Making mindfulness accessible to the public and communities
The Sussex Mindfulness Centre has a mission. We aim to help people improve their wellbeing and mental health, particularly those who are underrepresented.
We do this through mindfulness and compassion teaching, teacher training and rigorous research. You can see our vision statement here.
We run the well-known, evidence based, eight-week Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) courses as part of the NHS offer to patients who have been diagnosed with depression in Sussex. We also train clinicians throughout the UK so they can offer MBCT as part of NHS Talking Therapies services. No news there, we’ve been doing this for years.
A new departure for us, is our aim to increase access to mindfulness and compassion courses to improve wellbeing, and promote flourishing. So, not just to help people who suffer from depression.
We are now offering mindfulness and compassion courses to new audiences, including underrepresented communities and the general public. We have several new courses starting imminently. We would love it if you could help us promote these courses through your networks.
Mindfulness for Black, Asian and People of Colour communities
We are running mindfulness-based inclusion training for Black, Asian and People of Colour communities. This course supports participants who experience the challenges of stress and anxiety, caused or intensified by the harmful effects of racism and inequality. Starting in September, there’s still time to join this free course.
Mindfulness for the general public
And for the first time, we’re offering the eight-week MBCT course to members of the public, starting early in September. This course can be used as part of the mindfulness teacher training pathway, and is also relevant to anybody who wants to improve their wellbeing.
The programme guides participants in how to apply the learning in everyday life to manage what is painful and difficult and cultivate qualities such as compassion. It supports people to work with challenges, including recurring patterns of thought and behaviour that create suffering. This is a great opportunity to learn mindfulness at one of the four leading centres in the UK. You can learn more about our new MBCT course that’s open to the public, here. Also we are offering a three-week introduction to mindfulness course to help people decide if mindfulness is for them. And there are more courses for the public coming soon… Watch this space.
Cultivating compassion training
Another first, is our Compassion Cultivation Training course run in conjunction with US based Compassion Institute. The programme draws on insights and techniques from psychology, neuroscience, and contemplative practice. It integrates evidence-based meditation techniques, interactive discussions with real-world exercises to put learning into practice. As a graduate, you establish the habit of relating to yourself, others, and the world around you from a place of greater understanding, joy, and purpose. You can learn more about our Compassion Cultivation Training course here.