Discovering Joy in Troubled Times: Eleventh Annual Conference
“Discovering Joy in Troubled Times” is the theme of our eleventh annual conference, which takes place in Brighton on 9 May 2025.
Joy, is defined as a “deep feeling of happiness or contentment.” It might feel counterintuitive to forefront joy when times are as tough as they are. However, mindfulness can teach us to find contentment in the small details of everyday life, that we might otherwise overlook.
Distinguised speakers
At our eleventh annual conference, three distinguised keynote speakers talk on how cultivating joy supports us. We are delighted to have Professor Mark Williams, Professor Barney Dunn and Dr Radha Mogdil explore this theme from different angles:
Mark Williams
Professor Mark Williams, Emeritus Professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Oxford, is a leading expert in mindfulness. He co-developed Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy to prevent depression relapse. As the founding director of the Oxford Mindfulness Centre, his work has shaped modern mindfulness practices. He co-authored the bestselling “Mindfulness: A Practical Guide to Finding Peace in a Frantic World”. “Deeper Mindfulness,” his most recent book, shows how the most recent developments in neuroscience and age-old wisdom can be used to change our lives.
Barney Dunn
Professor Barney Dunn is a research and clinical psychologist at the University of Exeter. He explores the ways mindfulness-based treatments are being used to build positive emotions and wellbeing, how mindfulness can help people to make the most of life’s opportunities. His work shows that activating positive feelings may be more important in therapies for depression than attempting to turn off negative feelings.
Radha Modgil
Dr Radha Modgil has been an influential, trusted and creative voice for wellbeing since 2008. As an NHS GP, television, radio, podcast broadcaster and author she is on a mission to bring about positive change and empower anyone to take small but powerful steps to improve their quality of life. Radha is the medical expert for BBC Radio 1’s Life Hacks and a regular contributor to BBC Radio advocating for mental and emotional wellbeing.
Workshops
Mindfulness teachers will share their innovative work on discovering joy. You’ll be invited to join one of these workshops . Details will be shared here shortly.
Tickets now on sale
You can book your tickets now. Please note, a limited amount of discounted early bird tickets are available. For the early bird discount select one of the top two prices listed.
Concession
If the ticket price is still prohibitive for you, we have a limited number of subsidised tickets available at £10. Please email us at spft.smc@nhs.net to request a concession ticket.
Teacher trainees
If you are doing your 2025 teacher training (Foundation and Adapted Mindfulness-Based Interventions) with us, you are granted free entrance to the annual conference. Please confirm you want to attend by emailing us at spft.smc@nhs.net.