This is part of PBTA's implementation series open to either those who attended Dr. Brotto's foundational training or have read manual listed under Suggested Resources below. Video of previous training will be shared with registrants.
Challenges implementing the 8-session Mindfulness-Based Therapy (MBT), adapted from the Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) curriculum for women with low sexual desire, will be reviewed. Mechanisms of action that research reveals are important for addressing treatment goals will be considered when considering response to challenges. Patient selection considerations, in light of research findings, for MBST will be revisited in considering response to challenges. Finally, experiential exercises that comprise MBT for women with low sexual desire will be described as will how to access such practices for professionals interested in implementation with clients or referral to MBT & related training programs.
About Presenter
Lori Brotto, Ph.D. is a Professor in the UBC Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, and a Registered Psychologist in Vancouver, Canada. She has been the Executive Director of the Women’s Health Research Institute of BC located at BC Women’s Hospital since 2016. Dr. Brotto holds a Canada Research Chair in Women’s Sexual Health. She is the author of Better Sex Through Mindfulness: How Women Can Cultivate Desire and The Better Sex Through Mindfulness Workbook (October 2022). From https://www.loribrotto.com/
Target Audience
This workshop is designed for licensed professionals & advanced graduate students with clinical experience who anticipate seeking licensure as mental health professionals. The instructional level of this presentation is INTERMEDIATE and for participants who are currently participating in or have completed a formal Mindfulness-Based Program (MBP) such as MBCT, MBSR, MBRP, MBRE or a Compassion-Based Training programs for which mindfulness skills are foundational.
CE Learning Objectives
Following this presentation, participants will be able to:
Zoom video link will be sent to participants 48 hours before the event contingent upon membership being paid in full if membership rate was selected. NOTE: New membership period begins 2/1/24. Enrollment cancelled if registration fee is not paid. Past members who have not renewed membership will not be eligible for no-cost CE credits.
Recommended Readings
Brotto, L.A. (December, 2023). Using Mindfulness-Based Therapy to Address Low Sexual Desire in Women. PBTA's Evidence-Based Practitioner (EBP). https://philabta.org/EBP/13293520
Brotto, L. A., & Basson, R. (2014). Group mindfulness-based therapy significantly improves sexual desire in women. Behaviour research and therapy, 57, 43-54.
Brotto, L. A., Stephenson, K. R., & Zippan, N. (2022). Feasibility of an online mindfulness-based intervention for women with sexual interest/arousal disorder. Mindfulness, 13(3), 647-659.
Suggested Resources
Brotto, L. A. (2022). The Better Sex Through Mindfulness Workbook: A Guide to Cultivating Desire. Vancouver, Canada: Greystone Publishing.
Brotto, L. A. (2018). Better Sex Through Mindfulness: How women can cultivate desire. Vancouver, Canada: Greystone Publishing.
Mindfulness-Based Interventions (MBIs) such as Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT: Segal et al., 2013) and Stress Reduction (MBSR: Kabat-Zinn, 2013) can support psychotherapy clients in learning to relate with self and others adaptively. Practitioners and Investigators are beginning to appreciate how crucial relationality is to effective MBP implementation. Adaptive inter- and intra-personal relationship behaviors not only reduce symptoms of transdiagnostic emotional disorders, but also enhance health of mind, body, and behavior (Benjamin, 2018). In MBIs, skillful relational stance is a thread running through the “Attitudinal Foundations (AFs)” that include qualities such as acceptance, patience, kindness, & “non-judgment “ (Kabat-Zinn, 2009). Relational constructs are also featured across 5 of the 6 domains found in the Mindfulness-Based Intervention- Teaching Assessment of Criteria (MBI-TAC: Crane et al., 2021) resource for teacher development that supports competence and intervention integrity (Crane et al., 2019). Relational phenomena in the MBI-TAC are included in domains 2 – 6 including domain 2: relational skills; 3: embodying mindfulness; 4: guiding practice; 5: conducting inquiry and didactic teaching to convey course themes; and 6: holding the group learning environment. Clarity about intervention language that is adherent to the intentions of MBPs can be enhanced with an understanding of the two dimensions and three foci that are the backbone of the Structural- Analysis of Social Behavior (SASB: Critchfield et al., 2016; 2024).
