CFM

The 12-Week Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention Facilitator Training (MBRP FT) is a training course integrating empirically supported interventions from Dr. Alan Marlatt’s Relapse Prevention Therapy (RPT), Jon Kabat-Zinn’s Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), and Zindel Segal and colleagues’ Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT). This program was specifically created for clients in recovery from substance use disorders, and is designed to prevent relapse for those who have undergone inpatient or intensive outpatient treatment.

The curriculum integrates mindfulness meditation practices with cognitive-behavioral strategies to support clients’ recovery. The MBRP skills help participants learn to recognize and stay with discomfort (physical, cognitive and emotional) as opposed to reactively reaching for a “fix.” Combining mindfulness and relapse prevention cultivates heightened awareness of both internal and external triggers, while promoting vital lifestyle modifications for a healthy life of recovery. This program and its principles of treatment require an experiential understanding of mindfulness meditation practices. Therefore, it is essential for clinicians who facilitate MBRP groups to have their own daily mindfulness meditation practice, and endeavor to embody the principles they teach.

Training

The goal of the training is to provide a dynamic, experiential and didactic learning environment to equip participants with the necessary skills for successful delivery of the MBRP program. Using demonstration, simulated exercises, inquiry and discussion, we will cover the themes, material, and practices included in each of the eight MBRP sessions. Throughout the training, attention will be brought to deepening the clinician’s own mindfulness practice. It is widely acknowledged within the field that the teaching of mindfulness arises out of the facilitator’s own practice. Thus, training courses include substantial periods of personal practice of practice to help develop ourselves as a personal and professional resource.

Target Audience

The training is intended for mental health professionals wishing to expand their practice to include MBRP and mindfulness-related practices. Those in attendance should be either licensed clinicians in a mental health field, clinicians-in-training, or interested professionals who do not intend to deliver the intervention directly but have other professional interests in the topic (i.e. researchers, administrators, etc.). All participants should have at least a modest regular meditation practice and an established practice is preferred.

Participant Guidelines

It is our experience that successful delivery of MBRP requires facilitators to have a commitment to an ongoing, daily mindfulness meditation practice. To this end we have created recommendations for acceptance to this MBRP training.

• Advanced degree in mental health-related field (e.g., psychology, social work or counseling)
• Prior training in Vipassana or Insight Meditation and a personal commitment to and well-established daily meditation practice
• Familiarity with cognitive behavioral therapy techniques
• Experience with and an understanding of models of addictive behavior
• Experience facilitating group process
• Prior or future attendance at a minimum of one silent, teacher-led 5-10 day residential mindfulness meditation retreat

Application Form

During the registration process, you will be required to fill out an online application form. Should your qualifications not be accepted for admittance, a full refund will be granted. If the program is in-person, please do not make any travel plans until you receive an email that your application was approved.

Needs Assessment

The utilization of mindfulness in a clinical context is a burgeoning area of study and practice in the mental health field in the past few years. The number of research articles, books and popular press articles on the topic is growing exponentially each year and the demand for quality professional training in these practices and techniques is growing each year. This training has been offered in the past three years through the UC San Diego Center for Mindfulness, with increasing enrollments each year, as well as at other sites across the country and around the world.

Objectives

At the completion of this activity, the participants should be able to:

• Demonstrate an intellectual and experiential understanding of the MBRP principles and the role of mindfulness in relapse prevention
• Define and describe the integration of RPT and mindfulness techniques
• Demonstrate, lead and inquire the core MBRP exercises
• Effectively lead the MBRP mindfulness meditation and mindful movement practices
• Identify and describe clinical and logistical issues that arise in leading MBRP courses
• Utilize their own mindfulness meditation practice through formal periods of practice and mindfulness as a mode of being in daily life and appreciate the necessity of personal practice for successful delivery of this treatment modality

At the end of the training, you will receive a Certificate of Completion if you attended all sessions. From that point, you have the ability to now teach MBRP to groups or individuals in treatment for addictive behaviors.

How Can Mindfulness Help Kids?

Parenting is a journey filled with joy, but it also brings moments of real emotional challenge. We invite you and your child to join this first-of-its-kind online program, specifically designed to transform how you relate to one another. By integrating the core principles of mindfulness and self-compassion, this course provides the essential tools to navigate distress with grace and resilience.

