Masterclasses in Mindfulness

One-day masterclasses and workshops at the OMC by leaders in their field, within mindfulness training, teaching and research.

These one-day workshops offer continuing professional development in teaching MBCT and in specialist areas of applying mindfulness training. They will interest mindfulness teachers as well as those wishing to find out more about recent developments in their field of interest. Brief outline of the day…

To register for a masterclass, please book online here or complete a registration form and return it to us. Address details can be found on the form. If you have any questions, please call us on (01865) 613157. If you are an OMC associate or book our masterclasses at a reduced rate, please get in touch with us to book or complete a registration form and return it to us in the post. Our cancellation policy can be found here.

Masterclasses are held at the Oxford Mindfulness Centre. How to get here…

For more information on training to be a mindfulness teacher, please see our training page and OMC MBCT Training Pathway chart

Please note that as of July 2013 the price of masterclasses is increasing by £5 to cover an increase in our admin costs.

Forthcoming Masterclasses

**Compulsory for teachers in training.

Masterclasses 2013

Mindfulness Based Childbirth & Parenting
25 June 2013 – Maret Dymond – £120

This masterclass provides an introduction to Mindfulness-Based Childbirth and Parenting (MBCP), an antenatal mindfulness-based intervention that has been developed for expectant parents. Developed by nurse-midwife Nancy Bardacke in California, MBCP is a formal adaptation of Jon Kabat-Zinn’s MBSR program and integrates mind-body mindfulness meditation practices with childbirth and parenting education.

Treating pregnant women and their partners as equal participants, the programme: promotes family health and parenting skills and supportive relationships; addresses fear, pain, stress and depression; provides information about preparation for labour, breastfeeding and warning signs for postnatal depression; and equips expectant parents with specific skills to negotiate the transition to parenthood (see the Oxford Mindfulness Centre MBCP webpages and Nancy Bardacke’s website for more information about MBCP).

The day will provide participants with an experiential introduction to some of the core mindfulness practices taught within MBCP, a theoretical introduction to the use of mindfulness practice for pain and fear during labour and childbirth and the relevance of mindfulness practice to early parenting.

Who is this masterclass for? >>

This workshop will appeal to a wide range of perinatal professionals, including midwives, obstetricians, childbirth educators, doulas, perinatal yoga teachers, psychologists, psychiatrists etc.
This might include perinatal professionals new to the practice of mindfulness, those with a long-standing personal meditation practice now interested in applying this within their work and experienced mindfulness teachers who are interested in how mindfulness skills can benefit expectant parents during the transformational journey through pregnancy, childbirth and early parenting.

About Maret Dymond >>

Maret Dymond trained as a Clinical Psychologist at the University of Southampton and has also undertaken an undergraduate degree in psychology and postgraduate research doctorate (PhD) in perinatal psychology at the University of Reading.
Maret has a long standing interest in attachment theory, the prevention of postpartum depression and support for new parents. She began exploring the practice of mindfulness during her own professional training and then later more deeply upon completing therapeutic training in Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT). This led her to undertake teacher training in Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy and Depression (MBCT) and then later in Mindfulness Based Childbirth and Parenting (MBCP) with Nancy Bardacke.

Maret is leading a project from within the Oxford Mindfulness Centre to introduce MBCP in the UK and Europe.

Book Online or Download a Registration Form

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Mindfulness in the Health Service
9 July 2013 – Tim Sweeney – £125

-New!-

Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) is a recommended treatment for the prevention of relapse in depression within NICE Guidelines (2009). However, despite the clear advantages of introducing this intervention into healthcare services it remains difficult to access for the majority of people within the UK.

The workshop will focus on:

  • Research base justifying its use in IAPT services for both remitted recurrent depression and active depression – building the case for MBCT in IAPT
  • Research and local evidence supporting the use of MBCT for more chronic and complex presentations typically found in secondary care services
  • Advantages and disadvantages of locating MBCT within these services will be discussed. Some of the challenges involved in introducing MBCT to alternative populations, including those with complex presentations, as well as those with mild-moderate depression will be discussed and ideas for working creatively with these challenges put forward
  • An MBCT training pathway and model for service implementation will be presented for discussion
  • Practical strategies for engaging management and clinical staff in this process, in order to gain support for introducing MBCT into services will be identified. This includes methods for presenting the clinical and economic arguments
  • The potential benefits for clinical staff in undertaking this work through reductions in stress and improved well being will be discussed and available research evidence relating to this will be identified

The workshop will consist of a mixture of experiential and didactic teaching aiming to assist people in developing strategies for effectively integrating MBCT into their workplace, thereby increasing access to this intervention for a wider range of people.

Who is this masterclass for? >>

The workshop is intended for healthcare staff with an interest in bringing MBCT into their clinical work but are unsure where to start. In addition, staff who are already using MBCT in their work but would like to consolidate or expand this further into their service may find this workshop helpful.