The SASB is an important element of the transtherapeutic and integrative Interpersonal Reconstructive Learning intervention that is grounded in both attachment theory and natural biology (IRT: Benjamin, 2018). Both SASB and IRT support clients in developing a healthy intra- and inter-personal relationship with experience in order to meet treatment goals collaboratively. Both SASB and IRT guide treatment goals and processes that cue transformation of maladaptive impulses into adaptive and compassionate action linked to symptom reduction. Importantly, the SASB is a refinement of earlier relational models that confuse assertion and aggression. Such confusion often results in language to “fight” unwanted internal symptoms of emotional disorders that inadvertently exacerbates symptoms due to natural biology. The SASB clearly conceptualizes assertion as the intersection of both befriending and acceptance of experience as it is in the moment, even when undesirable. Adaptive and assertive response is then made clear for moments when there is a discrepancy between desired and actual experience. Such assertive response is intentionally also cued in MBPs with the language in guided practices, inquiry, and responsive didactic teaching. Together SASB and IRT clarify the what, how, and when of intervention in MBPs to optimize their therapeutic impact.
In this training participants will be introduced to the rudimentary elements of the SASB model. Presenters will demonstrate its application to elements of a guided formal MBCT practice. Specifically, a practice and subsequent inquiry designed to support assertive response in relationship with unwanted mental and physical experiences of emotional disorder will be used to demonstrate SASB’s utility. Presenters will illustrate how to refine MBP implementation using the SASB. Such refinement can support the development of competence and enhance accessibility of MBIs for both teachers and students. Specific examples will be described to demonstrate the use of SASB to support the embodied and explicit verbal responses of the clinician delivering MBPs. A case example will show how clinician responses can be internalized by clients to enhance intra-personal functioning in the presence of unwanted experiences and thereby reduce symptoms.
Recommended Readings:
Alsubaie, M., Abbott, R., Dunn, B., Dickens, C., Keil, T. F., Henley, W., & Kuyken, W. (2017). Mechanisms of action in mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) and mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) in people with physical and/or psychological conditions: A systematic review. Clinical psychology review, 55, 74-91.
Baer, R., Crane, C., Miller, E., & Kuyken, W. (2019). Doing no harm in mindfulness-based programs: conceptual issues and empirical findings. Clinical psychology review, 71, 101-114.
Benjamin, L. S. (2018). Interpersonal reconstructive therapy for anger, anxiety, and depression: It's about broken hearts, not broken brains. American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/0000090-000
Crane, R.S. (2019) Intervention Integrity in Mindfulness- Based Research: strengthening a key aspect of methodological rigor, Current Opinion in Psychology, 28:1– 5, www.doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2018.09.009 2352-250X
Crane, R. S., Stanley, S., Rooney, M., Bartley, T., Cooper, L., & Mardula, J. (2015). Disciplined improvisation: Characteristics of inquiry in mindfulness-based teaching. Mindfulness, 6, 1104-1114.
Critchfield, K. L., & Smith Benjamin, L. (2024). Structural analysis of social behavior (SASB): A primer for clinical use. American Psychological Association.
Critchfield, K. L., & Mackaronis, J. E. (2016). Use of empirically grounded relational principles to enhance clinical decision making. In J. J. Magnavita, Clinical decision making in mental health practice (pp. 193–221). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/14711-008
Dimidjian, S., & Segal, Z. V. (2015). Prospects for a clinical science of mindfulness-based intervention. American Psychologist, 70(7), 593.
Griffith, G. M., Crane, R. S., Baer, R., Fernandez, E., Giommi, F., Herbette, G., & Koerbel, L. (2021). Implementing the mindfulness-based interventions; teaching assessment criteria (MBI: TAC) in mindfulness-based teacher training. Global advances in health and medicine, 10, 2164956121998340.
Kabat-Zinn, J., & Hanh, T. N. (2009). Full catastrophe living: Using the wisdom of your body and mind to face stress, pain, and illness. Delta.
Santorelli, S. F., Kabat-Zinn, J., Blacker, M., Meleo-Meyer, F., & Koerbel, L. (2017). Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) authorized curriculum guide. Center for mindfulness in medicine, health care, and society (CFM). University of Massachusetts Medical School.
