Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction for Health and Well-being

Courses in Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction 1-Day Introductory Course The 8-Week Course Dates and Location Our Mindfulness courses offer a safe and supportive space which enable you to learn a new way of 'being with' the difficulties that present themselves in your life. What is Mindfulness? Often when we are stressed or struggling in life with sadness, pain, illness or any other difficulty, we can feel out of control, overwhelmed, agitated and unable to put our situation into perspective. We believe that we have no choice to bring about effective change and stay stuck. The coping mechanisms we use often exacerbate the situation in which we find ourselves. We use all kinds of strategies to avoid our feelings, and our negative thoughts tend to carry us down a path of automatic pilot. We often find ourselves caught up in the past or projected into the future and rarely connect to the present moment. By contrast, through meditation and adopting a mindfulness approach to living, we are learning to pay moment-to-moment attention to the breath, the body, the mind and the world around us in a way that is more compassionate, less defensive and non judgemental. Instead of using energy and attention in the struggle to get rid of our difficulties, we learn to be more gentle with ourselves, to give ourselves a break, and learn to simply be with our direct experience, as it is. This shift in awareness and attitude can enable us to respond to the problem with renewed focus, wisdom and confidence. When we are mindful, we are able to be fully present with our lives and our relationships with others in a more accepting and less critical way. This can generate energy, clarity and joy. Mindfulness can help you to: Use your awareness to deal more effectively with stress Choose your reactions as opposed to being enslaved to them Develop breathing techniques to find a stable centre Connect with a place of inner calm in the midst of pressure Develop clarity and focus when you feel overwhelmed Improve self esteem Improve your relationships with others Improve your health and well-being Develop an increased sense of aliveness and energy Enjoy life more The 8-Week Course in Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction What does the 8-Week Course involve? The 8-week course is experiential which means that you will learn by doing and 'being'. We will introduce you to the mindfulness approach to stress reduction which will include three principal meditation practices which we will do together in class. You will have ample opportunity to explore and share your experiences of these practices and their significance to stress reduction, together with additional experiential exercises. We will be working in pairs, triads and the group as a whole. The 1 hour daily home practice forms an important part of the programme and will enable you to gain most benefit from your experience. Please carefully consider your commitment to home practice before booking. We will meet once a week for two hours for 9 weeks. This includes an orientation session at the beginning of the course. An all-day class is held on the Saturday or Sunday following week 6, during which participants can experience a full day of mindfulness. The experience of belonging to a group over a 9-week period and the realization that we are not alone in our struggle is often a gift. This can offer renewed inner strength and belief in our ability to cope with the stressors in our lives - a key to finding the healing from within. Who is the course for? Everybody! The programme is known to benefit people with a range of physical and psychological problems, though it is not necessary to have a specific health problem to find it helpful. We all have times in our lives when we experience difficulty and stress, and for some of us this is our daily experience. The problem or illness itself may not change but the way we relate to and cope with the difficulty may shift. Dates, Cost and Location of Mindfulness Courses   8-Week Course - £250 per person - Concessions available and Early Bird Booking Price of £195.00 for bookings made 1 month prior to course date. The fee includes the orientation session, eight 2-hour class sessions, a full day session on the weekend following week 6, a workbook, 3 meditation CDs and other learning materials.  The 8-Week Course will be running throughout 2010.  Venue location for the 8 Week Course – Copthorne, West Sussex  If you would like to participate on an 8-week Mindfulness course, please call us or email for a booking form. A minimum of 6 participants will be required to enable this course to run.  Course Dates:  Wednesday, 3 March – 6.30pm-8.30pm (week 7)  Wednesday, 10 March – 6.30pm-8.30pm (week 8)  April Course Dates:  Wednesday, 7 April – 6.30pm-8.30pm (orientation)  Wednesday, 14 April – 6.30pm-8.30pm for 8 consecutive weeks  Saturday, 22 May – 10.00am-4.00pm (all day meditation)  September Course Dates:  Wednesday, 1 September – 6.30pm-8.30pm (orientation)  Wednesday, 8 September – 6.30pm-8.30pm for 8 consecutive weeks  Saturday, 23 October – 10.00am-4.00pm (all day meditation)  Saturday 8-Week Course  If a mid week course is not possible for you, we are happy to run a Saturday morning course if we have a sufficient number of participants. Please contact us if you are interested.  