Mark Williams helps us Discover Joy in Troubled Times
Few people have done more than Professor Mark Williams to make mindfulness accessible and popular in the UK. Given this, we are super excited that Mark is to speak at our eleventh annual conference, in Brighton next month.
Mark will join a panel of distinguished speakers at the conference titled “Discovering Joy in Troubled Times” on Friday, 9 May.
Mark popularised mindfulness in the UK when he co-authored “Mindfulness: A Practical Guide to Finding Peace in a Frantic World”. In this bestselling book (over 1.5 million copies sold), Mark outlines a lighter version of the Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) programme he co-developed with Zindel Segal and John Teasdale. The original eight-week MBCT course is included by NICE as a recommended treatment for mild to moderate depression and for relapse prevention.
The programme outlined in the Finding Peace book is tailored to the general population, with shorter guided practices, simple exercises and explanations that enable readers to integrate mindfulness into daily life. As Mark explains, it was designed for “those who find themselves over-busy, stressed and exhausted, who feel that life is running away from them.”
For many in the UK, Mark Williams is the voice of mindfulness, as his audio recordings form part of the hugely popular Finding Peace package. His voice embodies mindfulness, enabling listeners to settle, focus and be compassionate to themselves. Readers of the book listen to his gentle, warm and comforting voice guiding them through the practices.
His latest book, “Deeper Mindfulness” explores ‘feeling tone’, the ‘background colour’ that guides our thoughts, feelings and emotions. The book and its practices allow us to see more closely what’s behind the scenes influencing us most of the time. In doing so, it enables us to observe the habits of mind, make more skilful, informed choices, and free us up for more balance, equanimity and joy.
The conference will explore how discovering joy can help in the treatment of mental health issues. Drawing on his latest book, Mark will talk about new perspectives in psychological science. He will explore how these affect our understanding of how mindfulness brings freedom from suffering and distress and opportunities for appreciation and contentment, particularly in challenging times.
Also helping us to explore this theme is Dr Radha Mogdil, GP, author and television wellbeing expert. Dr Modgil will explore the opportunity to flourish, not simply survive, in distressing times. She will offer some small, simple daily strategies to support people to find those opportunities and will discuss the role of mindfulness in our approach to health and wellbeing.
Finally, we will hear from Professor Barney Dunn one of the UK’s leading mindfulness researchers, who works on developing novel treatments for mood disorders. Prof Dunn will introduce some ways that mindfulness-based treatments are being adapted to build positive emotions and wellbeing.