About Tim Sweeney >>

Tim Sweeney is a cognitive therapist and MBCT teacher who has worked as the IAPT MBCT Clinical Lead for the East Midlands. He is currently employed as the clinical lead for MBCT within Nottinghamshire Healthcare Trust. This post involves coordinating and delivering training in MBCT to IAPT and Secondary Care staff, who work with people experiencing a diverse range of health problems. He also works as an associate trainer for Oxford Mindfulness Centre.

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Enquiry in MBCT
17 September 2013 – Antonia Sumbundu – £125

-New!--Compulsory for teachers in training-

In MBSR and MBCT, the aims and intentions of practices, and the learning points arising from them, emerge from the enquiry process which follows, rather than being introduced in a didactic way. Enquiry starts with identifying participants’ “noticing” of experience during the practice, which then become clarified through dialogue. The teacher guides the dialogue in ways that places experience within the aims and intentions of each class and within the whole programme. In MBCT, the aims and intentions include an integrative psychological formulation for each specific aspect of the programme. However, one of the common challenges faced by mindfulness teachers is that there seems to be no standard operating procedure for how to guide enquiry – as a result, teachers can feel quite lost in this important area.

Who is this masterclass for? >>

This workshop is for people who are already teaching mindfulness-based interventions. It will look at: common difficulties in leading enquiry and the reasons behind them; how teachers can best respond to the different reactions, reflections and struggles voiced by participants in a way that helps deepen participants’ awareness of what they notice when they practice mindfulness; and how teachers can maintain a present moment point of reference with whatever is raised and its larger context, while embodying kindness, curiosity, non-judgement and presence. The workshop is an integral module to training to teach MBCT but experienced mindfulness teachers will also find the day useful as part of their CPD.

About Antonia Sumbundu >>

Antonia Sumbundu is a clinical psychologist, who has specialised in CBT and supervision. In 2010, she was awarded a Master of Studies in MBCT by the University of Oxford. Antonia has been interested in the clinical applications of meditation for a long time, and has been teaching and lecturing on MBCT and MBSR both nationally and internationally for a number of years. She has extensive experience of leading meditation retreats and training programs, supervising professionals in mindfulness-based approaches, and leading MBCT classes. She is an Associate Trainer for the Oxford Mindfulness Center and has been involved in several research projects.

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Teaching Mindfulness in Non-Clinical Settings: Finding Peace in a Frantic WorldFrantic World Book
01 October 2013 – Chris Cullen – £125

The OMC has been teaching the course from Mindfulness: finding peace in a frantic World, by Mark Williams and Danny Penman to students at Oxford and to corporate clients. The course in this book runs over eight weeks and is presented in a self-help format but also works well as a curriculum for taught courses. It is intended primarily for non-clinical populations and is taught in classes of 60-90 minutes. This workshop will explore what needs to be taken into consideration to teach a mindfulness course based on this book to reduce the time commitment for participants and thus make mindfulness more accessible to the general public, student groups and work-place settings.

Who is this masterclass for? >>

This workshop is for people who are already teaching mindfulness-based interventions who wish to explore considerations involved with teaching the “Frantic World” course.

About Chris Cullen >>

Chris Cullen works as a mindfulness teacher and psychotherapist. He trained to teach Insight Meditation with Christina Feldman, and teaches retreats at Gaia House in Devon. Chris co-directs the Mindfulness in Schools Project, and runs mindfulness courses for students at Oxford University and for musicians and actors at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama in London. He has recently completed a Master’s degree in Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy at Oxford, and is on the teaching team at the Oxford Mindfulness Centre.

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The Neuroscience of MBCT for Relapse Prevention
29 October – Thorsten Barnhofer – £125

-New!-
MBCT was developed from a new understanding of the cognitive processes underlying relapse to depression, highlighting the role of negative maladaptive patterns of thinking and how such patterns of thinking could be easily reactivated through only subtle changes in mood. Familiarity with this understanding is important as it crucially informs the rationale of the treatment, which not only guides its content and structure, but which also is a central part of the context from which teachers relate during meditations and enquiries.
While the development of MBCT was almost exclusively based on cognitive and behavioural studies, there has recently been a surge in neuroscience research into these subjects, the results of which are beginning to significantly refine our understanding of the processes underlying relapse. Similarly, there is now a considerable body of research demonstrating effects of meditation training on brain functioning and structure.
This workshop will
(i) revisit the cognitive rationale underlying MBCT for relapse prevention,
(ii) provide an easily accessible overview of recent neuroscience research elucidating the processes underlying relapse and the ways in which mindfulness meditation exerts its effects, and
(iii) explore how this knowledge can inform both our teaching of MBCT and our own practice.

