Workshops at Spring conference: “What is mindful culture?”

We have a varied and engaging set of workshops for people attending our Spring conference on 10 March 2023. Supporting the conference theme around mindful culture, we are happy to announce the following workshops.  

Exploring mindfulness based inclusion training with Dean Francis

Join us as we come together to look at what mindfulness can bring to the table around social inclusion and what an awareness of our social context can bring to our practice. We will explore how our differences can unify us rather than separate us and how mindfulness can be presented to diverse groups and individuals in a way that is culturally appropriate. 

Together we will also explore some of the obstacles to the truth of our interconnectedness, deep kinship, common ground, and humanity. So please do join us in creating this unique, safe, and courageous space to practice, share, discuss, learn, and feel how social mindfulness may facilitate change in a way that benefits all of us.

This session is for mindfulness teachers and practitioners who are interested in embracing the lived experience of marginalised groups in society.

Dean is the Equality Diversity Inclusion (EDI) Consultant at the Sussex Mindfulness Centre. He is also the co-creator of the first researched UK African Centred Mindfulness Training Programme for black people and people of colour, a Trustee and co-lead of EDI at BAMBA and co-founder of the Urban Mindfulness Foundation. 

Mindful Calligraphy by Juan Du

Juan Du will be leading a session on mindful calligraphy. Juan is an accredited integrative psychotherapist and mindfulness teacher.  During her doctorate training in Counselling Psychology and Psychotherapy, Juan developed Chinese Calligraphy Enhanced Therapy (CCET) as an innovative integrative approach which also draws on cognitive theory, Eastern Philosophy, mindfulness theory and psychoanalytic theory. Juan’s passion for working and researching in the mental health field is to promote mental health equality and encourage clinicians to think creatively and develop culturally sensitive approaches to bridging people from minority background access to psychological therapy.  All the materials will be provided and this workshop is suitable for people without experience in mindful calligraphy.

Juan is registered with the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP) as an accredited clinical member, as well as a registered individual member with the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP).  She is also a committee member for the British Psychological Society (BPS) Psychotherapy Section.

Mindfulness-based relapse prevention by Nicky Mouat and Jenny Nicholson 

Mindfulness can give us perspective and choice when it comes to engaging in addictive behaviours. In this workshop we explore practices from two mindfulness-based approaches for working with addictive behaviours; Mindfulness Based Relapse Prevention and Mindfulness in Early Addiction Recovery. In addition, we hope to give participants a broad understanding of why mindfulness can be so helpful in this field, as well as point to further information and resources. 

Nicky is a mental health nurse, mindfulness teacher, trainer and supervisor. She has 30 years experience working in both Addictions and Mental Health in the NHS and Charity sector both in the UK and Australia. She has been working with mindfulness for addictions since 2015, and is a teacher, trainer and supervisor for the 8 week adapted course Mindfulness Based Relapse Prevention.

Jenny is a mental health nurse, mindfulness teacher and specialises in addiction.  She has an MSc in Psychology (Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapies Research and Practice) and a Post-Graduate Certificate in Addictions Psychology and Counselling from LSBU.

A widening field: Mindfulness as social practice by Rosalie Dores

In increasingly challenging times how can the culture of mindfulness-based interventions widen from an over-emphasis on the individual to include the greater world in which we live? In this workshop we will explore the potential of mindfulness as a social practice, one where the focus widens from a personal ‘I’ to an interpersonal ‘we’. To facilitate this exploration we will practice Insight Dialogue (relational meditation) in small and large groups.

Rosalie is a mindfulness teacher and supervisor. She has had a committed practice since 1992. She is an Insight Dialogue retreat teacher and is currently co-teaching Turning Towards The Climate Emergency, a course that integrates Active Hope and Insight Dialogue. Rosalie is dedicated to offering teachings that engage at the interface of ancient wisdom and the challenges of the our modern world.

Mindfulness courses for young people by Clara Strauss and Ruth Sequeira

This workshop explores the research findings and implications for practice. It will start with a brief presentation about what we know from research about the safety and effectiveness of teaching mindfulness to young people in a range of settings, including our local experiences of teaching mindfulness to young people. Following these brief presentations, we will open up the workshop for a wider discussion on implications of research findings and local experience for practice, and how we can best ensure that the mindfulness courses we offer to young people have the best chance of being safe and helpful.

Clara is the Research Lead 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 (MBI), especially for those people who may not be willing or able to access MBCT. Ruth is a BAMBA registered mindfulness teacher, supervisor & teacher trainer.

Poetry and mindful reflection by Hazel Ragoonanan and Heather Ball

This workshop explores how we can use poetry to support mindful awareness, and step into Being mode. Poems will shared in the following areas to support practice and reflection: 
•    The natural environment
•    Compassion and kindness
•    Being in the present moment

To find out more about the conference, the key note speakers and talks, and how to book visit our conference page.