One to One and In-House Events  The 8-week course is also available on a one to one and as an in-house event. If you are interested in any of these options, please feel free to call to discuss.  1-Day Introductory Course - £50 per person  Saturday, 13 February 2010  Saturday, 10 April 2010  Saturday, 10 July 2010  Saturday, 11 September 2010  Saturday, 13 November 2010  In-House Events   The 1-Day course is also available as an in-house event. If you are interested in this option, please feel free to call to discuss.  Venue Location for the 1-Day Introductory Course The Monastery of The Holy Trinity Fermandy Lane Crawley Down West Sussex RH10 4LH Get Directions on Google Maps  View Larger Map Mindfulness Drop-In Group £5 per session (Pre-registration required)  Crawley Down Health Centre  Wednesdays, 12-1pm Development and Research The 8-week mindfulness-based courses that we teach and which are promoted by the Centre for Mindfulness Research and Practice at the University of Wales, Bangor follow the Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) programme developed by Williams, Teasdale and Segal, which was inspired by, and is an adaptation of the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) course developed in Massachusetts, USA by Dr Jon Kabat-Zinn in the 1970s. Considerable scientific evidence-based research has proven these mindfulness-based approaches to be highly effective in working with a wide range of physical and psychological problems. Mindfulness-based approaches are being used in the UK and the rest of the world in private courses, business, universities, clinics and the NHS. MBCT is now included in the guidelines of the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) for the treatment of depression. For further information on mindfulness and the research supporting it, please see the website for The Centre for Mindfulness Research and Practice: http://www.bangor.ac.uk/mindfulness/ Facilitators Deborah Mitchell MBACP After completing an Advanced Diploma in Humanistic Counselling and a Master Practitioner Diploma in FIRO Theory, Deborah now works in private practice offering counselling, coaching and group work. She also offers counselling within GP health centres. Prior to setting up her own practice, Deborah worked for 7 years within a leading organisational development consultancy. The consultancy specialized in the psychology of relationships, supporting individuals, leaders, groups and teams to achieve more of their potential. She has many years' experience of working in business in a variety of roles and understands the challenges of managing business processes, group dynamics and interpersonal relationships. Deborah specializes in Stress Reduction, Self Esteem and Relationships. She has trained in Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction through The University of Bangor and is committed to on-going personal and professional development. Having completed a certificate in Couples Counselling, she continues with her training in this field. Diane Mitchell MBACP (Accred), UKRC Registered After completing a diploma in humanistic counselling, Diane trained in psychotherapy at Spectrum, a humanistic and integrative therapy centre in North London. In 1998 she co-founded Sussex Counselling and Psychotherapy Practice where she has worked extensively with individuals in short term and long term therapy. She also works with couples and groups and offers supervision. In recent years she has trained as a mindfulness practitioner through the University of Bangor and offers mindfulness based stress reduction MBSR and mindfulness based cognitive therapy MBCT as part of her work. Diane has a background in business and is particularly interested in bringing counselling and stress reduction into the workplace. She has taken her work into large and small organisations, in both the voluntary and private sector. 1-Day Introductory Courses in Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Our 1-Day Introductory courses offer you an opportunity to learn the philosophy of a mindfulness based approach to living and 'being with' the difficulties that present themselves in your life. The day is experiential and will include the 3 principal meditation practices which we will do in class. You will have an opportunity to explore and share your experiences of these practices, together with additional experiential exercises, working in pairs and the group as a whole. We will explore how you can apply mindfulness to your own life, offering a number of practical and simple ways to take your learning forward. One of the gifts of joining us on our 1-day course is realizing that you are not alone in your struggle and experience. This can play an important role in directing you back on your path to health and well-being.