Special events

A six-day inter-professional course for clinicians who wish to lead mindfulness-based groups

Kirstin Bindseil, MSW, RSW, Kate Kitchen, MSW, RSW & Steven Selchen, MD, MSt, FRCPC

• 1st Weekend: Sat. & Sun., March 2-3, 2019
• 2nd Weekend: Sat. & Sun., April 6-7, 2019
• 3rd Weekend: Sat. & Sun., May 4-5, 2019

Mindfulness-Based Group Practice is the longest running mindfulness workshop series of its kind in Ontario, and is a focal point of our comprehensive and innovative training program in mindfulness-based therapies. Over the years, experienced and beginner meditators alike have considered this workshop to be a key component in their developmental process of learning to lead mindfulness-based groups.

Mindfulness involves cultivating new relationships with our experiences, thoughts and emotions through paying attention intentionally and non-judgmentally. Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) are increasingly being used in clinical settings to help patients/clients cope better with chronic illness, pain, depression, anxiety and stress, and are part of one of the fastest growing areas of clinical research today. This workshop series will help participants to develop and/or deepen their own daily mindfulness meditation practice, and will familiarize them with the skills and knowledge needed to lead MBSR and MBCT groups. Upon completion of this workshop, participants will be eligible to apply for a supervisory series that will further support their development as mindfulness-based therapy group leaders.

What You Will Learn in Mindfulness-Based Group Practice:

• Key principles and skills in leading MBSR & MBCT groups
• How to develop and/or deepen your own mindfulness practice
• How to improve empathy with clients by developing a more mindful relationship with your own and with clients’ distress, difficult thoughts and pain
• An expanded repertoire of clinical techniques for treating clients with stress, physical illness and psychological disorders
• How to assess your own readiness to lead groups and to determine your ongoing needs in support of this

Meet our Faculty:

Kirstin Bindseil, MSW, RSW has worked in the field of Addictions and Mental Health for 20 years. She currently provides mindfulness groups to people with depression, anxiety and high stress. She has worked as a Supervisor, Educator and Program Planner in Addictions. She has been engaged in innovative projects related to mindfulness meditation and has led mindfulness groups for chronic pain, depression, smoking and other addictions. Kirstin has formal training in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), and has extensive experience providing mindfulness training to health care professionals who plan to add Mindfulness to their clinical practice.

 

Kate Kitchen, MSW, RSW has been a leading voice for mindfulness in Toronto for well over a decade. She began leading Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) groups within the Mood and Anxiety Program at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). Before teaching mindfulness to professionals she attended trainings with Jon Kabat-Zinn and Segal,Teasdale and Williams, the psychologists who adapted Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) for prevention of relapse of depression. She has been an enthusiastic leader of continuing education for many decades, and has been teaching professionals to lead mindfulness groups for over a dozen years. Currently she leads MBSR groups for newcomers in the community and includes mindfulness practice in individual therapy. Kate is a social worker with a psychotherapy practice for over thirty years, specializing in working with those with symptoms of depression and anxiety. She was a social worker and advanced practice clinician (APC) at CAMH; worked at the Frederick W. Thompson Anxiety Disorders Centre at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre; and now focuses on education and her private practice.

Steven Selchen, MD, MSt, FRCPC is a leading expert in the integration of mindfulness with cognitive-behavioural training. He holds a Master's degree from Oxford University in Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), as well as a medical degree and psychiatric specialty from the University of Toronto. He runs a clinical, educational and research program in mindfulness-based approaches at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre (University of Toronto), where he is the Director of Continuing Mental Health Education. He is also Chief of Psychiatry of Joseph Brant Hospital in Burlington, and leads the Accessing Psychotherapeutic EXcellence (APEX) Initiative, which provides access to stepped-care psychotherapy in various regions across Ontario. He has a particular focus on wellness promotion, and leads innovative educational and professional development workshops in a variety of settings.

 

Who Should Attend?

This workshop is suitable for both beginner and experienced meditators. It is intended for credentialed mental health professionals with clinical qualifications in such areas as psychiatry, GP psychotherapy, psychology, social work, nursing or occupational therapy. If you are uncertain about your eligibility, please contact us to discuss further.

Fee & Registration

This workshop is six full days across three weekends – carefully designed to provide opportunity between weekends for you to cultivate your mindfulness practice.

Catered lunch, and refreshments are included on all days. Resource materials are also included, including a professionally produced CD of guided mindfulness practices led by our faculty.

This training course tends to fill quickly, so we recommend registering as early as possible to avoid being waitlisted.

Registration fee: $1325 + HST.

p>To register, or for more information about this workshop, please contact:

Melissa Armstrong, Administrative Coordinator
by email: mindfulnessmbgp@gmail.com
or phone 416-937-1976

Cancellation

Requests for cancellation must be made in writing (contact: mindfulnessmbgp@gmail.com) A processing fee of $75 will be retained on all cancellations. Full refunds will be provided, less the processing fee, for cancellations requested on or prior to February 1, 2019. Refunds can also be issued for cancellations requested after February 1, 2019 but only if Sunnybrook Mindfulness is able to suitably fill your spot. Registrations are not transferable. The University of Toronto reserves the right to cancel events. In the event that this would occur, registrants would be notified at the earliest possible date. Registration fees for events cancelled by the University will be refunded; however the University will not be liable for any loss, damages or other expenses that such cancellations may cause.

Accreditation

Continuing and Professional Development (CPD), Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, is fully accredited by the Committee on Accreditation of Continuing Medical Education (CACME), a subcommittee of the Committee on Accreditation of Canadian Medical Schools (CACMS). This standard allows CPD to assign credits for educational activities based on the criteria established by The College of Family Physicians of Canada, and the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.