the Dalai Lama says, self-compassion is the basis of compassion for others.
This workshop is a weeklong immersion in mindfulness and self-kindness, including meditation, research, theory, and plenty of discussion, supported by the beautiful Omega campus. Special emphasis will be given to the art of loving-kindness (metta) meditation. By the end of the course, therapists will be able to teach self-compassion skills to their clients, and to practice mindful self-compassion themselves to deepen their therapeutic presence, to enjoy clinical work more thoroughly, and for an overall sense of well-being.
See Details.
Online Courses
Mindfulness and Psychotherapy
January 31 - March 25, 2011
An 8-Week Interactive Online Continuing Education Course sponsored by the National Institute for the Clinical Application of Behavioral Medicine.
This intensive online course taught by Ronald Siegel, PsyD explores the use of mindfulness to enhance therapeutic relationships and enrich psychotherapy. Participants will learn to practice mindfulness themselves; to use mindfulness to work with loneliness, alienation, illness and loss; and to apply mindfulness to the treatment of depression, anxiety, chronic pain, and childhood distress.
There will be extensive opportunities for peer and teacher feedback regarding both personal and professional applications of mindfulness practices.
CE’s are offered to physicians (up to 24), psychologists (24), counselors/educators (24), nurses (26.4), social workers (24), and family therapists (24).
See Details.
Using Compassion and Self-Compassion to Facilitate Therapeutic Goals
February 16, 2011, 3:00 - 4:00 PM EST 2011
Spirituality and Psychotherapy Virtual Conference, directed by Bill 0’Hanlon
Instructor: Christopher Germer, PhD
Recent psychological and neurological research identifies compassion as a distinct mind state that allows us to tolerate emotional suffering, even find value in it. On the heels of mindfulness, the ancient Buddhist theory and practice of compassion is enriching our understanding of the therapeutic process and inspiring new interventions to treat diverse psychological conditions. This hour-long program will explore the meaning of compassion and self-compassion, and offer practical ways to cultivate the skill of compassion to alleviate emotional suffering in our patients and in ourselves.
See Details.
Using Compassion and Self-Compassion to Facilitate Therapeutic Goals
February 18, 2011, 12:00 - 12:55 PM EST 2011
Spirituality and Psychotherapy Virtual Conference, directed by Bill 0’Hanlon
Instructor: Ronald Siegel, PsyD
This presentation will present a step-by-step, mindfulness based program for treating chronic pain as well as stress-related medical disorders including insomnia, sexual dysfunctions, and gastrointestinal distress. You will learn how to use mindfulness to augment cognitive behavioral, psychodynamic, and systemic treatments, and will explore ways to deal with the obstacles and challenges that arise when working with particular disorders and personalities.
See Details.
Customizing Mindfulness for Individual Psychotherapy
Sponsored by the American Psychological Association
With Christopher Germer, PhD and Tu Anh Ngo, PhD
This course is offered by the APA Online Academy and is an edited version of a workshop presented at the American Psychological Association annual convention in 2008. A Powerpoint presentation and numerous downloadable handouts accompany the audio track.
This is an introductory workshop for clinicians who wish to apply mindfulness in individual psychotherapy. Participants will learn how to design mindfulness techniques for patients to practice between therapy sessions, and how to use mindfulness to foster therapeutic connection. Topics discussed include the three core mindfulness meditation skills (concentration, mindfulness, loving-kindness), the basic structure of mindfulness techniques (stop, observe, return), stages of acceptance of discomfort (aversion, curiosity, tolerance, willingness, friendship), and key clinical questions asked by mindfulness-oriented psychotherapists.
4 CE credits are available for psychologists, and a certificate may be downloaded and printed immediately upon completion.
See Details.
Retreats
Mindfulness Meditation Retreat for Mental Health Professionals
June 18-25, 2011. Vallecitos Mountain Refuge, near Taos, New Mexico
Co-led by Bill Morgan, PsyD, Susan Morgan, MSN, RN, CS, & Christopher Germer, PhD
We are pleased to offer the third mindfulness retreat for mental health professionals at Vallecitos. The retreat is limited to 25 participants.
Many clinicians have studied the clinical applications of mindfulness but have not had the opportunity to attend a meditation retreat. Others are seasoned practitioners of both meditation and psychotherapy and might be looking for a beautiful setting to renew themselves and reinspire their clinical work. Still others might wish to connect with colleagues in an intimate setting and discuss how to integrate mindfulness and compassion into psychotherapy.
In addition to guided meditation and talks/discussion each day focusing on meditation and clinical practice, participants will have ample time for silent sitting and for savoring the stunning beauty of Vallecitos with a still mind. The retreat will be primarily conducted in silence, including meals. Participants have the opportunity to attend small group discussions or individual meetings with a teacher, as desired. There will be one completely silent day during the program.
Two of our teachers, Bill and Susan Morgan, are currently on a two-year meditation retreat which they will briefly interrupt to lead this program. This is a rare opportunity to immerse yourself in unspoiled natural beauty and practice shoulder-to-shoulder with leaders in the burgeoning new field of clinical mindfulness and self-compassion. Every effort will be made by the teachers and staff to give each participant a delightful, educational retreat experience, returning home with renewed enthusiasm for clinical work and for cultivating mindfulness and compassion in daily life.
20 CE credits available to psychologists, social workers and licensed mental health counselors.
See Details.
Insight Meditation Society (IMS)
Barre, Massachusetts
Meditation is currently one of the most widely used and researched of all psychotherapy methods. The Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy is currently offering CE’s for the didactic portion of meditation retreats at IMS, to help mental health professionals learn more about practicing and teaching mindfulness meditation.
See Retreat Schedule and Descriptions.