Winner in Innovations in Mindfulness Awards

The Sussex Mindfulness Centre has won an Innovations in Mindfulness Award for their pioneering work running mindfulness courses for women refugees

Lana Jackson holding the Innovation in Mindfulness Awards finalist trophy
Lana Jackson holds the award

The award was announced on 19 October 2024, at the Manchester Mindfulness Festival. The awards were initiated to celebrate “the creativity that makes mindfulness practices more accessible, more diverse and more effective.” The Centre won this award under the Creative Partnerships category which acknowleges the role of all the individuals and organisations that made this work possible.

Julia Powell, mindfulness teacher, receiving the Innovations in Mindfulness Award for the Centre's work with refugees
Juila Powell receives award

The first most important collaboration, and part of the winning team, were Ariana Faris and Sheila Webb for pioneering the development of the curriculum, Mindfulness Across Borders. The 10-week course was adapted from Mindfuness Based Cognitive Therapy to be non-hierarchical, trauma-informed and culturally sensitive. Ariana supervised the Sussex Mindfulness Centre teachers to run the courses in Brighton. And Ariana enabled the teachers to make further adaptations to the curriculum, which were inspired by the participants themselves.

The other important collaborators were the leaders, volunteers and staff of local refugee organisations including: The Network of International Women for Brighton & Hove, Sanctuary on Sea, Hummingbird, Brighton Exiled / Refugee Trauma Service, and many more. A huge thanks to them all.

Nick Grey, Consultant Clinical Psychologist at Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust secured funds from Health Education England so that we could run courses for underrepresented groups. Robert Marx, Co-Lead for the Sussex Mindfulness Centre, identified asylum seekers and refugees as an important population for our outreach work. He continues to be a champion for this initiative. Interns Susie Mszynska and Georgia Sawyer supervised by Clara Strauss, and staff member Zoe Baty provided essential support to help us promote and run the sessions.

Dr Lana Jackson and Julia Powell led the courses in Brighton. On hearing news of the award Lana said,

Receiving this award is not only an honour but a reminder of the importance of this work. It highlights the need for trauma-sensitive, supportive spaces that respect and honour the lived experiences of refugees and people seeking asylum in the UK. … Watching the women come together, support each other, and their deep appreciation for mindfulness practice has been one of the most moving experiences of my career to date.

You can read more about the evolving innovations, including how the sessions were taken outdoors in Lana’s blog post here.

Mindfulness teacher, Julia Powell said,

We’re so thrilled to get this award. At a time, when so many people in the UK are under attack for exercising their right to seek sanctuary from persecution or war, it feels like their struggle is being recognised. We hope this award helps us with our fundraising and inspires others to run these courses all around UK, so that more people can learn to adapt to their new situation, and feel welcome in their communities.”

You can read more of Julia’s experience of running the courses in Miracles of Mindfulness; working with women refugees.

The teachers were humbled to witness how women refugees benefit from mindfulness. Having been uprooted, separated from loved ones, living in poor housing with their lives on hold many of the participants were still able to find stability, comfort, warmth and a sense of community and solidarity from the sessions. One participant said,

When I do mindfulness, I feel like I’m flying. It’s very powerful, you feel like you can run, you can learn.”

With generous agreement from the original two pioneers of the curriculum, Ariana and Sheila, the Sussex Mindfulness Centre will use the prize money to run another course for asylum seekers and refugees.