About Presenters
Ken Critchfield, Ph.D. is a tenured Associate Professor and Program Director of the Clinical Psychology Program of the Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology of Yeshiva University in New York City. Dr. Critchfield’s research, teaching and clinical work all emphasize interpersonal and attachment-based principles of change implemented in Interpersonal Reconstructive Therapy (IRT: Benjamin, 2003; 2018). IRT is an integrative, psychosocial treatment that uses an attachment-based case formulation to tailor treatment for patients having severe and chronic problems characterized comorbid depression, anxiety, PTSD, bipolar disorder, and/or chronic suicidality, often accompanied by personality disorder. Dr. Critchfield earned his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Utah, with an internship at the San Francisco VA Medical Center, and post-doctoral training at Weill-Cornell Medical College. He was co-director of the IRT clinic at the University of Utah Neuropsychiatric Institute and directed the Combined-Integrated Clinical and School Psychology program at James Madison University. Dr. Critchfield is a Fellow of APA’s Society for Advancement of Psychotherapy (Div. 29). He has held leadership roles with the Society for Exploration of Psychotherapy Integration (SEPI) and has long been a member of the Society for Psychotherapy Research (SPR). He maintains a psychotherapy practice and is Director of the Interpersonal Reconstructive Therapy Institute, which provides resources and training in use of Structural Analysis of Social Behavior (SASB) and IRT.
Chris Molnar, Ph.D., a licensed psychologist and clinical investigator, founded Mindful Exposure Therapy for Anxiety and Psychological Wellness Center (META Center) in 2007. She completed post-doctoral fellowship training in traumatic stress, neuroscience, and psycho-physiology and is an expert in the assessment and treatment of anxiety, OCD, PTSD, emotional, and stress-related conditions using evidence-based practices. She has taught Mindfulness-Based programs such as Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT). and MBSR since 2008. She is a qualified MBCT teacher trainer who offers brief trainings as well as 5-day MBCT teacher training retreats at Omega Institute. She has developed adaptations for highly distressed clients since 2010, using Relational Mindfulness Practices (RBPs) such as Insight Dialogue. At META Center, she offers integrative interventions grounded in findings about the brain, emotion, and learning to facilitate mental and behavioral habit change, even in the face of severe distress. Before founding META Center, she served as a clinical investigator and therapist supported by grants from the National Institute of Health and other agencies. She is also on the editorial board of Behavior Therapy and serves the public in many ways, through professional presentations, workshops, publications, and affiliations.
This presentation is intended for licensed mental health professionals and advanced graduate student trainees seeking licensure and with some clinical experience. The instructional level of this presentation is BEGINNER. No formal mindfulness practice is required of participants.
Peer consultation plays an important role in the development and maintenance of competence implementing Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT). In this 90-minute workshop participants will observe a peer consultation practice that can support effectiveness with delivery of the "Three Minute Breathing Space" (3MBS) formal meditation practice with clients. Those who register for this event are asked to have developed a personal practice of two week's duration using MBCT-adherent guidance shared with registrants in the month before this meeting; to have guided and recorded at least one client in an individual psychotherapy session; and subsequently to have engaged in self-reflective rating of that recording using the Mindfulness-Based Interventions - Teaching Assessment Criteria (MBI-TAC: See suggested readings below and further instructions sent to registrants in week before event).
Participants will observe the Relational Mindfulness Practice (RMP) of Mindful Case Consultation (MCC) developed to support MBP teachers in developing and maintaining competence. The MCC is used with peers for case consultation challenges and celebrations as well. Dr. Molnar will be joined in demonstrating the MCC by a graduate of the 5-day professional Mindfulness-Based Teacher Training retreat at Omega Institute that is part of the MBCT teacher training sequence. In MCC an aspiring teacher can 1) guide a formal practice; 2) contemplate a challenge guiding a client (in a very structured and intentional way) or 3) reflect on a self-care concern. The MCC is structured and intentional and not like typical supervision and/ or consultation. It can be implemented in dyads or larger groups where all agree to follow the guidelines captured by the acronym PRO-TLCs which involve meditating intra- and inter-personally and speaking one's personal embodied experience compassionately in relationship with peers. Through MCC participants will observe how to offer feedback to Dr. Yamasaki who will guide the Responsive Three-Step Practice (3SP) followed by inquiry. All participants will be guided and invited to participate in some elements of the MCC practice of offering feedback grounded very specifically in one's direct experience in a way that is intentional. The MCC practice guideline to refrain from giving advice and to focus on the guiding teacher's intentions creates conditions for learning to guide skillfully .