What Is Mindfulness

Mindfulness teaches moment-to-moment non-judgemental awareness. It is simply learning to pay attention to our experience just as it is in each moment. Much of our stress occurs when we let our minds run on autopilot, which can lead to rumination and worry. Through simple practices, Mindfulness can improve emotional resilience and strengthen our capacity to respond skillfully to life's challenges. Essentially, Mindfulness empowers kids to live happier and healthier lives!

In this program, you and your child will explore ways to...

• Build a Foundation: Create a lasting base of warmth, security, and trust.
• Develop Resilience: Learn practical self-care skills for both parent and child.
• Meet the Moment: Approach difficult emotions with newfound awareness, kindness and respect.

Schedule and Registration

CFM requires a minimum of 10 registrants per program. Classes with fewer than 10 registrants will be cancelled and provided a refund. Please be aware of this when making arrangements to attend this program.

Please note: The child must be between the ages of 8–12. If you have more than one child who wishes to participate, you must register them separately. One to two parents may attend with their child.

Have you ever felt swamped with negative thoughts and emotions? Have you ever found yourself feeling down and blue? You are not alone. Feeling anxious or sad is really common and the World Health Organization (WHO) says that depressive mood and anxiety could be the biggest health problems we face in the world.

Well, you have come to the right place! Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy(MBCT) is an 8-week, evidence-based, experiential program that combines ideas of cognitive therapy and mindfulness meditation practices to cultivate present moment, non-judgmental awareness. It is designed to cultivate resilience and safeguard against recurring bouts of negative thoughts, emotions, and low mood. Research finds MBCT to reduce symptoms of depression, anxiety, stress, and stands as a validated alternative to medication. 

In this course, you will be able to understand the traits of mood disorders and cultivate a new, heartful relationship to them by turning towards habitual patterns of thinking that keep you stuck and spiraling down. With practice, you will be able to build your capacity to respond to life’s challenges in more mindful and attentive ways. 

Participants will be required to meet with the instructor before the program starts. You will receive more information on this closer to the start date.

Join us and unlock your inner resilience and embrace emotional balance by joining this transformative 8-week course!

What You’ll Learn

• Attend to patterns of thought, emotions, behavior
• Raise awareness of and reduce identification with negative states
• Build skills to prevent relapse using mindfulness meditation techniques
• Learn to respond rather than react, using the element of choice

Who Should Participate

If you often worry about the future or dwell on the past, experience low mood, or have a history of anxiety and/or depression, this is the class for you. A commitment to attendance of 80% of the full series and home practice activities is required. Participants are strongly encouraged to attend the daylong silent retreat.

Helpful Resources

• The Mindful Way Workbook: An 8-Week Program to Free Yourself from Depression and Emotional Distress — John Teasdale, Mark Williams, and Zindel Segal (Foreword by Jon Kabat-Zinn).
• Video: Zindel Segal speaks about MBCT
• Kuyken (2016): Individual patient data meta-analysis of randomized trials (MBCT and relapse prevention).

Objectives

At the completion of this activity, participants should be able to:

• Articulate the key aspects of mindfulness as it relates to coping with negative moods and preventing relapse of depression and anxiety.
• Differentiate MBCT from and other CBT techniques that may seem similar but are quite different in contending with negative mood states.
• Practice the key aspects of mindfulness to manage symptoms and to prevent relapse of depression and anxiety.
• Apply mindfulness and cognitive therapy techniques when managing difficult situations and emotions in both personal and professional settings.
• Explain the potential benefits mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (and mindfulness) to family and friends
• Create plans to continue and deepen personal practice of mindfulness.

Note: This course does not train facilitators; it is for participants wishing to learn MBCT tools for themselves.

If you are interested in this program, please fill out this form to be added to the interest list. We will contact you once this program is scheduled.

Embark on a transformative journey with our unique course, seamlessly blending mindfulness training and education on the science of psychedelics. Discover the power of mindfulness as a foundation for navigating professionally led psychedelic experiences--learning to approach your experience with clarity, presence, and intention. Explore the depths of consciousness, guided by ancient mindfulness practices and modern insights.

