Art has long played a powerful role in human experience – offering comfort, sparking curiosity, and helping us make sense of the world. In 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) published a report with 900 studies showing how the arts can support (mental) health and well-being. When combined with mindfulness, the impact can be profound.
This skills and competencies programme for mindfulness teachers explores how mindfulness and the arts can come together to deepen practice, foster emotional resilience, and support mental health. Whether in museums, galleries, healthcare settings or community spaces, mindful art engagement can help us connect more fully – to ourselves, to others, and to the present moment.
“Mindfully engaging with art can help us cultivate a beginner’s mind, enhance our sensory awareness, build the courage to face difficulties, and foster appreciation and joyfulness. In art we encounter life at its fullest.“
Jolien Posthumus
Teacher, Trainer, Supervisor & Practitioner
Developed by Jolien Posthumus, this specialist programme is designed for trained mindfulness teachers who want to welcome art as a pathway to practice mindfulness. You’ll experience key exercises and develop grounded ways of weaving art into your mindfulness teaching, supported through supervision and guidance. By the end of the programme, you’ll have the tools and confidence work with mindfulness in art.
On completion, you’ll a receive ‘Certificate of Attendance’ from Oxford Mindfulness.
What to expect on this course
This online skills- and competency-based training offers experiential learning in using art as a pathway for mindfulness practice. All sessions are delivered online in a supportive group format.
The training includes:
▸ 8-week 3-hour online teaching sessions
▸ 2x Intervision sessions between module 2-3 & 3-4
▸ Individual supervision session(s), scheduled directly with Jolien
The training is divided into four modules:
Modules 1 & 2 – Foundations: Art, Mindfulness & Wellbeing
These modules explore how ancient understandings of art in relation to (mental) health and wellbeing are mirrored in contemporary (neuro-)aesthetics. You will engage with global research, emerging insights, and inspiring practice examples. You will also explore how the arts can become a trusted ally in mindfulness practice by cultivating core mindfulness qualities and working with trauma- and neuro-informed principles. Key elements include sensory awareness, feeling tone, and the use of art as a supportive anchor for awareness and self-&co-regulation.
Participants will be required to plan two peer intervision sessions with their peer group (between Modules 2–3 and 3–4). Included in the training: individual supervision (1.5 hours total) with the course director, scheduled at the participant’s own pace (3 × 30 minutes or 2 × 45 minutes).
Modules 3 & 4 – Application: Developing Your Own Programme
I In these modules, the focus shifts to developing your own mindfulness-in-art programme, tailored to your professional context. You will design an implementation plan suited to your healthcare, cultural, educational, or social setting. Through peer intervision and supervision with the teacher, you will receive feedback and guidance as you refine your programme and prepare to offer it in practice.
Full course dates
Training takes place on Fridays, 09:00-12:00 UK Time:
- Session 1: 27 March 2026*
- Session 2: 3 April 2026
- Session 3: 10 April 2026
- Session 4: 17 April 2026
- Session 5: 24 April 2026
- Session 6: 1 May 2026
- Session 7: 8 May 2026
- Session 8: 15 May 2026
Additionally, you’ll be required to plan 2 x intervision sessions with your peer-group.
There is the opportunity to book 3 x optional individual sessions directly with the trainer, Jolien Posthumus. Please note: The cost for the 3 indiviudal sessions isn’t included in the course cost. Separate payment with the course trainer, Jolien, is required.
*UK Time shifts from GMT to BST on Sunday 29th March 2026.
What you can do after this course
By the end of the course, you will have a clear understanding of how to integrate art into your mindfulness approaches. You will gain insight into how mindfulness in art can support mental health and foster social connection. In addition, you will have developed your own mindfulness-in-art programme, ready to be implemented in your professional context—whether in healthcare, education, cultural institutions, or community settings.
Entry criteria – who can apply for this course?
You can apply to this course if you have:
- A private indoor space where you can take part in the training without being interrupted or overheard by other people.
- Completed a mindfulness teacher training pathway of at least 12 months in another 8-week mindfulness-based programme (MBCT, MBSR, MBCT-L, etc), which meets the Good Practice Guidelines for training pathways, led by a trainer in-person or live online, and not self-guided.
- An established and regular personal mindfulness practice, ideally for at least a year.
- Actively or passively worked with art, or have the intention do so, and have the ability to develop your own programme for your own situation. A background in arts isn’t mandatory.
- The ability to speak, write, and understand English to a level where you can fully take part in all parts of the training without the need for extra translation support.
- A stable internet connection, the right equipment and the technical skills to join an online training programme via Zoom, with the video always on.
If you have questions relating this course, please contact Jolien directly
https://www.jolienposthumus.com/en/art-mental-health/
*Please note: If you’re an experienced specialist mindfulness teacher from a different tradition, working within the Good Practice Guidelines and affiliated with / supported by one of the major internationally recognised mindfulness training centres, please provide full details on your application form.
Please do not sign up for this training if you’re not fully trained to teach mindfulness or are limited by only attending a course as a participant. In these cases, your application will not be approved, and you may be charged an administration fee when we refund your payment.
About Jolien Posthumus
Jolien is a mindfulness trainer and teacher, trailblazer in Art & Mental Health and the founder of Mindfulness in Museums (MiM). With a background in applied arts and working as trauma-sensitive mindfulness trainer in psychological care, Jolien bridges the transformative power of art and mental health.
She was appointed as the first Mental Health Programme Manager in a Dutch museum: 2022 EMYA winner Museum of the Mind. She also played a key role in the Van Gogh Museum’s mental health initiative ‘Open up with Vincent’, challenging stigma that surrounds HIV and AIDS through dance – working for Dance4Life and advising the pioneering Dutch project ‘Museum on Prescription’.
Today, she consults cultural and healthcare institutes worldwide on the societal challenges in relation to (mental) health. Jolien develops and integrates Art & Mindfulness-based approaches in mental health strategies and trains teams on working with a focus on mental health and in a trauma informed way. As a sought-after speaker, she shares insights on the intersection of art, mindfulness, mental health, stress reduction and post-traumatic growth.
In 2017, Jolien founded Mindfulness in Museums and developed Mindfulness in Museums programmes and Art Meditations in The Netherlands and abroad. She developed the Mindfulness in Museums method and implemented it in mindfulness programmes and art meditations for the public, young adults, people with mental health challenges (stress/trauma, anxiety and depression), health care professionals and caregivers of people with dementia.
In 2023/24, the first 12 mindfulness trainers completed the Dutch Mindfulness in Museums teacher training.
“I’m absolutely thrilled with the way Oxford Mindfulness brings mindfulness to us all and creates space for us all. Being a Guest Trainer with this innovate organisation means learning from and co-creating with leaders in our field.”
Jolien Posthumus
Teacher, Trainer, Supervisor & Practitioner