Participants who attended the 8/21/24 event are asked to engage in dialogue about challenges and good outcomes associated with teaching the MBCT three-step breathing space practice in sessions. Those who missed it are welcome to join as well if they follow the one-week practice plan further described for registrants. There will be time for feedback from the presenter about how to continue practicing skills and applying reflective intra- and interpersonal mindfulness practice to enhance competence.
The Mindful Way Workbook: An 8-Week Program to Free Yourself from Depression and Emotional Distress.
Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Depression, Second Edition 2nd Edition
Mindfulness-Based Interventions - Teaching Assessment Criteria (MBI-TAC)
Molnar, C. (June, 2014). Peer groups as a reflecting pool for enhancing wisdom. The Pennsylvania Psychologist Quarterly, pages 9-10.
1. Observe the Relational Mindfulness Practice called Mindful Case Consultation (MCC), developed to support MBI Teacher Training, demonstrated (unscripted) between the two presenters using the Responsive Three-Step Practice for coping with difficult emotion.
2. Observe an MBCT teacher trainer who meets criteria for inclusion on the international registry [www.accessmbct.com], as both therapist and trainer, offering MBCT Teacher Training feedback about the six domains of the MBI-TAC.
3. Identify ways for developing and refining a practice plan for developing competence delivering the 3SP in individual psychotherapy sessions.
Chris Molnar, Ph.D., a licensed psychologist and clinical investigator, founded Mindful Exposure Therapy for Anxiety and Psychological Wellness Center (META Center) in 2007. She completed doctoral training at the Pennsylvania State University and post-doctoral fellowship training in traumatic stress, neuroscience, and psycho-physiology at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). She is an expert in the assessment and treatment of anxiety, OCD, PTSD, emotional, and stress-related conditions using evidence-based practices. Through a co-sponsorship between META Center & PBTA she leads one of the handful of professional MBCT Teacher Training Organizations in the USA and virtually offering Continuing Professional Development. This includes the week-long professional CE retreat workshop for professionals seeking foundational training to develop competence teaching MBCT. She also teaches both Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) and Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) in individual and group psychotherapy formats. She has also developed adaptations for highly distressed clients, using Relational Mindfulness Practices (RBPs), to meet the needs of clients who have difficulty initially with the traditional 8-week MBSR & MBCT programs and elements. At META Center, she offers integrative interventions grounded in findings about the brain, emotion, and learning to facilitate mental and behavioral habit change, even in the face of severe distress. Before founding META Center, she served as a clinical investigator and therapist supported by grants from the National Institute of Health and other agencies. She is also on the editorial board of Behavior Therapy and serves the public in many ways, through professional presentations, workshops, publications, and affiliations.
Alissa S. Yamasaki, Ph.D., is a licensed psychologist and the founder of Ayama Psychotherapy, located in Lemont, PA. Her practice has gained a positive local reputation for its mindful and collaborative business practices, psychotherapists who are especially effective in the area of health and mind-body conditions, and wellness events for health and wellness providers.
Dr. Yamasaki's clinical expertise focuses on the treatment of chronic and complex anxiety, as well as insomnia. Her earliest study of the mind-body connection was as an undergraduate in an exercise psychophysiology lab investigating the effects of physical activity on how people feel and think. Dr. Yamasaki earned her Ph.D. from Penn State University in 2006 and completed her internship at Albany Medical Consortium. Her current practices reflect her belief in the importance of being fully present while drawing from empirically-driven interventions. She utilizes a blend of CBT and relational approaches, including mindfulness-based interventions. Dr. Yamasaki attended the 5-day Mindfulness-Based teacher training retreat with Chris Molnar, Ph.D., in 2022, which sparked both the deepening of her mindfulness practices and greater effectiveness in the therapy room.