Mindful Preparation and Integration for Psychedelic Interventions course offers a comprehensive understanding of both mindfulness and psychedelic science, providing tools for stress reduction, inner exploration, and personal growth. Gain practical skills to prepare for and integrate profound psychedelic experiences, harnessing their potential for healing and self-discovery.

Join a supportive community and expert-led sessions, unlocking a holistic approach to well-being that combines mindfulness practices and the transformative potential of psychedelics. Begin your journey toward inner harmony and expanded consciousness.

Legal Statement: Please note that our course strictly adheres to all relevant local, national, and international laws regarding the use, possession, and distribution of controlled substances. We do not condone, facilitate, or engage in the use or procurement of illegal substances. The educational content provided about substances such as psilocybin is for informational and academic purposes only and does not constitute encouragement or promotion of their use in any form that would contravene existing laws.

Ethical Statement: We uphold a strong commitment to ethical practices and responsible education. Our curriculum aims to provide factual, evidence-based information regarding substances like psilocybin, focusing on their historical, cultural, psychological, and therapeutic aspects. We prioritize the safety, well-being, and legal compliance of our students and do not endorse or advocate the use of any illegal substances. Our intention is to foster informed discussions, critical thinking, and ethical decision-making in the realm of psychedelics and related topics.

Outcomes

Short-Term:

• Improved Integration: Participants will demonstrate an increased ability to integrate psychedelic experiences, making meaning from insights, and applying them to personal growth and positive life changes.
• Emotional Well-being: Participants will report improved emotional regulation, resilience, and the ability to navigate difficult emotions both during psychedelic experiences and in daily life.
• Ethical Engagement: Participants will show an increased understanding of ethical considerations, harm reduction practices, and responsible use of psychedelics, promoting safety and integrity in their engagement with plant medicine.

Long-Term:

• Personal Transformation: Participants experience profound personal growth, healing, and positive life changes resulting from the integration of contemplative practices and psychedelic experiences.
• Community Impact: Graduates of the course become advocates for the synergistic application of mindfulness-based interventions with the safe and intentional use of psychedelics, actively supporting others in their integration journeys and contributing to the destigmatization and responsible use of psychedelics.
• Cultural Shift: The course contributes to a broader cultural shift towards recognizing and valuing the transformative potential of classical psychedelics and contemplative practices, leading to increased acceptance, research, and accessibility to psychedelic therapies.

Target Audience

• People interested in mindfulness-based interventions and their synergistic relationship with classic psychedelic plant medicine.
• People contemplating psychedelic assisted therapy and looking for skills to manage perceptions and emotions associated with the process.
• People wanting to sustain the impact of psychedelic-assisted therapies—further integrating these transformational experiences into their daily lives.

Objectives

• Increased Knowledge: Participants will gain a comprehensive understanding of classical psychedelics/plant medicines, contemplative practices, integration techniques, the benefits and risks of psychedelic use, as well as the legal and ethical guidelines associated with psychedelic use.
• Enhanced Skills: Participants will acquire practical skills for self-reflection, emotional regulation, mindfulness, and integration of their psychedelic experiences -- enabling them to safely and effectively navigate, integrate, and benefit from the transformational potential of these practices.
• Increased Self-Awareness: Participants will learn evidenced-based mindfulness practices for deepening self-awareness, gaining deeper insight into their conditioned emotions, beliefs, and behavior patterns, and develop a greater understanding of the impact their psychedelic experiences may have on their psychological, emotional, and behavioral health. Participants will also develop an understanding of their choice to take plant medicine and how it is determined by many factors: including, but not limited to, culture, society, gender, race, experiences of personal and generational trauma, spirituality, and many more.
• Supportive Community: Participants will be given the opportunity to develop and foster a sense of community and connection with others on a similar--a safe and non-judgmental space for sharing, learning and compassionate support.

Join us online for a 5-week deep dive into guided meditation with iRest Yoga Nidra. iRest is a meditation practice based on the ancient tradition of Yoga Nidra and adapted to suit the conditions of modern life.

This 5-week course is designed to bring you the tools to meet each moment with a sense of well being. The instructors will guide you through meditations and discussion each week to build your own resource toolbox with tools that can help with better sleep, offer more clarity experiencing difficult sensations or emotions, dealing with trauma and expanding your own experience of joy and wellbeing.

