Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction (includes components of the MBCT programme)

Do you find yourself over thinking and dwelling on the past and future?

Do you find it difficult to switch off? Do you suffer from stress or anxiety?

The 8-week course is an intensive skills-based learning programme, including a combination of meditation practices and cognitive exercises that show the links between thinking and feeling and how we can look after ourselves.

The course will include mindfulness practices and strategies that help to:

  • Develop awareness & manage triggers to stress & anxiety
  • Recognise mind / body habits that exacerbate stress & anxiety
  • Work with negative thinking and emotions
  • Work with tension in the body and mind
  • Live more of life in the present, rather than being caught up in stories about the past & present

Cost: £220 waged / £180 unwaged (includes course manual, mindfulness recordings and contact with course leader in between sessions if required)

 

COURSE IN AUTUMN 2023 HAS BEEN CANCELLED.

There may be more planned in the future. Check back for updates.

 

You may find that your stress and anxiety has been exacerbated by the times we are experiencing, whether due to financial worries, social isolation, relationship difficulties, health concerns or other difficulties arising out of the uncertainty of the pandemic. Come learn new skills to help you deal with life’s challenges. The 8-week MBSR course is an intensive skills-based learning programme, including a combination of meditation practices and cognitive exercises, incorporated from the MBCT programme, that show the links between thinking and feeling and how we can look after ourselves.

The course teaches people to pay attention to the present moment, rather than worrying about the past or the future, and to let go of the negative thoughts that can exacerbate the situation. This powerful approach can help to interrupt the habit of getting lost in thoughts, mostly about the past or future, which can lead to additional stress and anxiety. Through mindfulness we learn to become more aware of what’s happening in our experience through bringing our attention to our thoughts, feelings and body sensations as they happen, with a non-judgemental attitude of kindness. Through greater awareness of our experience we learn to identify the thoughts and feelings that exacerbate a stressful situation, and give ourselves greater freedom to choose how we respond to difficult life circumstances, enabling us to live life with more ease and confidence.

The course includes 8 weekly two-hour sessions, a course manual, recordings of mindfulness practices, and support between sessions. Participants are expected to aspire to attend the eight weekly sessions, as each week builds on the one before, to enable you to get the most out of the course. The course enables participants to develop a solid grounding in mindfulness through the practice of a range of techniques and exercises, so at the end of the course you will be equipped with the skills to continue with your mindfulness practice.

An important component of the course is a daily mindfulness practice for the duration of the course. Participants will be given mindfulness practices to incorporate into their daily lives between sessions. This is an opportunity to embed into everyday life and build on what is being learnt during the course.

The MBSR programme was developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn at the University of Massachusetts medical centre about 30 years ago. It has been widely researched and has a strong evidence-base. Proven to help people manage stress, reduce anxiety, develop emotional resilience, increase self-confidence and improve inter-personal relationships, these courses have been attended by people with all kinds of experiences and circumstances.