Mindfulness course: Wednesday evenings
2024-10-09 18:00 - 20:00 (Europe/London) | Online
This eight-week course combines mindfulness practices and cognitive-behavioural techniques to help reduce low-mood and anxiety. There is increasing evidence that this eight-week mindfulness course is effective in reducing other mental health issues and improving wellbeing and resilience.

Overview​

The course helps participants develop greater awareness of their thoughts, emotions, and experiences which in turn helps cultivate resilience and reduce depression and anxiety. This mindfulness course was designed originally to help people who experience repeated episodes of depression to prevent relapse. However, it is now recognised as an effective treatment for existing mild to moderate depression (not just preventing relapse) and also helps improve wellbeing and resilience.

When?

Wednesday evenings, 6pm-8pm, starting 9 October to 4 December 2024.

Where?

You will get Zoom log-in details when your place is confirmed.

The format of the course?

Two-hour orientation session at the start to help you decide if the course is right for you

Eight weekly two-hour classes (nine weeks in total including the orientation) including mindfulness practices, discussion and exercises

Daily meditation home practice of between 20 to 40 minutes

Facilitator

Fergal Jones

How to book

Fill in the application form here indicating the dates you can attend in order of preference.

Mindfulness teacher training information session
2024-10-08 13:00 - 14:00, 2024-09-30 17:30 - 18:30 | Online
Are you interested in teaching Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy or Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction? Or perhaps you would like to include mindfulness-based interventions in your current work with clients? Either way, this session will provide all you need to know about various training options with us.

What’s included

The session will be led by one of the Sussex Mindfulness Centre’s lead teachers. It will include a short presentation, and you will have the opportunity to get your questions answered.

Book your place

Book your place by emailing smc@spft.nhs.uk, with Teacher Training Information Session in the Subject and you will be sent a joining link.

Mindful Self-Compassion eight-weeks: Monday afternoons
2024-10-07 15:00 - 17:30 | East Brighton Community Mental Health Centre, Pankhurst Avenue, Brighton, BN2 3EW
Mindful Self-Compassion teaches core principles and practices that enable participants to respond to challenges and difficult emotions with care and understanding.

Overview​

Research has shown that self-compassion greatly enhances emotional wellbeing. It boosts happiness, reduces anxiety and depression, and can even help maintain healthy lifestyle habits such as diet and exercise. Being both mindful and compassionate leads to greater ease and well-being in our daily lives. Find out more about the Mindful Self-Compassion course here.

When?

Monday afternoons 15.00 to 17.30, starting 7 October and running until 2 December 2024.

Where?

East Brighton Community Mental Health Centre.

The format of the course?

Two and a half hour orientation session at the start to help you decide if the course is right for you.

Eight further weekly two and a half hour classes including mindful self-compassion practices, discussion and exercises.

Daily meditation home practice of between 20 to 40 minutes.

Facilitator

Robert Marx and Catherine Cameron

How to book

Fill in the application form here and identify the Mindful Self-Compassion course as your preference.

Mindful Self-Compassion eight-weeks: Monday afternoons
2024-10-07 14:30 - 17:00 | East Brighton Community Mental Health Centre, Pankhurst Avenue, Brighton, BN2 3EW
Mindful Self-Compassion teaches core principles and practices that enable participants to respond to challenges and difficult emotions with care and understanding.

Overview​

Research has shown that self-compassion greatly enhances emotional wellbeing. It boosts happiness, reduces anxiety and depression, and can even help maintain healthy lifestyle habits such as diet and exercise. Being both mindful and compassionate leads to greater ease and well-being in our daily lives. Find out more about the Mindful Self-Compassion course here.

When?

Monday afternoons 14.30 to 17.00, starting 7 October and running until 9 December 2024 (no session on 28 October).

Where?

East Brighton Community Mental Health Centre.

The format of the course?

Two and a half hour orientation session at the start to help you decide if the course is right for you.

Eight further weekly two and a half hour classes including mindful self-compassion practices, discussion and exercises.

Daily meditation home practice of between 20 to 40 minutes.

Facilitator

Robert Marx and Catherine Cameron

How to book

Fill in the application form here and identify the Mindful Self-Compassion course as your preference. You can also book and pay for your place below.

