About the training:

This two-day workshop is for mindfulness-based teachers who wish to learn more about groups and how to support the rich potential of the group process in a mindfulness context. The training model is framed around the Inside Out Mindfulness Teaching Group Model (IOG) (Bartley & Griffith, 2022)

Many of us have come into this work with a background in one-to-one work. The skills we have acquired will have many direct benefits for our mindfulness teaching. However, we may find that we continue to teach one-to-one, albeit in a group.

We will explore how to bring this group dimension into all aspects of our mindfulness teaching – including the orientation and assessment process; guiding practices; leading inquiries; and facilitating exercises and group discussions. In doing this, we will learn how to be present and alive to the three dimensions in the group: that of myself as teacher; that of individual participant; and that of the group as a whole.

We will explore the different stages of the group – namely the forming, the holding, and the ending of the group – and how as group leaders we can best support the learning practice of our participants in this group context.

Key learning objectives:

to learn to facilitate your groups so that they are safe and inclusive
to cultivate an embodied and grounded teaching presence
to explore ways of leading, holding and befriending the process of teaching mindfulness-based groups so that the rich learning potential within the group can be realised by our course participants
to find ways of resolving some of the common challenges when leading groups, including managing: a dominating participant; a persistent late comer; someone who is openly sceptical; and/or a participant who says very little
to consider the different approaches involved with teaching very different sized groups.
Pre-requisites for attending:

– personal experience of an MBCT or MBSR eight-week course

– an established personal mindfulness practice

– have participated in the Mindfulness Network Essentials training or equivalent

– to have some experience of teaching Mindfulness-based Interventions/Courses in groups

Recommended reading – Bartley, T. & Griffith, G. (2022). Teaching Mindfulness-Based Groups: The Inside Out Group Model. Pavilion Publications