Sussex Mindfulness Centre

Can we heal healthcare? Caring for doctors with evidence-based practice
2026-11-06 09:00 - 17:00 (Europe/London) | Friends Meeting House, Ship Street, Brighton, Sussex, BN1 1AF, United Kingdom
Medical mindfulness conference

A one‑day conference bringing doctors together to explore wellbeing, leadership, and evidence‑based mindfulness in healthcare in Brighton.

Keynote speaker: Professor Gwen Adshead (BBC Reith Lecturer)

Overview

The event will explore how evidence‑based mindfulness and compassion can support doctors working under increasing pressure in healthcare systems.

Hosted by the Sussex Mindfulness Centre, the programme brings together doctors, medical leaders, and educators to reflect on individual and systemic approaches to wellbeing.

Keynote speaker Dr Gwen Adshead, forensic psychiatrist and former BBC Reith Lecturer, will share reflections from over 30 years of clinical practice, including her experience of Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy. She is joined by national and international leaders in medical wellbeing, mindfulness, and system‑level change.

The day combines keynote talks, personal perspectives, and experiential workshops, offering space for reflection, learning, and connection with colleagues.

Held at the Friends Meeting House in Brighton, the conference offers a supportive environment to pause, think, and engage with others committed to caring for those who care for patients.

Who is this for?

This conference is for doctors and managers working in the NHS, whether you have an interest in improving wellbeing for your organisation, team or for yourself it promises to be an inspiring, informative and nourishing day.

Speakers

Keynote speakers include Dr Gwen Adshead who will discuss her experience of training as a therapist and what she has learned about changing minds after thirty years of working as a therapist. She will focus especially on her experience of training in Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy, and what she has learned and is still learning from patients and colleagues.

Gwen is a consultant forensic psychiatrist and psychotherapist with over 30 years’ experience in offender rehabilitation and therapy with people who have committed serious violence. She has published widely on ethics, trauma, and personal change, co-authoring The Devil You Know and Unspeakable. Her work emphasises compassion, reflection, and lasting change.

Other speakers include international and national leaders in medical wellbeing, mindfulness and system level change: Dr Umakant Dave MBE, Consultant Gastroenterologist, Swansea; Dr Florian Ruths, Consultant Psychiatrist, Clinical Lead, Maudsley Medical Psychotherapy Service; Dr Manuel Villareal, GP, Chipping Campden, Gloucestershire; Dr Carter Lebares, Associate Professor of Surgery University of California, San Francisco; Director, UCSF Center for Mindfulness in Surgery, Co-Founder/-Director UCSF UCLA Wellbeing In Surgery (WISe) Collaborative.

Programme

You can download the full programme with all the talks and workshops. It includes the names and biographies of all the national and international speakers. Download your programme here.

Tickets

Early Bird tickets are £80 and available for a limited time. Once these are sold out, the standard ticket price of £99 will apply. You can book your tickets by clicking on this link.

Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy: The evolving story
2026-11-20 09:30 - 16:30 | Online
This masterclass will explore the story behind Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy, its research and practice, as well as dilemmas that practitioners may face today.

What is covered?

The day will chart the unfolding of the story of Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) research and practice, interweaving presentations with practice and dialogue.

Participants will be supported to situate themselves within the evolving story and invited to inquire into the role we are all playing – how is our MBCT practice situated? What are the questions and dilemmas we are experiencing?

Who is this for?

This workshop is suitable for anyone involved in teaching, or training to teach, mindfulness.

You can join this online workshop from anywhere, as long as you have a stable internet connection.

Please note, current trainees on our teacher training courses (Foundation and Adapted Mindfulness Based Interventions) are automatically on the attendance list for this masterclass, as it forms part of the syllabus. If this is you, you do not need to book a place.

The facilitators

Professor Clara Strauss

Professor Clara Strauss

Clara Strauss is a consultant clinical psychologist, mindfulness teacher and clinical researcher. In her research, Clara is particularly interested in developing and evaluating new forms of mindfulness-based intervention (MBI), especially for those people who may not be willing or able to access MBCT. Along with other members of her research team, Clara has been evaluating MBIs for people experiencing depression, for people distressed by hearing voices and for people experiencing obsessive-compulsive disorder. This research has also included research with NHS staff, university students and the wider population.