Buddhist Foundations of Mindfulness
2024-10-04 09:30 - 16:30 | Online
This workshop explores the Buddhist origins and intentions of mindfulness practice.

What is covered?

Even though it is common to deliver secular mindfulness-based programmes, many of the ideas in these programmes make more sense when we understand their origins and intentions.

John Peacock is one of the few people who can expertly make this bridge and we are delighted to welcome him back again.

Who is this for?

This masterclass is suitable for anyone involved in teaching, or training to teach, mindfulness; or anyone with a particular interest in the Buddhist underpinnings of mindfulness practice.

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 facilitator

John Peacock

John Peacock is an academic and a Buddhist practitioner of nearly fifty years. Trained initially in the Tibetan Gelukpa tradition in India, he then spent time in Sri Lanka studying Theravāda. Following a doctorate in philosophy, he taught Buddhist and Western philosophy as well as Buddhist studies at the University of Bristol. He went on to be an Associate Director of the Oxford Mindfulness Centre and co-direct the Master of Studies programme in Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy at the University of Oxford. John is now retired from academia and continues to teach meditation and courses on Buddhism and Western philosophy internationally.

Certificates

This 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.

Five-day mindfulness retreat with Taravajra
2024-09-23 17:00 - 2024-09-27 11:00 | Rivendell Retreat Centre, Chillies Lane, High Hurstwood, East Sussex, TN22 4AB, United Kingdom
Rivendell Retreat Centre in East Sussex

A five-day mindfulness retreat in this lovely retreat centre. It is suitable for teachers training in mindfulness based approaches.

Brief overview

The retreat will mostly be held in silence with guidance from teachers Taravajra and Kate Gooch. We will explore the main practices found within an eight week Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction and Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy course. Body scans, and different kinds of movement and sitting practice will be offered. There will also be opportunities to speak about your practice in small groups. The teachers will be available for support and guidance.

This retreat meets the retreat requirement for the BAMBA register.

Where is it?

Who is the retreat for?

The retreat is aimed towards teachers in training. It is also a great opportunity for more experienced mindfulness teachers. The retreat will count towards the annual retreat requirement for teachers and supervisors on the BAMBA Register. We will explore the four Foundations of Mindfulness.

Retreat leaders

Taravajra

Taravajra has been teaching Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy and Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction in Sussex since 2005. He has taught community groups, carers, teachers and NHS staff groups. He 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 retreats as well as offering supervision. He also holds a British Wheel of Yoga teaching diploma and is a Focusing practitioner. He is one of the main trainers on the Foundation training for Sussex Mindfulness Centre. Taravajra is particularly interested in mindful movement. After training with the British Wheel of Yoga, he taught yoga for several years.

Kate Gooch

Kate Gooch holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Mindfulness Based Approaches from Bangor University (2012) and has taught Mindfulness since 2007. She teaches the general population, clinical populations, and carers, as well as delivering courses in educational settings and the workplace. She’s trained in .b, .b Foundations, and MYRIAD, in addition to being a Mindfulness supervisor for the Mindfulness Network. She also has a Speech and Language Therapy background.

How much does it cost and how do I book?

The cost is £600. It is being organised by Taravajra, so to book and find out more please see the event page on his website.

Self-compassion and burnout workshop with Chris Germer
2024-09-21 10:00 - 16:30 | Friends Meeting House, Ship Street, Brighton, Sussex, BN1 1AF, United Kingdom
The Sussex Mindfulness Centre are pleased to welcome Chris Germer to the UK to present the “Self-compassion and burnout” workshop in Brighton.

Many of us would say we’re burned out on the news or Zoom meetings. However, when burnout strikes, it’s hard to do much of anything. We feel drained, empty, irritable, or useless. We’re also likely to blame ourselves for feeling this way. Have you been there, perhaps during the pandemic, or do you know someone who has been burned out? That’s highly likely because studies show that 25-75% of workers around the world experience burnout symptoms.

Burnout happens when our work-life balance gets out of whack, usually through no fault of our own. We’re just doing the best we can. Common causes of burnout include excessive workload, lack of support, unfairness at the workplace, and moral distress. People who care deeply about their work are also more likely to get burned out, as are those who base their self-worth on their work, have a tendency to sacrifice themselves, or criticize themselves when things go wrong.

