Mindfulness based Meditation Training Modules for Professionals

MODULE  1) Clinical & Therapeutic Potentials of Mindfulness Meditation   February 19 -April 15 (Tue)

              2) Mindfulness Meditations for Stress & Self Care   May 6 - July 1 (Tue)   

              3) Mindfulness Meditations for Conscious Relationship   September 2 - October 28 (Tue)   

Mindfulness Meditations for Conscious Living in Contemporary Times

MODULE  1) Mindfulness Meditations for Health, Healing & Conscious Living   February 20 - April 16 (Wed)

              2) Applied Buddhist Practices & Perspectives for Contemporary Living I   May 7 - July 2 (Wed)   

              3) Applied Buddhist Practices & Perspectives for Contemporary Living II   Sept 3 - October 29 (Wed)   

To these Mindfulness Meditation Courses John, a registered Psychologist, Counsellor, and Supervisor, brings nearly 30 years of continuous practice of Mindfulness Meditation. For over 10 of these years John was a Buddhist Monk of the Theravada Forest Tradition. In his approach John brings the wisdom insights and practices of Traditional Buddhism together with the understandings of contemporary evidence based Medical Science, especially ‘Mind-Body Medicine’, and Psychology. John very much makes his life ‘the meditation’, being devoted to living consciously and apply the principles and practices of Mindfulness as a way of being, and way of Life.

 Course Overviews & Learning Outcomes

‘Mindfulness based Meditation Training Modules for Professionals ’

There is a growing appreciation within the health care community of the benefits of Mindfulness based Meditation practices. This appreciation currently relates to how mindfulness training may be used as a complementary therapy for clients or patients. However there is much benefit to be gained from Mindfulness training for the therapist, or health & helping professional them selves. The following three training modules, each running over a  course of 10 weeks, address the potentials of Mindfulness based Meditation training both in its application for clients experiencing issues / illness and for Health & Helping Professionals themselves in self management / stress management as well as enhancement of therapeutic relationship and potential.

The three modules of training and development in Mindfulness Meditation are:

“The nature of the body can only be understood as a whole,
for it is the great error of our day in the treatment of the human body,
that the physicians separate the soul from the body”

HIPPOCRATES

‘Mindfulness’ a state of conscious awareness, is our minds natural ability to be present, with an attentional stance that is objective, receptive, whilst allowing the possibility of not get caught up ‘identifying – with’ or ‘taking personally’ that which is noticed or known. The conscious development of mindfulness through Meditation, and the application of it for developing greater clarity of mind and insightful understanding, has been practiced in Eastern Meditation traditions for thousands of years

Whilst mainstream psychological / psychotherapeutic / and counselling modalities have used elements of ‘mindfulness’ they have traditionally remained primarily ‘cognitive’ in approach.

More recently health practitioners realising the wide application and benefits of Mindfulness, are increasingly employing its use in clinical settings, with positive outcomes for both physical and psychological issues/illness. Published evidence based research [eg. Kabat-Zinn, (1990) through the Mindfulness based Stress Reduction Program, and Teasdale, Segal, & Williams (1995) through the Mindfulness based Cognitive therapy for Depression Program], has brought the appreciations and applications of mindfulness, out from its origins in Buddhist monasteries and meditation centres, into mainstream contemporary life and application.

This 10 week course is for professionals as well as students of all fields of health and helping practice, interested in understanding the psycho - physical health benefits of Mindfulness training in clinical application. The course is both theoretical and experiential, and provides a basis for further courses or workshops

Learning outcomes include:

• An appreciation of the early historical context and application of Mindfulness within Buddhist practice and theory.
• An understanding of the neuro-psychological basis and workings of Mindfulness.
• An appreciation of the clinical / therapeutic applications of Mindfulness, through ‘evidence - based’ research.
• Realise how Mindfulness training aligns with the new medical paradigm of Mind-Body Medicine, and the sub field of ‘Psychoneuroimmunology’.
• Development and application of Mindfulness through Mindfulness Based Meditation Training for one self.
• Discussion and exploration of how Mindfulness training can be useful, as therapeutic treatment for both physical and psychological issues and illness, including chronic pain, cancer, stress related illnesses, anxiety, depression, addictions, obsession and compulsion, eating disorders

 

Module 2. Mindfulness Meditations for Stress & Self Care

‘Our gift to others is the work we have done and continue to do, on and within ourselves.’

Health and helping professionals belong to a population of people that deal with some of the most raw and extreme of human emotions. Not only are health and helping professionals expected to work with, and work through, the lengthy, often on-going stress of clients/patients, but importantly be also managing their own.

Where the quality of the therapeutic relationship is seen as a vital element of therapeutic treatment, there is a developing appreciation that what health and helping professionals are to themselves becomes mirrored in the way that they are for their patient/clients.

Thus for the health and helping professional; how they are, and the work that can be done, is largely a function of the work that they have done, on and within themselves.

