I’m a freelance mindfulness teacher, trained and competency assessed by Oxford Mindfulness and listed with the British Association for Mindfulness Based Approaches (BAMBA).
In addition, I have completed introductory cognitive behavioural therapy training at the Oxford Cognitive Therapy Centre and also training in Trauma Sensitive Mindfulness, Mental Health First Aid and Non-Violent Communication (NVC).
In order to teach on-line, I completed a masterclass in ‘Teaching mindfulness on-line live.’
As well as teaching mindfulness, I’m an award-winning writer with an MA in Dramatic Writing and twenty years’ experience writing, directing and producing drama in school and community settings. My particular interest is Forum Theatre (interactive drama for social and political change) and I’ve created drama pieces in collaboration with people with lived experience of mental illness and also mental health professionals.
I live for the moment in East Oxford, UK.
I teach 8-week courses on-line or in person. The courses I teach are:
- Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT),
- Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy for Life (MBCT-L)
- Finding Peace in a Frantic World – based on the book ‘Mindfulness – a practical guide to finding peace in a frantic world’ by Mark Williams and Danny Penman
I’m also trained to teach ‘Mindfulness for Creativity’ (based on the book by Danny Penman).
I teach courses to the general public and university students. I have also taught mindfulness to the following specific groups: parents, junior doctors and the Sussex Forest School association.
With the support of Chris Cullen, I developed a 4-week follow-on course for University Students and I now run that for students at Oxford University.
I am also part of the Oxford Mindfulness team of teachers offering on-line free 30-minute meditations every week day.
For more information about me please visit my website and Facebook page.
One of my favourite ‘mindfulness’ poems is by R D Laing:
The range of what we think and do
is limited by what we fail to notice.
And because we fail to notice
there is little we can do
to change
until we notice
how failing to notice
shapes our thoughts and deeds.
“Jon Kabat-Zinn wrote that mindfulness is about ‘falling awake to life’. That’s the phrase that started me on the mindfulness journey: falling awake to the delightful and to the painful, falling awake to my patterns of thought and behaviour, falling awake to a new and gentle self-compassion. It has quite literally changed my life. It’s now an honour to share these teachings.“
Susie Stead
Teacher