Fortunately, self-compassion is an antidote to burnout, and there are many research studies that support this claim. We also have an empirically-supported training for healthcare workers derived from the Mindful Self-compassion (MSC) programme—Self-Compassion for Healthcare Communities. Recently, Kristin Neff and Chris Germer wrote a new book, to be published in September 2024, titled The Mindful Self-Compassion Toolkit for Burnout. This book, written in an easy style for exhausted readers, adapts MSC concepts and practices specifically for burnout.

This experiential workshop consists of talks, meditation, exercises and discussion. It is designed for people with some familiarity with self-compassion concepts.

I am delighted to be returning to Brighton, UK to share with you the work Kristin Neff and I have been doing on burnout,Since COVID, burnout in healthcare and other occupations has become a major issue that threatens the wellbeing of staff who work in these ever-stretched systems as well as the ability of the systems themselves to function effectively.

Recent research shows that burnout among doctors is even increasing. Fortunately, the evidence is also clear that self-compassion is an antidote to burnout. Our new book on the self-compassion for burnout explores how individuals and systems facing burnout can resource themselves in these challenging times.
Chris Germer

Chris Germer, PhD is a clinical psychologist and lecturer on psychiatry (part-time) at Harvard Medical School. He co-developed the Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) program with Dr. Kristin Neff in 2010, which has been taught to over 250,000 people worldwide. They co-authored two books on MSC, The Mindful Self-Compassion Workbook and Teaching the Mindful Self-Compassion Programme.

Dr. Germer spends most of his time lecturing and leading workshops around the world on mindfulness and self-compassion. He is the author of The Mindful Path to Self-Compassion and he co-edited two influential volumes on therapy: Mindfulness and Psychotherapy, and Wisdom and Compassion in Psychotherapy. Dr. Germer is a founding faculty member of the Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy, Cambridge MA, USA as well as the Center for Mindfulness and Compassion, Harvard Medical School. He maintains a small, online psychotherapy practice. www.chrisgermer.com www.centerformsc.org

You can book your ticket here.

Mindful Self-Compassion teacher networking day with Chris Germer
2024-09-20 09:30 - 17:00 | Friends Meeting House, Ship Street, Brighton, Sussex, BN1 1AF, United Kingdom
Chris Germer joins us for a Mindful Self-Compassion networking event in Brighton. All teachers trained to run the eight-week Mindful Self-Compassion course are invited to attend.

Chris Germer will be with us to support the development of Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) teachers. This is in addition to the compassion and burnout event which takes place the following day (Saturday 21st September 2024) and is open to everyone. This in-person networking event is open to all teachers trained to lead Mindful Self-Compassion courses based in the UK and Europe. The day will explore what teachers need personally and professionally. We will have a chance through practice and inquiry to consider how we might best resource ourselves.

Supported by Chris, this is a great post-pandemic opportunity to see each other again and to replenish our connections and networks. We will take some time to think together about the future of Mindful Self-Compassion in this part of the world, and consider what is needed to support MSC to enable it continue and thrive.

Chris Germer

Chris Germer PhD is a clinical psychologist and lecturer on psychiatry (part-time) at Harvard Medical School. He co-developed the Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) program with Dr. Kristin Neff in 2010, which has been taught to over 250,000 people worldwide. They co-authored two books on MSC, The Mindful Self-Compassion Workbook and Teaching the Mindful Self-Compassion Programme.

Dr. Germer spends most of his time lecturing and leading workshops around the world on mindfulness and self-compassion. He is the author of The Mindful Path to Self-Compassion and he co-edited two influential volumes on therapy: Mindfulness and Psychotherapy, and Wisdom and Compassion in Psychotherapy. Dr. Germer is a founding faculty member of the Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy, Cambridge MA, USA as well as the Center for Mindfulness and Compassion, Harvard Medical School. He maintains a small, online psychotherapy practice. www.chrisgermer.com www.centerformsc.org

Chris Germer is providing his time free. The ticket price of £25 will help us cover the venue costs. You will need to bring or buy your lunch and pay for accommodation, if that’s needed.

You can book your ticket here.