Taravajra

Taravajra

Taravajra has been teaching mindfulness in Sussex since 2005 to community groups, carers, teachers and NHS staff. Taravajra gained a Masters degree in mindfulness-based approaches in 2010 at Bangor University. Since 2011, he has been part of the core training team at Bangor, teaching on the Masters programme and teacher training pathway in the English and Spanish speaking worlds.

Since 2011 he has been one of the main trainers on the Sussex Mindfulness Centre’s teacher training programme.

Certificates

This masterclass is valid for ongoing personal development in mindfulness or as part of the Sussex Mindfulness Centre teacher training pathway. Certificates of attendance can be supplied on completion of the day’s training, if requested.

Booking

You will be able to book this event from 5 May 2026. If you would like to receive a reminder when bookings open, please email us to spft.smc@nhs.net.

The cost of the eight-week course is £75. We also offer a choice of two other options:

£100 – Supporting rate. You can support other participants to attend who are on a low income.

£50 – Supported rate, if you are on a low income and can’t afford the basic rate.

As part of our equity, diversity and inclusion policy, we also have a limited number of concessionary tickets available on a first-come, first-served basis. These are for people who are facing acute financial hardship and who would otherwise not be able to attend. To request a concession ticket please email spft.smc@nhs.net.

We are striving to make our courses accessible for all. If you have additional needs or learning styles, please let us know so we can support you.

Mindful Self-Compassion residential teacher training
2027-03-14 15:00 - 2027-03-20 12:00
This week-long Mindful Self-Compassion teacher training course is the first step of the teacher training that will enable you to run the eight-week Mindful Self-Compassion course. You’ll learn how to present the Mindful Self-Compassion curriculum and develop your own teaching presence. This is the start of your training journey to teach Mindful Self-Compassion.

The six-day intensive training is held at Sharpham House, in Devon from 14 March 2027.

The practical details

The training runs from Sunday 14 March to Saturday 20 March 2027. It will take place at the peaceful and beautiful Sharpham House residential retreat, near Totnes, in Devon. It is 2.5 hours away by direct train from London Paddington. Arrival on Sunday 14 March is from 3pm and orientation day formally starts at 4.30pm. On Saturday 20 March we end at 12pm. It is essential that you are able to complete the training in full.

Brief overview

The residential training is Step 3 on the pathway to becoming a recognised trained teacher of the eight-week Mindful Self-Compassion programme. The teacher training is built around the eight weekly sessions of the foundational Mindful Self-Compassion programme. Each half day is dedicated to a condensed, experiential review of one of the weekly sessions. These are followed by small group activities designed to give trainees opportunities to practice teaching, guiding meditations and facilitating discussion, with the close consultation of one of the teacher trainers. In addition, the training includes short talks, group exercises, discussion, and periods of silence which contribute to a retreat feel at times. Progression on the pathway is to Step 4. However, it is possible that during the training, members of the teaching training team may ask you to strengthen various personal or professional skills prior to your enrolling in the Teacher Training Practicum.

Who is the training for?

This six-day residential teacher training is intended for those who wish to teach the Mindful Self-Compassion programme, those who would like to integrate mindfulness and self-compassion in their ongoing professional activities (i.e., psychotherapy, coaching, nursing, teaching, etc.), and individuals who have a professional interest in the field (i.e., researchers etc.).

The teacher training team

Ali Lambie

Ali Lambie has a Masters degree in teaching Mindfulness-Based Approaches from the University of Bangor. Prior to training as a mindfulness teacher she was a counsellor for many years and spent eight years as manager of a counselling service within the NHS.

Ali lives in the south of England and set up Mindfulness Hampshire in 2011. Since that time she has offered regular courses, workshops and retreats locally and further afield. In 2013, Ali came across the work of Dr Chris Germer and Dr Kristin Neff in the form of Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC). This made a huge impact and she immersed herself in this field, gradually becoming a certified teacher and then teacher trainer of MSC: this work is her passion. These days Ali is fully self-employed teaching MSC and supervising and training others both in the UK and internationally with the Center for Mindful Self-Compassion in the USA. Ali enjoys supporting other teachers in her various roles and often has newer teachers working alongside her too. She has a deep love of the countryside and part of her practice is mindful walking in the woods each day.