This presentation is intended for licensed mental health professionals and advanced graduate student trainees seeking licensure. The instructional level of this presentation is INTERMEDIATE.
Migraine impacts 12 percent of the population and even more caregivers across multiple contexts including but not limited to the home, work-place, and medical care delivery systems. Mental healthcare professionals (MHPs) are likely to see clients with migraine which sometimes has not been diagnosed but greatly impacts psychological functioning. They may need to recognize the signs of migraine in order to refer for concurrent medical care and then to coordinate to optimize care of this often chronic condition. In this workshop a physician will describe 10 symptoms of migraine and common comorbidities that warrant referral by MHPs for assessment and pharmacological treatment. As well, specific ways the MHP can support care will be described. The role of internalized stigma in patients with migraine and some examples of its aftermath that can impact outcomes will also be described. Once migraine is diagnosed by a medical professional and medical management is occurring, there are several roles for mental health professionals in optimizing care. This can include psychoeducation about the causes of migraine and the importance of lifestyle behavioral factors; the role of prospective tracking; interventions such as biofeedback integrated with CBT; and other treatment modalities. Causes of migraine, and both pharmacological and non pharmacological interventions that can be coordinated in care to bring relief will be described in this workshop by a psychologist who delivers care in a hospital headache center setting.
After attending this workshop the learner will be able to:
List 10 symptoms of migraine
List 5 comorbidities of migraine
Describe migraine stigma and list three toxic effects of internalized stigma
List and describe 2 CBT interventions that may be used when treating migraine
Describe the use of biofeedback in self regulation associated with migraine
Presenters
William B. Young, MD, FAHS, FAAN
Dr. William Young is a neurologist and headache specialist at the Jefferson Headache Center. He received his medical degree from Penn State College of Medicine and his Neurology Residency at Tufts/New England Medical Center in 1989. He has worked as a headache specialist since 1990 at the Jefferson Headache Center, which is one of a very few comprehensive academic headache centers in the country. The Center, founded in 1982, specializes in the treatment of patients with all types of headache pain. Dr. Young is the President of Miles for Migraine, founder of the Coalition for Headache and Migraine Patients and former president of the Alliance for Headache Disorders Advocacy.
Jennifer Kengeter, Psy.D.
Dr. Kengeter works as a psychologist at the Jefferson Headache Center where she has been for 6 years. She attended Rutgers University as an undergraduate and completed her graduate training at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM) where she earned her doctorate in psychology. At PCOM, she learned cognitive behavioral therapy with a focus on health psychology. Since that time, she has incorporated Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Dialectic Behavioral Therapy skills into her work. She also has worked in primary care and pediatric neurology settings. She especially enjoys training medical residents .
Currently, she works on the inpatient unit at Methodist hospital with the Jefferson Headache team and she also sees outpatients where the focus is predominately on headache and comorbid disorders. In addition, she trained in CBT-Insomnia which has widened her focus on lifestyle management of pain. Lastly, she obtained training in biofeedback at Jefferson.
She enjoys being active in snowboarding, running, and weightlifting. She is an avid music and Philadelphia sports fan. She also serves as a coach for one her three sons' sports teams with her husband on weekend mornings.
This presentation is intended for licensed mental health professionals and advanced graduate student trainees seeking licensure and with some clinical experience. The instructional level of this presentation is BEGINNER.
Suggested Readings
Cámara-Lemarroy CR, Rodriguez-Gutierrez R, Monreal-Robles R, Marfil-Rivera A. Gastrointestinal disorders associated with migraine: A comprehensive review. World J Gastroenterol. 2016 Sep 28;22(36):8149-60. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v22.i36.8149. PMID: 27688656; PMCID: PMC5037083.
Harris, P., Loveman, E., Clegg, A., Easton, S., & Berry, N. (2015). Systematic review of cognitive behavioural therapy for the management of headaches and migraines in adults. British journal of pain, 9(4), 213-224.