Free mindfulness taster
2024-09-17 18:00 - 19:00, 2024-07-17 18:00 - 19:00, 2024-06-24 18:00 - 19:00, 2024-05-16 18:00 - 19:00, 2024-04-16 18:00 - 19:00, 2024-03-18 18:00 - 19:00 | Online
Are you considering whether mindfulness is for you? Join our free online taster session. This one-hour taster session will introduce you to the benefits of mindfulness. Benefits include improved wellbeing and ability to manage stress.

Brief overview

The session will cover the benefits such as heightened emotional intelligence and greater self-management which improves relationships. You will also be given the opportunity to sample key mindfulness practices and find out about the mindfulness programmes that we offer.

Where?

Online on Zoom

Moment to pause - Free online lunchtime mindfulness session
2024-09-17 13:00 - 14:00 | Online
Work and life can feel so busy that you don’t have a spare moment to think, plan or just experience the moment. Join a one-hour lunchtime session to experience how mindfulness can bring space and new perspectives.

Overview

Mindfulness offers a chance to pause. It can help you manage stress and difficulties, reflect on what’s most important to you and learn how to take better care of yourself.

This one-hour lunch-time session will give you a pause in the day to experience the benefits of practicing mindfulness. You will be guided through the basic principles of mindfulness and will sample a range of different practices. Over time these practices can help you build the capacity to experience life differently. Mindfulness can work for you as an individual and for your team or service.Bring your lunch for the mindfulness eating exercise.

Mindfulness course: Eight weeks on Tuesday mornings
2024-09-17 09:30 - 11:30
This mindfulness course combines mindfulness practices and cognitive-behavioural techniques to help reduce low-mood and anxiety. There is increasing evidence that this eight-week mindfulness course is effective in reducing other mental health issues and improving wellbeing and resilience.

Overview​

The eight-week course helps participants develop greater awareness of their thoughts, emotions, and experiences which in turn helps cultivate resilience and reduce depression and anxiety. This mindfulness course was designed originally to help people who experience repeated episodes of depression to prevent relapse. However, it is now recognised as an effective treatment for existing mild to moderate depression (not just preventing relapse) and also helps improve wellbeing and resilience.

When?

Tuesday mornings, 9.30am-11.30am, starting 17 September to 26 November 2024. (No sessions on 24 September and 29 October.)

Where?

Online. You will get Zoom log-in details when your place is confirmed.

The format of the course?

Two-hour orientation session at the start to help you decide if the course is right for you

Eight weekly two-hour classes including mindfulness practices, discussion and exercises

Daily meditation home practice of between 20 to 40 minutes

Facilitator

Bridgette O’Neill

How to book

Fill in the application form here indicating the dates you can attend in order of preference.

Mindfulness teacher training information session
2024-08-19 12:30 - 13:30 | Online
Are you interested in teaching Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy or Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction? Or perhaps you would like to include mindfulness-based interventions in your current work with clients? Either way, this session will provide all you need to know about various training options with us.

What’s included

The session will be led Fergal Jones, the Sussex Mindfulness Centre’s teacher training convenor. It will include a short presentation, and you will have the opportunity to get your questions answered.

Book your place

Book your place by emailing smc@spft.nhs.uk, with Teacher Training Information Session in the Subject and you will be sent a joining link.

Moment to pause - Free online lunchtime mindfulness session
2024-07-30 13:00 - 14:00, 2024-06-27 13:00 - 14:00, 2024-05-21 13:00 - 14:00 | Online
Work and life can feel so busy that you don’t have a spare moment to think, plan or just experience the moment. Join a one-hour lunchtime session to experience how mindfulness can bring space and new perspectives.

Overview

Mindfulness offers a chance to pause. It can help you manage stress and difficulties, reflect on what’s most important to you and learn how to take better care of yourself.

This free, one-hour lunch-time session will give you a pause in the day to experience the benefits of practicing mindfulness. You will be guided through the basic principles of mindfulness and will sample a range of different practices. Over time these practices can help you build the capacity to experience life differently. Mindfulness can work for you as an individual and for your team or service.Bring your lunch for the mindfulness eating exercise.