A most direct and powerful means to enable and engage this work, is through the practice of mindfulness, exercised and developed as a meditation. Meditation based on mindfulness develops an inner calm centredness, as well as an insightful understanding into the dynamics of our mind- body- and heart. As the quality of our intra-personal relationship develops, so too does that of our inter-personal relationships; enabling and enhancing therapeutic outcomes.

This 10 week course has great application for professionals and students working in all areas of health & helping, and especially those working in a psychotherapeutic way, with clients/patients living with enhanced emotional stress.

Through exercising our mindful-awareness, this workshop will provide an opportunity to enhance our self-awareness, self-appreciation, and quality of presence; reducing our stress and enabling us to better work with the emotional stress of others.

 

Learning outcomes include:

• Become a more Conscious and Self Reflective Practitioner
• Explore the dynamics that create and compound our stress, and the effects of that stress on personal/professional communication and connectedness.
• Develop and maintain greater inner balance through self-management mindfulness practices and perspective, reducing the incidence of ‘emotional fatigue’ and professional ‘burn-out’.
• Appreciate how our gift to others, is the work that we have done and continue to do on and within ourselves.
• Develop Mindfulness Meditation, as means for working with, and understanding ourself, our stresses, while also enabling and enhancing our way of working with the stress of others.
• Enhance and engage our ability to mindfully work with our own emotions, enabling our potential to more fully be with and work with the emotions of others.

 

Module 3. Mindfulness Meditations & Reflections for Conscious Relationship

 

'Meditation allows the mindfulness and heartfulness
for consciously engaging in a caring relationship with self and others.’
JOHN BARTER

 

There is a growing appreciation within the health care community of the benefits of Mindfulness based Meditation practices. This appreciation currently relates to how mindfulness training may be used as a complementary therapy for clients or patients. However there is much benefit to be gained from Mindfulness training for the therapist, or health & helping professional them selves. This 10 week course addresses the potentials for Health & Helping Professionals of all fields as well as students, to gain from Mindfulness training primarily for enhancing and engaging the ‘therapeutic relationship’ such that the relationship it self is therapeutic and healing for both client and professional. The basis for any interpersonal relationship is the quality of relating , which is founded on the intra personal relationship with oneself.

 Learning outcomes include:

• Develop an appreciation and personal practice of Mindfulness based Meditations.
• Reflections around the clinical application of Mindfulness training for both psychological and physiological issues or illness.
• Appreciation and understandings of the power and potentials of the therapeutic relationship, as a major element of therapeutic value and outcome
• Develop awareness around our style of therapeutic engagement and relationship.
• Use Mindfulness to enhance the micro skills of relating, (especially qualities of attention, receptiveness and perceptiveness) leading to the potential that all conscious, mindful relationships can be therapeutic, not just the one termed the ‘therapeutic relationship.
• Modeling qualities and skills to clients through therapeutic relationship
• Through the application of ‘Mindfulness Perspectives and Practices’ in the way in which we engage in our relationships with others, we may find much more meaning, motivation, and joy in both our personal and professional life interactions.

 

'Mindfulness Meditation for Conscious Living in Contemporary Times’

 

Module 1. Mindfulness Meditation for Health, Healing & Conscious Living

‘Conscious Living engages our mindfulness and heartfulness
so that we can Live more fully; Learn more easliy;
and Love more deeply’
JOHN BARTER

Much of the stress, issues and illness of contemporary life may relate the fact that we have not, or are not ‘living our life consciously’.

By training our mind through meditation, we can become more mindful and conscious of our on going life experience, living our life with both intention and attention. This enables ‘Conscious Living’ through having a ‘conscious relationship to the fullness of our life. In this way we may begin to reduce stress, angst and unease, bringing healing to both specific issues or illness, and to our life in general.

Learning outcomes include:

• Develop an understanding and personal practice of Mindfulness based Meditations.
• An appreciation of the MIND-BODY therapeutic benefits of Meditation especially through stress reducion.
• Psycho-therapeutic perspectives for looking into the relationship we have with issues or illness, while also developing skillful means to help and heal what may be seen as an ‘unhealthy relationship’ to our issue or illness.
• Understandings in working with Emotions for health, healing, and well-being.
• Perspectives and practices for maintaining health and wellness, while guarding against stress and illness.
• Potential learning’s and appreciation’s that come from working with the issues of contemporary life.

 

This course is not just for those experiencing illness or issues, but is also of benefit for health care professionals and for any one that wants to enhance psycho physical and psycho-spiritual well being and live life consciously.

 

Module 2 & 3. Applied Buddhist Principles, Practices & Perspectives for

                          Contemporary Living I & II

There is a growing interest in the possibility of engaging and living our life more consciously. This possibility has aroused curiosity in the underlying principles, practices and perspectives that traditional Buddhism offers for living more fully and learning from our life experience. Such timeless practices as meditation and wisdom principles, offer refreshing relief to the increasing stress, distress, and turmoil of our contemporary life. Through these we can live with more ease and joy, wisdom and compassion, towards our self and others.