People who train to teach Brief & Adapted mindfulness interventions now have a pathway to register as mindfulness teachers with the British Association of Mindfulness-Based Approaches (BAMBA). Fergal Jones, convenor of our mindfulness teacher training programmes, explains what this means – and who Brief & Adapted training is for.
Different training for different kinds of teaching
One question people often ask when considering mindfulness teacher training is: which training is right for me?
There isn’t one answer. It depends very much on what you want to do with your training.
At Sussex Mindfulness & Compassion, our two main mindfulness teacher training pathways prepare people for different kinds of teaching. Our Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) and Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) teacher training is for people who want to teach established eight-week mindfulness-based courses.
Our Brief & Adapted Interventions teacher training has a different purpose. It is for people who want to bring mindfulness safely and skilfully to groups they already facilitate. They learn to adapt mindfulness to the needs of a particular population and context.
This might include therapeutic groups where people have particular needs for adaptation, such as people with learning disabilities or severe mental health difficulties. It could also include particular settings, such as organisations, hospital wards or one-to-one therapy, or different formats such as drop-in or taster sessions and self-help groups.
The Brief & Adapted training route can be helpful in these and other situations where a standard eight-week mindfulness course may not be the most appropriate way to introduce mindfulness.
A significant development from BAMBA
Until recently, there was an important difference between the two pathways when it came to professional registration.
People trained to teach eight-week mindfulness-based programmes could apply to join the register of mindfulness teachers held by the British Association of Mindfulness-Based Approaches (BAMBA), providing they met BAMBA’s requirements.
BAMBA has now introduced a pathway that means people completing our training to teach Brief & Adapted mindfulness interventions can also become eligible to apply for registration, subject to meeting BAMBA’s criteria.
I think this is a really welcome development.
It recognises that high-quality mindfulness teaching does not only take place within a standard eight-week course. Mindfulness is increasingly being offered in different settings. Facilitators need the skills to adapt what they offer safely and appropriately for the people they work with.
What does Brief & Adapted teacher training involve?
Our Brief & Adapted Mindfulness Interventions training is a year-long, part-time programme running from February to December, with the next course starting in 2027.
It develops the skills needed to teach mindfulness safely and effectively. Trainees also explore how mindfulness can be adapted to their own setting and population.
The programme includes experiential learning, teaching practice, reflective work and peer learning. It also covers areas such as inquiry and trauma-informed mindfulness teaching.
The training requires fewer teaching days and costs considerably less than our MBCT/MBSR pathway, but still represents a commitment to high-quality, effective and safe teaching. Most importantly, the choice between the two should be led by what and where you want to teach. One is not a substitute for the other.
Those who complete Brief & Adapted training and later decide they would like to teach full MBCT or MBSR courses can undertake top-up training to develop the additional skills and experience required.
Bringing mindfulness into very different settings
One of the things I particularly value about this training is seeing how trainees integrate mindfulness into work they are already doing.
Georgie Payne has integrated mindfulness into her work as a grief and wellbeing mentor, bringing the skills developed through the training into an existing way of supporting people.
Mark Maund, for example, joined our Brief & Adapted teacher training because he wanted to bring mindfulness to people he encounters in stressful workplace settings. He found that many were not ready to commit to an eight-week course.
Emily Kenneally, a writer and creative workshop facilitator, chose the training because she wanted to support people who may find longer practices or traditional eight-week programmes challenging. She now incorporates mindfulness into her creative workshops and is developing mindfulness teaching for people with ADHD and in workplaces.
These are very different settings, but that is precisely the point. Brief & Adapted training teaches the foundations and skills of mindfulness teaching, while helping trainees consider what is appropriate for the people in front of them.
Is Brief & Adapted training right for you?
If you already facilitate groups and would like to incorporate mindfulness into your work, Brief & Adapted training may be the right pathway for you.
The new route to BAMBA registration provides an additional opportunity for people choosing this pathway. But for me, the fundamental question remains: what do you hope to do with your mindfulness teacher training afterwards?
We run regular free online information sessions covering both our MBCT/MBSR and Brief & Adapted teacher training pathways. You can hear more about the programmes, ask questions and explore which route best fits the kind of mindfulness teaching you hope to do. You can sign up to one of the sessions – see the bottom of this page.
Dr Fergal Jones is the convenor of our teacher training programmes for Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy and adapted mindfulness interventions. He is a clinical psychologist and cognitive behavioural therapist. He uses mindfulness in his clinical work, supervises mindfulness teachers and is involved in research into mindfulness-based interventions.