Facilitator

Robert Marx is a clinical psychologist and psychotherapist and has been teaching mindfulness to patients and staff in the NHS for 18 years. He teaches Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy and Mindful Self-Compassion. He has been practising meditation for over 30 years. He is passionate about building compassionate cultures in organisations and about integrating relational and mindful approaches to work.

Mindfulness teacher training information session
2024-07-17 12:30 - 13:30 | Online
Are interested in teaching Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy or Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction? Or perhaps you would like to include mindfulness-based interventions in your current work with clients? Either way, this session will provide all you need to know about various training options with us.

The session will be led by one of the Sussex Mindfulness Centre’s lead teachers. It will include a short presentation, and you will have the opportunity to get your questions answered.

Book your place

Book your place by emailing smc@spft.nhs.uk, with Teacher Training Information Session in the Subject and you will be sent a joining link.

Mindfulness teacher training information session
2024-06-05 17:00 - 18:00 | Online
Are interested in teaching Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy or Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction. Or perhaps you would like to include mindfulness-based interventions in your current work with clients. Either way, this session will provide all you need to know about various training options with us.

The session will be led by one of the Sussex Mindfulness Centre’s lead teachers. It will include a short presentation, and you will have the opportunity to get your questions answered.

Book your place

Book your place by emailing smc@spft.nhs.uk, with Teacher Training Information Session in the Subject and you will be sent a joining link.

Altruism: the best response to the suffering of our times
2024-06-04 18:00 - 19:00 | Online
Join us for a talk by the man dubbed the happiest person in the world. Writer, humanitarian and Buddhist monk, Matthieu Ricard discusses how altruism can be the best response to the suffering of our times.

Matthieu Ricard has closely collaborated with neuroscience research on the short- and long-term effects of mind training on the brain, the immune system and our base line level of wellbeing. He is author of over 20 books, including “Altruism: The Power of Compassion to Change Yourself and the World”. The dialogue with his father in “The Monk and the Philosopher” was a best-seller in Europe and was translated into 21 languages, and “Altruism: How compassion can change your life and the world,” to which he devoted five continuous years of research.

More about Matthieu Ricard

He is the son of the late Jean-François Revel, a renowned French philosopher and Yahne le Toumelin, an abstract painter and Tibetan Buddhist nun. He received a PhD degree in cell genetics from the Pasteur Institute in 1972 after which he practised with some of the greatest Tibetan Buddhist masters of the twentieth century, living mainly in the Himalayas for half a century, including a total of 5 years in solitary meditation in various hermitages.

Matthieu Ricard received the French National Order of Merit and the Legion of Honour, the highest French decoration, for his humanitarian work in the East with Karuna-Shechen, the non-profit organization he co-founded in 2000, which now helps over 400,000 people every year, and to which he dedicated the totality of the royalties of his books. Fifty per cent of the proceeds of this talk will also go to support Karuna-Sechen. Since 1989, he has acted as the French interpreter for the 14th Dalai Lama. He has been a Board member of the Mind and Life Institute which is devoted to collaborations between scientists, Buddhist scholars and meditators, led by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. He has spoken at many international forums, including the World Happiness Forum, the United Nations, The World Government Summit and Les Journées Émergences.

Half of all proceeds from this talk will go to Matthieu Ricard’s charity Karuna-Shechen. The other half supports the Sussex Mindfulness Centre to increase access to mindfulness.

Ticket prices

General voluntary admission is £12.00, or pay what you can by selecting the ‘free’ ticket option and adding a donation. Thank you.

Trauma-informed and effective mindfulness teaching
2024-05-17 09:30 - 16:30 | Online
This workshop draws on clinical research and lived experience to work with trauma in mindfulness-based work.

What is covered?

This training will enable you to identify signs of trauma in your participants and provide practical ways of helping participants manage it. It will help you understand what challenges and adaptations you may need to make to your standard teaching to help support people with trauma histories.

We approach the training from different perspectives: clinicians working in the field of trauma, researchers discussing the evidence base for what we know is effective, and service users sharing their experience of what worked and what didn’t work.

Who is this for?

This masterclass is for those people working in the field of mindfulness. It is part of the core teacher training programmes. It is open to anybody who is trained or training to be mindfulness or mindful self-compassion teachers.