Radat F, Creac’h C, Swendsen J, et al. Psychiatric Comorbidity in the Evolution From Migraine to Medication Overuse Headache. Cephalalgia. 2005;25(7):519-522. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2982.2005.00910.x
Seng, E. K., Singer, A. B., Metts, C., Grinberg, A. S., Patel, Z. S., Marzouk, M., ... & Buse, D. C. (2019). Does mindfulness‐based cognitive therapy for migraine reduce migraine‐related disability in people with episodic and chronic migraine? A phase 2b pilot randomized clinical trial. Headache: The Journal of Head and Face Pain, 59(9), 1448-1467.
Wells, R. E., O’Connell, N., Pierce, C. R., Estave, P., Penzien, D. B., Loder, E., ... & Houle, T. T. (2021). Effectiveness of mindfulness meditation vs headache education for adults with migraine: a randomized clinical trial. JAMA internal medicine, 181(3), 317-328.
To register for this in-person training visit:
https://www.eomega.org/workshops/mindful-emotional-processing
Scroll down for CE objectives, recommended readings, and additional event description offered as background for those considering the live & in-person training at Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, NY from October 6 to 11, 2024. Contract chris@molnarpsychology.com with questions. Thank you
Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) is an adaptation of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) that integrates Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) with much-older wisdom practices. Originally developed to prevent relapse in people with recurrent depression, MBCT and its adaptations have been shown to not only reduce relapse of mood disorders, but also reduce current symptoms of PTSD, OCD, Panic, GAD, other anxiety, & related disorders (e.g., substance abuse) that can develop when disorders marked by Neuroticism remain untreated. Through effective integration of scientific findings and theory about emotional processing and the cognitive, physical, and overt and covert behavioral elements of emotion, MBCT has been shown to be a trans-therapeutic intervention of benefit to those with a range of transdiagnostic disorders. This is in part through increasing metacognition (aka "decentering" , "deidentification", etc.) and changing how one relates habitually with unwanted internal experiences in mind and body. Moreover, the mindfulness skills developed in MBCT are foundational for the range of compassion-based interventions that also have transtherapeutic benefits for those with emotional disorders.
The path for competently and ethically teaching MBCT to those with emotional disorders includes, but is not limited to, participation in the traditional 8-session MBCT program in the role of participant-practitioner. The participant-practitioner model of competence development supports professionals in implementing MBCT with the population they already have expertise serving. It also offers the opportunity to observe an experienced professional model implementation of the MBCT curriculum elements with people exhibiting symptoms the practitioner wants to develop skills for treating. Importantly, the model offers opportunities for receiving feedback from peers in role plays in a consultation setting to enhance competence through deliberate practice. Practitioners will develop foundational skills for implementing all elements of the MBCT curriculum. Further, through developing the habit of formal and informal personal mindfulness practice in the role of participant they can enhance both intra- & inter-personal effectiveness in responding to challenges that arise in MBCT skill development and implementation with clients. For more about training pathway & becoming an MBCT teacher visit https://www.mbct.com/mbct-training-pathway/ or read article by MBCT co-developer Zindel Segal, Ph.D. at www.philabta.org/EBP about increasing access to high quality professional training Home - Access MBCT .
In this workshop, developing clinician teachers will directly experience the MBCT treatment protocol . Professionals will also practice guiding short MBCT practices & receiving feedback from professional peer. Feedback is offered in the context of a relational mindfulness practice that invites contemplation, reflection, & inquiry about implementing the "Guiding Practice" Domain of the Mindfulness-Based Interventions - Teaching Assessment Criteria (MBI-TAC). The Guiding Practice Domain outlines the "bones" or essential elements of each MBCT formal practice including: the 3 step breathing space - regular & responsive versions; body scan; mindfulness of sounds and thoughts; two ways of knowing; and sitting & movement formal practices. Professional participants will also practice implementing the relational mindfulness practice of Mindful Case Consultation (MCC), with a focus on implementing MBCT with challenging cases while maintaining self-care.
This live & in-person (at Omega Institute) workshop is followed by optional and virtual bi-monthly meetings with past professional graduates of this training. These occur in the year following the training to support implementation with clients. The MBI-TAC is introduced at Omega and used in the year following the training during the optional virtual follow-up meetings during which practice teaching and offering feedback occur in the context of a relational mindfulness practice grounded in Insight Dialogue.
