Mindfulness courses for Sussex Partnership staff

Do you work for the Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust? The Sussex Mindfulness Centre provides NICE recommended eight-week mindfulness courses to you.

Free to staff

The courses, which are free to Trust staff, include Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy or Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction, and occasionally Mindfulness for Life and Mindful Self-Compassion. Apply here.

Support for you

Working in the caring professions can be inspiring and rewarding, however it can also be hard work and at times stressful and emotionally demanding. Research indicates that mindfulness can have physical and psychological benefits, including reductions in stress, anxiety, worry, low mood and sleep difficulties, and improvements in immune function, personal relationships, compassion, creativity and enjoyment of life.

A chance to pause

A mindfulness course offers a chance to take a pause, to learn a different approach to managing stress and difficulties, to reflect on what’s important to you and to take care of yourself.

“For anyone looking to find a way of balancing the often competing demands of home, work, and not least, ourselves, it’s worth their checking out a mindfulness course. Too often we overlook the basics in our lives and need to find a way of connecting with what really matters.”

Mindful Nation report

Teacher training pathway

The main purpose of offering these courses is to support staff wellbeing, though if you’re interested in training to become a mindfulness teacher or lead mindfulness practices, the eight-week course is also the first step in the teacher training pathway.

What the course involves

The eight-week mindfulness course consists of an introductory orientation session to help you to decide if mindfulness is for you. This is followed by eight weekly two-hour classes. Participants are encouraged to do about half an hour of daily exercises between classes to gain maximum benefits. The most common course offered to staff is Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy, which can reduce depression and anxiety, and improve wellbeing and resilience. You don’t have to be suffering mental health issues to do this course.

The course is offered free to all Sussex Partnership employees, including administrators and management staff. You will need agreement from your manager to attend. There is more information about what you can expect in this pdf.

Most courses now online

We started offering our courses online during the Covid pandemic and have kept most that way (unless specified otherwise) as this is more convenient for many participants.

Find courses and book

See the upcoming courses below and pick the dates most convenient for you. Alternatively fill in the application form, where you can choose your preferred dates.

You will see a link to our equality monitoring form after you submit the application. This is optional but is a vital part of monitoring equality of opportunity. The forms will not be seen by teachers, or those selecting participants for the courses.

Courses for Sussex Partnership staff

These free eight-week courses are for Sussex Partnership staff. We have run mindfulness courses for the Sussex Partnership for over 16 years. The evidence shows positive impacts for staff in terms of reduced stress and improved wellbeing. Taking the eight-week course could be your first step in training to be a mindfulness teacher, however the main purpose of providing these courses is to support your wellbeing.

Outside our Sussex Partnership Trust?

If you work for NHS and local authority social staff outside our Trust, there may be space for you. We offer a limited number of places to staff outside the Trust. If that’s you, please get in touch with us at smc@spft.nhs.uk to check if there’s space.

Outside Sussex Partnership Trust, and interested in training to teach mindfulness?

If you are wishing to teach mindfulness, and need to do the eight-week mindfulness course as part of the entry requirements, you can do the next eight-week Mindfulness for Life course. Or you may be able to join an eight-week course with Sussex Partnership Trust staff (see courses advertised below). Please contact smc@spft.nhs.uk to apply.

Either way, you would need to pay the £250 fee initially, but, if you went on to do your teacher training with us, we would deduct this amount from your teacher training fee.