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

Robert Marx

Robert Marx is a clinical psychologist and psychotherapist and has been teaching mindfulness to patients and staff in the NHS for 18 years. He teaches Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy and Mindful Self-Compassion. He has been practising meditation for over 30 years. He is passionate about building compassionate cultures in organisations and about integrating relational and mindful approaches to work.

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.

Richard Gilpin

Richard is a mindfulness facilitator, counsellor and Cognitive Behaviour Therapy therapist. He has trained extensively in mindfulness-based practices since the 1990s and has been facilitating MBCT courses since 2007. He is the author of two self-help books: Mindfulness for Black Dogs and Blue Days (2012) and Mindfulness for Unravelling Anxiety (2016). He also trained and practised with several Buddhist teachers, set up and ran practice centres, and facilitated groups and courses dedicated to mindful living.

Certificates

Certificates of attendance are available after the event.

Compassionate Leadership Training course - Tuesdays
2024-05-14 15:00 - 17:00 | Online
Compassionate Leadership Training for health and social care leaders. Compassionate leadership is linked with improved learning and innovation, and reduced staff stress, injuries and absenteeism, and even reduced patient mortality.

Six online weekly two-hour sessions from Tuesday 14 May until 2 July 2024 (no sessions 28 May and 18 June). There is also a two-hour online consolidation session on 24 September 2024 from 15.00 to 17.00 to review our learning and practice.

Overview

At the heart of compassion is the notion that everyone experiences difficulty, and that we can all play a role in alleviating our own difficulties and those of others. Whether this is compassion for ourselves or the people we lead, people who lead us, colleagues or service users. We won’t always feel like helping and will sometimes be tired or overwhelmed or unable to connect.

Although it helps to have positive feelings, we do not have to feel compassion to be compassionate. We can recognise our physical and mental state, resource ourselves as best we can, and respond from our firm compassionate intention, rather than from impulse or intense emotion.

How does this translate into compassion in health, social care and other organisations? How might we think about compassionate leadership, working with colleagues, service users and their friends and families? Prof Michael West has spent his career answering this question, pointing to research that shows how compassionate leadership is linked with improved learning and innovation, and reduced staff stress, injuries and absenteeism, and even reduced patient mortality. In short, compassion is essential to high quality healthcare.

Dr Robert Marx and Professor Clara Strauss have designed a training programme of six weekly sessions, each lasting two hours, with an additional follow-on two hour session a couple of months following the completion of the course.

Who is the course for?

The course is for anyone in a leadership role in a health and social care organisation, recognising that leadership occurs throughout health and social care roles, and at different levels of seniority.

What is the format of the course?

The course combines in-session mindfulness and compassion practice with reflection and discussion, as well as an invitation for home mindfulness and compassion practice to help cultivate compassion for ourselves and the people we lead and work with.

Facilitators

Clara Strauss

Clara is Co-Lead (Research) for the Sussex Mindfulness Centre. She 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, 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 mindfulness courses for people experiencing depression, for people distressed by hearing voices and for people experiencing obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Ruth Sequeira

Ruth Sequeira is as senior trainer, supervisor and mindfulness teacher for the Sussex Mindfulness Centre. She is also a psychological therapist and the Mindfulness and Compassion Training and Retreat Lead at the Mindfulness Network. Ruth has a history of working in mental health services and until recently worked as a clinical lead in the Child & Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) in Sussex. Ruth has a longstanding interest in mindfulness, meditation and movement, and is passionate about increasing access to mindfulness courses in different populations.

Catherine Cameron

Catherine is a clinical psychologist working within the community-based persistent pain team within Sussex Partnership. She has a particular interest in mindfulness and self-compassion in pain. She co-facilitates the mindful self-compassion course for staff with Robert Marx having trained to facilitate the Mindful Self-Compassion course in 2014. Before that Catherine ran the mindfulness-based Mindfulness for Pain courses in Hove Polyclinic. She is also involved in the mindfulness all day retreats run for those who have attended the eight -week courses within Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust.

Apply and book your place

You can book your place below.

Please note, we ask all those who book a place on this training programme to fill in an application form that will be sent to the facilitators. If you haven’t already, please head here to fill in the form. If you are a member of staff at the Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, please fill in the form first, before paying. There are a limited number of free places for staff that are offered on a first-come first-served basis.

