Cultivating Compassionate Presence: An Intensive Retreat for Mental Health Professionals

We are pleased to offer the 11th annual retreat for mental health professionals and caregivers at Vallecitos.

Many in our field have been studying mindfulness, compassion, and their clinical applications for years but have not found time for more intensive meditation practice. Others appreciate the opportunity to refresh their practice with like-minded colleagues. By deliberately stepping out of everyday life and into a retreat environment, the subtle habit patterns of heart and mind are more easily accessed, and awareness can begin to deepen.

This week we will study and practice a deeper interface of mindfulness, compassion and psychotherapy. Mindfulness interventions usually are aimed at stress management, reduced reactivity, and symptom reduction. These approaches fail to address the self-critical, self-defeating patterns of mind that limit the effectiveness of these applications. During this retreat we will combine the skills of mindfulness and self-compassion to enhance our capacity for emotional wellbeing. Through experiential exercises we will explore our typical responses to difficult situations that arise both in meditation and in our lives, and learn tools for becoming warm and supportive companions to ourselves.

This course provides a safe, nurturing container in which to explore these practices with colleagues. The teaching is experience-near, focusing on the development of mindfulness and compassion practices and their relevance in our work with others, including providing accurate empathy and therapeutic presence. There will be daily mindfulness meditation instruction and three to four hours of structured practice each day, plus study modules most afternoons in combination with dyadic or small group discussion. The rest of the time we will observe silence, including during meals, to facilitate a deeper contemplative experience.

This is a rare opportunity to immerse yourself in an exquisite natural environment and work closely with leaders in the growing field of clinical mindfulness meditation and compassion. Every effort will be made by the teachers and staff to give each participant a delightful, educational retreat experience, so that you can return home with renewed enthusiasm for clinical work and for cultivating mindfulness and compassion in daily life.

20 CE units available to psychologists, social workers and mental health counselors.

COURSE SCHEDULE

FRIDAY

7:30- 9:30 Course opening and overview

SATURDAY- TUESDAY & THURSDAY

9- 12  Mindfulness instruction, practice, discussion

2- 5    Didactic presentation and clinical discussion

6:30- 8:30 Clinical talk and mindfulness practice

WEDNESDAY

Silent Retreat Day: Mindfulness instruction and practice

FRIDAY

Breakfast and depart

This program is sponsored by the Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy:

meditationandpsychotherapy.org

CONTINUING EDUCATION

Psychologists: The Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. The Institute of Meditation and Psychotherapy maintains responsibility for the program and its content. This course offers 20 hours of credit.

Social Workers: This program is pending approval by the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF SOCIAL WORKERS for 20.0 continuing education contact hours.

Nurses:  This program carries 20 Contact Hours and meets the specifications of the MASSACHUSETTS BOARD OF REGISTRATION OF NURSING (244 CMR).

Licensed Mental Health Counselors: The Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy is recognized by the National Board for Certified Counselors to sponsor continuing education for National Certified Counselors. We adhere to NBCC Continuing Education Guidelines. This course is approved for 20 contact hours, Provider #6048 and is applicable for Commonwealth of Massachusetts Counseling/Allied Mental Health and PDP accreditation.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

1.)  Participants will utilize mindfulness and compassion practices in the service of being present and deepening therapeutic presence.

2.)  Participants will be able to define the concept of self-compassion and identify misconceptions.

3.) Participants will learn to implement mindfulness and compassion-based interventions for chronic feelings of inadequacy and self-doubt.

4.) Participants will understand how the theory and practice of self-compassion relates to mindfulness.

5.) Participants will learn how to arouse compassion during the clinical hour to enhance empathic resonance.

6.) Participants will learn how to integrate simple mindfulness and self-compassion exercises into psychotherapy.