Who is this masterclass for? >>

This workshop is aimed at practitioners who would like to broaden their understanding of the mechanisms underlying recurrence of depression and the ways in which mindfulness training can help to address these mechanisms, and scientists who are conducting or planning to conduct research in these areas.

About Thorsten Barnhofer >>

Thorsten Barnhofer is a German Research Foundation Heisenberg-Fellow currently based at the Freie Universitaet Berlin where he conducts research into the mechanisms of action of mindfulness-based interventions. Prior to this he worked as a researcher, clinician and meditation teacher in Prof Mark Williams’ team at the University of Oxford investigating the use of MBCT for suicidal and chronic depression. He is an associate teacher at the Oxford Mindfulness Centre, and teaches MBCT workshops and retreats both in the UK and internationally.

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What is the ‘C’ in MBCT? An Exploration of the Clinical Roots of MBCT
26 November 2013 – Melanie Fennell & Christina Surawy – £125

-Compulsory for teachers in training-
Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) represents an integration between two very different traditions: the eastern tradition of insight meditation, founded in Buddhism, and the more recent western tradition of cognitive and clinical science. In order to become MBCT teachers, we need to appreciate and respect the contribution of both traditions.
This workshop invites participants to explore the “C” side of MBCT. What exactly is cognitive therapy? What are its intentions? And the cognitive model of human functioning on which it is based? What is the nature of the alliance a cognitive therapist cultivates with patients? In what ways is cognitive therapy different from mindfulness-based approaches? And what do they have in common?
The workshop will be both interactive and experiential, and offer opportunities for participants to “taste” elements of cognitive therapy for themselves, and for discussion and debate.

Who is this masterclass for? >>

Participants with some prior experience and understanding of MBCT are likely to benefit most from this workshop.

Testimonials from previous masterclass >>

“The best things about the workshop were:  Practice was interwoven throughout and small groups with no pressure to give feedback”.

“The best things about the workshop were:  All of it”.

About Melanie Fennell & Christina Surawy >>

Melanie Fennell was a pioneer of cognitive therapy for depression in the UK. She developed the highly successful Oxford Diploma in Cognitive Therapy and Oxford Diploma/MSc in Advanced Cognitive Therapy Studies, and teaches on the MSt in Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy.  She has a particular interest in cognitive therapy for depression and low self-esteem.  She is a research clinician with Mark Williams, developing MBCT for suicidal patients. She has extensive experience of teaching and training MBCT.

Christina Surawy is an accredited CBT therapist with a special interest in teaching and training MBCT. She has worked with people suffering from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), Cystic fibrosis and Medically Unexplained Symptoms and currently works with long term physical conditions at the Oxford Mindfulness Centre. She also teaches on the Master of Studies in Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy.

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An introduction to Buddhist Psychology
13 December 2013 – John Peacock – £125

-Compulsory for teachers in training-
For over 2500 years Buddhist practice has utilised mindfulness as means for helping individuals to engage fully with life. Rather than attempting to protect ourselves from loss and pain, and withdrawing and evading painful experience through distraction the Buddhist tradition has promoted the development of a psychology based on mindful engagement. This day will explore key areas of Buddhist psychology and their relevance to the practice of mindfulness in more secularised contexts.

Who is this masterclass for? >>

This Masterclass is one of the five essential training days for the MBCT training pathway, see our training page for the pathway here. It also presents an opportunity for mindfulness teachers and others to find out about the ideas that come from early Buddhist thinking, which inform mindfulness practice in the Buddhist tradition.

About John Peacock >>

John Peacock is both an academic and Buddhist Practitioner. He has taught meditation for thirty years and for ten years taught Buddhist studies at the University of Bristol. At present he teaches on the Masters in MBCT at Oxford and is an Associate Director of the Oxford Mindfulness Centre.

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Schedule for the day

From 9.am: Registration with coffee
9.30 am: Workshop begins
12.30 pm – 1.30 pm: We provide a buffet lunch and there is a canteen/shop in the hospital where you can get salads or hot meals if you prefer.
4.30: End

Transport and parking on site

Prince of Wales International Centre, Warneford Hospital

We are approximately 3 miles from Oxford railway station with frequent trains from London (Paddington) and many other parts of the UK. Allow 20 minutes by taxi from the station forecourt and 30 minutes by bus (Wood Farm service). Please see our Contact Us page for more information. This County Council travel information will help you plan your journey.

Please note that parking on the Warneford site is severely restricted and you are strongly advised to use public transport. If you are traveling by car, Oxford is well served by Park and Ride facilities but, due to the high level of usage, drivers cannot rely on finding parking space.

Cancellation Policy

We are able to offer refunds for cancellations within 14 days of the event. After this time, we are happy to transfer you to an alternative class provided you give us 2 working days’ notice. In either case there is an administration fee of £20.

Circumstance may make it necessary for us to cancel events. If we cancel a Masterclass we will refund your fee in full.

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