One-day mindfulness retreat
2024-05-11 10:00 - 16:00 | Friends Meeting House, Ship Street, Brighton, Sussex, BN1 1AF, United Kingdom
Join us for this one -day mindfulness retreat. It’s offers an opportunity to extend and deepen your practice, within a supportive environment.

Content of the day

The day will be facilitated by the Sussex Mindfulness Centre’s experienced teachers and will include a series of different mindfulness and compassion practices. It will be held mostly in silence as a way of supporting your practice. We will aim to provide tea and coffee, but please bring your own food for lunch. There will be chairs and maybe some cushions, but please bring what you need to be comfortable, if you can.

Why a one-day retreat?

A one-day mindfulness retreat is an important part of the eight-week mindfulness course. It also offers an opportunity to extend your practice, within a supportive environment. For people who meditate regularly the retreat offers a great way to deepen and refresh your practice. Read more about the benefits of a day long retreat.

Who’s it for?

This day is right for you if you have attended an eight-week mindfulness course, specifically the Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy or Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction course or are currently doing the eight week course as a current Sussex Partnership service user or member of staff.

How to book?

If you have bought a ticket to the 2024 conference you don’t need to pay for this one-day retreat as it is included with your conference booking.

To cover the costs of the venue, other participants will need to pay £15. Please pay and sign up below. Please note, you’ll need to attend for the whole day. It’s not possible to only come for a portion of the day. The retreat runs from 10.00 to 16.00 and we ask people to turn up at 09.45 to ensure a prompt start.

Future of Mindfulness: 10th Annual Conference
2024-05-10 08:00 - 17:00
Our next annual conference will take place on 10 May 2024. The theme of the day will be the Future of Mindfulness.

More details will be published here closer to the time.

Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy course for LGBTQ+: Wednesdays
2024-05-08 16:00 - 18:00
Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) combines mindfulness practices and cognitive-behavioural techniques to help reduce depression. There is increasing evidence that shows MBCT could be effective for other mental health issues and to improve wellbeing and resilience.

Overview​

The eight-week course helps participants develop greater awareness of their thoughts, emotions, and experiences which in turn helps cultivate resilience and reduce depression and anxiety. Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) was designed specifically to help people who experience repeated episodes of depression to prevent relapse. MBCT is now recognised as an effective treatment for existing mild to moderate depression (not just to prevent relapse) and also helps improve wellbeing and resilience. Find out more about Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy here.

When?

Wednesday afternoons 16.00 to 18.00, from 8 May to 3 July 2024.

Where?

Online. You will get Zoom log-in details when your place is confirmed.

Who?

This course is specifically for staff who identify as LGBTQ+.

The format of the course?

Two-hour orientation session at the start to help you decide if the course is right for you

Eight weekly two-hour classes including mindfulness practices, discussion and exercises

Daily meditation home practice of between 20 to 40 minutes

Facilitator

Kate Gooch

How to book

Fill in the application form here and choose the course listed for people who identify as LGBTQ+. Of course, you are also very welcome to attend any of the other dates if you prefer.

Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy course: Tuesday evenings
2024-04-23 18:00 - 20:00
Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) combines mindfulness practices and cognitive-behavioural techniques to help reduce depression. There is increasing evidence that shows MBCT could be effective for other mental health issues and to improve wellbeing and resilience.

Overview​

The eight-week course helps participants develop greater awareness of their thoughts, emotions, and experiences which in turn helps cultivate resilience and reduce depression and anxiety. Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) was designed specifically to help people who experience repeated episodes of depression to prevent relapse. MBCT is now recognised as an effective treatment for existing mild to moderate depression (not just to prevent relapse) and also helps improve wellbeing and resilience. Find out more about Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy here.

When?

Tuesday evenings 6.00pm-8.00pm, starting 23 April to 18 June 2024.

Where?

Online. You will get Zoom log-in details when your place is confirmed.

The format of the course?

Two-hour orientation session at the start to help you decide if the course is right for you

Eight weekly two-hour classes including mindfulness practices, discussion and exercises

Daily meditation home practice of between 20 to 40 minutes

Facilitator

Ruth Sequeira

How to book

Fill in the application form here indicating the dates you can attend in order of preference.