Suggested Reading
Crane, R. S., Eames, C., Kuyken, W., Hastings, R. P., Williams, J. M. G., Bartley, T., ... & Surawy, C. (2013). Development and validation of the mindfulness-based interventions–teaching assessment criteria (MBI: TAC). Assessment, 20(6), 681-688.
Kramer, G. (2007). Insight dialogue: The interpersonal path to freedom. Shambhala Publications.
Molnar, C. (September, 2017). Playing in the ocean of awareness: Innovations in mindfulness training. The Pennsylvania Psychologist Quarterly, pages 16-17.
1. Describe the structural elements of four formal mindfulness practices that adhere to evidence-based Mindfulness-Based Interventions (MBIs) designed to teach participants to deconstruct emotion (pleasant or unpleasant) into the mind, body, and behavior elements.
2. Describe two examples of covert (mental) or overt (observable) behaviors that reflect the “doing mode of mind” that arises when there is a discrepancy between one’s desired verses actual internal state.
3. Describe one specific way that an unpleasant emotion state can contribute to the risk of recurrence of transdiagnostic emotional disorders.
4. Describe examples of typical automatic thoughts (ATs), measured by the Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire (ATQ), and how a negative / & or depleted mood / emotion state impacts retrieval processes of ATs.
5. Describe two examples of the “being (present) mode of mind” that serves as an antidote for the doing mode of mind’s focus on the past & / or future.
6. Describe one way that the being mode of mind can reduce the risk of recurrence of distress in transdiagnostic emotional disorders associated with automatically perceiving thoughts as facts.
7. Describe two examples of the difference between conceptual and non-conceptual information (& associated) emotional processing and how each mode of processing can reduce or increase risk of distress and / or dysphoria.
8. Describe the difference between an avoidance / aversion and an approach mode of relating with experience and how each can influence level of distress and dysphoria.
9. Describe the concept of ruminative brooding and how it worsens mood and predicts onset, maintenance, and recurrence of transdiagnostic emotional disorders.
10. Describe the components of the regular three-step "breathing space" practice and how it supports implementation of MBI skills in everyday life.
11. Describe the components of the responsive three-step "breathing space" practice and how it can support the application of mindfulness skills & compassionate responding in stressful situations.
12. Describe how the body scan practice can be viewed as a behavioral experiment with an intention of noticing the impact of non-conceptual information processing of experience; disengagement of attention from stimuli increasing distress; and a broadening of the attentional field.
13. Describe MBI-adherent elements of formal sitting meditation practice and how it can be considered a micro-laboratory that supports awareness of not only sensations but also habitual mental phenomena and one’s intra-personal relationship to feeling states.
14. Describe three of the nine “Foundational Attitudes” that are ways of relating with experience to support both formal and informal mindfulness practice implementation.
15. Describe elements of the informal practice of monitoring pleasant and unpleasant events and how event logs are used to support deconstruction of emotion states into their co-arising & interacting elements.
16. Describe the implementation of the informal practice of logging nourishing and depleting events and how this supports identification of factors associated with relapse prevention and self-kindness intra-personally.
17. Describe a specific way that intention and personal values clarity can reduce barriers to development, and support strengthening, of MBCT skills implementation.
18. Describe how brief assessments of mindfulness, ruminative brooding and compassion can be integrated into the MBCT curriculum to motivate practice and track outcome.
19. Describe the physiological outcome of fighting or attempting to eliminate unwanted internal experiences and how it contrasts with allowing one’s unwanted experiences and relating with kindness to the self.
20. Describe two specific ways that participation in the MBCT group supports the strengthening of mindfulness and compassion in relationship with self and / or others.
21. Describe the six teaching competence domains measured by the Mindfulness-Based Interventions - Teaching Assessment Criteria (MBI-TAC)
22. Implement the Mindfulness-Based Interventions - Teaching Assessment Criteria (MBI-TAC) using examples from live formal MBCT sessions.
23. Observe an MBCT teacher implement live formal MBCT sessions while in the role of a participant followed by relational mindfulness practice and feedback designed to strengthen teaching competence.