Zoe Shobbrook-Fisher

Zoe has been an MSC teacher trainer since 2019. For the last 16 years, after a decade working as a student/staff counsellor and group facilitator in higher education, she set up her own company in southwest London, offering beginner and deepening practice Mindful Based Stress Reduction and MSC courses, residential retreats and self-compassion informed therapy. She is a director at The Mindfulness Project and co-founded the thriving In Good Company practice community. She delivers programmes to a wide range of groups, reflecting her commitment to making these approaches accessible to diverse populations; in the workplace, charity and clinical settings. A lifelong yoga and meditation practitioner she has always been dedicated to paths of the heart and authenticity. Her practice includes her love of singing and conscious dance.

How to apply

Firstly, please make sure you meet all the pre-requisites below. You are invited to attend a free information session Monday 20th April 5-6pm, where the teacher will be available to answer your questions.

You will be asked to complete a thorough application form, which will be carefully reviewed by the teacher training team. Acceptance decisions are made with care to ensure participants are well-prepared and the training space remains safe, supportive, and effective for everyone involved. Sometimes this involves a follow up call to talk the training process through a bit further and make sure it’s the right training at the right time for you. If you are also interested in Step 4, the online Teacher Training Practicum (TTP) that follows Step 3, we’ll send you the TTP application form once you’ve been accepted for the Residential Teacher Training. Or if you’re not sure you can commit to those TTP dates yet you can simply express interest via spft.smc@nhs.net.

Teacher training application pre-requisites

You must have:

Completed a full-length or intensive MSC course

A five-day or multiple shorter silent teacher-led meditation retreats

A six-month gap between your MSC course and the teacher training

Have an established ongoing, daily, mindfulness meditation practice

Have an established ongoing practice of loving-kindness and self-compassion formally and informally

You do not have to be a mental health professional to participate in the MSC teacher training.

Please note: You are expected to allow a six month gap between completing your MSC course and beginning the teacher training. This is to deepen your personal practice, integrating what you’ve learned and ensure you’re truly ready for the time, energy, and financial commitment of teacher training. However, you may register for teacher training at any time after you complete the MSC course.

Cost of residential teacher training

Early bird rates

Below are the early bird rates (which include full board for six nights and all tuition fees and materials) if you pay your non-refundable deposit before 1 Aug 2026. Please indicate your room type preferences on your application form.

Room types will be allocated on a first come, first served basis and will also take into account any accessibility or support needs.

Single occupancy ensuite room: £1800

Single occupancy room with a bathroom shared between two rooms: £1700

Shared ensuite twin room (with another trainee): £1600

Standard rates

Standard rates (which include full board for six nights and all tuition fees and materials) if you pay your non-refundable deposit between 1 Aug and 14 Nov 2026. Please indicate your room type preferences on your application form

Single occupancy ensuite room: £1950

Single occupancy room with a bathroom shared between two rooms: £1850

Shared ensuite twin room (with another trainee): £1750

Application process

Submit your registration form and pay the £500 non-refundable deposit as soon as possible to request your preferred room type, and by 1 August 2026 to secure an early bird rate.

Once your application has been received, you will receive a confirmation email which will include a longer online MSC Teacher Training Application This application includes a brief 200-word statement where you can share your reasons for taking the teacher training and your reflections.

If your application is not accepted, a full refund will be granted. If your application is approved, the relevant balance of your payment will need to be made. The amount depends on the date you apply (before or after the early bird rate).

Bursary places

We would like to make this training available to as many people as possible and there are limited number of bursaries. In the past, it has been possible to give a discount of around £300 to most people who needed it but the decision about how much discount can be offered is dependent on how many applicants we have and is made shortly before the start of the training.

People applying for the bursaries are asked to register for the training, pay the deposit as soon as possible to request their preferred room type (i.e. stage 1 above) and at the same time complete and return a Bursary Application Form to the Sussex Mindfulness Centre at spft.smc@nhs.net which should address the following questions:

Why do you wish to attend this training, and what are the specific financial or other barriers to your attending?

How do you imagine implementing or integrating MSC into your life / teaching?

Please contact spft.smc@nhs.net for a bursary application form and to request the link to pay your £500 deposit.

Teaching Presence in Relationship: an Interpersonal Mindfulness teacher training retreat
2027-10-21 15:00 - 2027-10-30 16:00
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