This course can be repeated, each series is adapted to the class and each session is unique.

The 5-Week Guided Meditation iRest Yoga Nidra Program doesn’t require any previous meditation or yoga experience. This course is for everyone, new and experienced practitioners are welcome and will benefit from the class. All are welcome in this inclusive, accessible class.

In the 5-week course, participants will learn to:

• Discover ways to nurture your resilience, inner peace, and well-being
• Learn techniques to integrate mindfulness and meditation into daily life
• Develop skillful strategies for navigating stress, anxiety, and challenging emotions
• Experience deep relaxation and an expanded sense of safety and balance
• Reconnect with your Essential Wholeness and remember your true nature
• How to move beyond attachment and identification with your body, mind, and experiences to uncover feelings of peace, wholeness, and authenticity
• How to apply the 10-step iRest protocol in your own life
• Techniques to support self-regulation and inner calm
• Practices to promote restful sleep and relaxation

Who Should Participate

This course is for everyone. New and experienced practitioners are welcome and will benefit from the class.

What would happen if, in moments of shame, you could care for yourself instead of going small, attacking yourself, or shutting down?

We are excited to invite you to Self-Compassion for Shame: Returning Home to Yourself, a groundbreaking 8-week program developed by Dr. Chris Germer, Natalie Bell, and the SC-Shame development team. In this course, we take a unique, non-pathological look at shame through the lens of mindful self-compassion—and learn why self-compassion is the antidote to shame.

Who Should Participate

Prerequisites: This course is suitable for everyone who has completed either the 8-Week MSC, the 5-Day MSC Intensive, or the Short Course in MSC-along with a personal self-compassion practice of 1 year or more. You should be able to recognize that shame may be limiting your full potential—and want new resources to be able to work with it in a healthy balanced way.

SC-Shame is a resource-building program (like MSC), not psychotherapy. Because we’ll be touching shame with self-compassion, challenging emotions may arise. Our teaching team is committed to co-creating a safe and rewarding learning environment together with participants.

“Self-Compassion allows us to see through shame—to see our inherent worth and value.”

What You’ll Learn

You will build practical resources to meet shame with greater acceptance and authenticity so you can stay connected, think in a balanced way, and make wise, healthy choices. The course weaves together talks, experiential exercises, meditation, and group discussion, alongside theory and research on shame and self-compassion. Special topics include:

• Mindfulness of shame
• Origins of shame
• Self-criticism
• Body shame
• Self-forgiveness
• Hidden parts
• Social justice

“Shame makes us want to go small, go silent, or go away. Self-Compassion shows us how to be strong and have a voice.”

"Great class with a fantastic instructor. Natalie does a wonderful job of creating a warm and inviting space to learn about shame. She provided me with numerous techniques and practices to help me with my lifelong battle with shame."

Why This Course

Prior participants of the SC-Shame 8-week course reported:

• 96% would recommend the course
• 96% said their experience of shame changed as a result of the course
• 89% would consider taking the course again
• 85% had better mental and emotional wellbeing after the course

Program Structure

• 8 weeks, 28 hours total (20 hours class time plus 8 hours optional practice group)
• Weekly classes: 2.5 hours each
• Optional practice group: 1 hour weekly, facilitated by SC-Shame teachers
• Class size: maximum 30 participants

Free Orientation Session

Join us for a free orientation session as a preview of the upcoming 8-week course starting in April 2026. Register here.

In today’s world, teens and pre-teens are under more pressure and experiencing higher levels of stress than ever before. Increasing demand in technology, academic preparation, and life transitions often result in physical and emotional stressors, such as:

• Irritability
• Anxiety
• Depression

These stressors can affect your child’s well-being and happiness. A crucial skill in managing stress effectively is to be able to deal with change whenever it occurs.

In this program, teens will learn how to:

• Sharpen their ability to focus and pay attention
• Experience life situations with less emotional reactivity
• Remember effective strategies for making better choices
• Increase kindness and compassion for themselves and others
• Obtain skills for self-care

The teens will practice:

• Gentle stretching and yoga
• Mindful meditation practices to support relaxation and awareness
• Self-reflection through journaling
• Completing a variety of activities
• Participating in group discussions