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Certificate Program in Mindfulness and Psychotherapy

offered by

The Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy
and
The Barre Center for Buddhist Studies

Thursday Evenings
September 2008 through May 2009

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.

Course material will cover:

1. Theory and Conceptual Issues
         Buddhist and Western psychology
         The nature of mindfulness
         The nature of suffering and its alleviation
   
   
2. Integration of Mindfulness and Psychotherapy
         History of the intersection of Buddhist practice and psychotherapy
         Clinical applications in specific disorders
         Mindfulness and the therapeutic relationship
   
   
3. Special Issues in Mindfulness and Psychotherapy
         Research on brain function and physiology
         Empirical evidence on mindfulness and mindfulness-informed treatments
         Positive psychology

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 6:30 to 9:30 PM on Thursday evenings from September 11, 2008 through May, 2009, a five-day intensive residential program at the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies in Barre, MA from September 23-28, 2008, and an additional three day residential retreat from January 16 through 19, 2009. The cost of the seminars and residential retreats is included in course tuition.

LOCATION

• Weekly seminars will meet at The Cambridge Hospital, 1493 Cambridge St., Cambridge, MA.
• The September five-day and January 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.

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. 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 30 students.

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 11, 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
The application below may be submitted at any time, though preference will be given to applications received before June 1, 2008.

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:
mail@meditationandpsychotherapy.org

Applicants will be notified of their admission status soon after June 1, 2008, at which time a deposit will be required.

DOWNLOAD APPLICATION
Click here for MS Word format
Click here for PDF format

FACULTY (subject to change without notice)
Paul R. Fulton, EdD, Course Director. President, Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy; Director of Mental Health, Tufts Health Plan; Board of Directors, Barre Center for Buddhist Studies; Private Practice, Newton; Co-Editor: Mindfulness and Psychotherapy.

Gloria Taraniya Ambrosia has been a Dhamma teacher since 1990. She is a student of the western forest sangha, the disciples of Ajahn Sumedho and Ajahn Chah, and is a Lay Buddhist Minister in association with Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery in California. She served as resident teacher of IMS in Barre, Massachusetts from 1996 through 1999.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Susan Morgan, MSN, RN, CS, Faculty and Board of Directors, Meditation and Psychotherapy; Contributing Author; Mindfulness and Psychotherapy; Private practice, Cambridge, MA.
William D. Morgan, PsyD Faculty and Board of Directors: Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy; Contributing Author; Mindfulness and Psychotherapy; Private practice, Cambridge, MA.

William D. Morgan, PsyD, Clinical Psychologist in private practice in Cambridge and Braintree, Massachusetts. He has participated in intensive retreats in the Theravadin, Zen, and Tibetan schools of Buddhism during his 30 years of meditation practice. Dr. Morgan’s graduate research focused on the meaning of making progress in meditation. Since 1987, he has led retreats and taught mindfulness meditation, most recently to psychotherapists.

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.

Ronald D. Siegel, PsyD, 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: Mindfulness and Psychotherapy; Co-Author: Back Sense: A Revolutionary Approach to Halting the Cycle of Chronic Back Pain.

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.

REQUIREMENTS FOR CONTINUING EDUCATION CREDIT
60 Continuing Education Hours will be granted to those attending a minimum of 80% of the course offerings; 30 hours in 2008 and 30 hours in 2009.

Psychologists: The Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy (IMP) is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. IMP maintains responsibility for the 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.

FOR MORE INFORMATION
Please contact:
Paul R. Fulton, EdD, Course Director
mail@meditationandpsychotherapy.org
35 Pleasant Street
Newton Center, MA 02459-1812
617-244-0131