24. Describe and observe the practice of mindful inquiry after formal guided practices with participants who meet diagnostic criteria for anxiety & related disorders.
Chris Molnar, Ph.D., a licensed psychologist and clinical investigator, founded Mindful Exposure Therapy for Anxiety and Psychological Wellness Center (META Center) in 2007. She completed post-doctoral fellowship training in traumatic stress, neuroscience, and psycho-physiology and is an expert in the assessment and treatment of anxiety, OCD, PTSD, emotional, and stress-related conditions using evidence-based practices. She teaches both Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) and Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and has also developed adaptations for highly distressed clients, using Relational Mindfulness Practices (RBPs), to meet the needs of people in both individual and group therapy settings. At META Center, she offers integrative interventions grounded in findings about the brain, emotion, and learning to facilitate mental and behavioral habit change, even in the face of severe distress. Before founding META Center, she served as a clinical investigator and therapist supported by grants from the National Institute of Health and other agencies. She is also on the editorial board of Behavior Therapy and serves the public in many ways, through professional presentations, workshops, publications, and affiliations.
This presentation is intended for licensed mental health professionals and advanced graduate student trainees seeking licensure. The instructional level of this presentation is BEGINNER.
Note: This workshop does not require attendees to have a formal mindfulness practice.
We live in turbulent times with increasing levels of stress and challenge across all age groups and across a wide range of work and life contexts. This workshop is the first of a an experiential and participatory series designed to introduce mental health professionals and those training in this field to explore how mindfulness-based approaches (MBAs) may be best used and adapted to meet the particular needs of different populations and contexts to build resilience and to ease suffering and support well-being. See https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2015.01.006
Mindfulness-based approaches (e.g. MBCT, MBSR, MBRP etc) as well as mindfulness-informed approaches (e.g. A.C.T.) are increasingly applied world-wide in group and one to one contexts to meet a wide variety of common emotional and psychological disorders and promote wellness. See Mindfulness-based interventions: an overall review - 10.1093/bmb/ldab005
The workshop will invite participants to engage in some of the standard skills-based practices used in MBAs to develop emotional regulation, perspective and resilience so that the learning is experienced-based and grounded. We will use this grounded experience to better assimilate and understand how mindfulness-based approaches have their positive effect in relation to these increasingly common emotional, relational and psychological challenges. In addition we will outline how competency and integrity are being protected and encouraged in this field. See Mindfulness-Based Interventions - Teaching Assessment Criteria.
Finally, as an aspect of integrity we will explore how adaptations of these mindfulness-based approaches may be effectively tailored and assessed to meet emerging challenges. See https://doi.org/10.1177/21649561211068805
Required Reading (click citation to download)
Loucks, E. B., Crane, R. S., Sanghvi, M. A., Montero-Marin, J., Proulx, J., Brewer, J. A., & Kuyken, W. (2022). Mindfulness-based programs: why, when, and how to adapt?. Global Advances in Health and Medicine, 11, 21649561211068805.
Crane, R. S., Eames, C., Kuyken, W., Hastings, R. P., Williams, J. M. G., Bartley, T., ... & Surawy, C. (2013). Development and validation of the mindfulness-based interventions–teaching assessment criteria (MBI: TAC). Assessment, 20(6), 681-688
Crane, R. S., Karunavira, & Griffith, G. M. (Eds.). (2021). Essential resources for mindfulness teachers. Routledge.
Marx, R., Strauss, C., & Williamson, C. (2014). The eye of the storm: a feasibility study of an adapted Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) group intervention to manage NHS staff stress. The Cognitive Behaviour Therapist, 7, e18.
J Gu, C Strauss, R Bond, and K Cavanagh (2015) How do mindfulness-based cognitive therapy and mindfulness-based stress reduction improve mental health and wellbeing? A systematic review and meta-analysis of mediation studies Clinical Psychological Review
D Zhang, E Lee, E Mak, C Ho and S Wong, (2021) Mindfulness-based interventions: an overall review. British Medical Bulletin., N.I.H.
CE Learning Objective:
By the end of this program, participants will be able to:
Describe 2 guidelines for adapting Mindfulness-Based Programs (MBPs) while maintaining integrity of the evidence-based & first generation MBSR & MBCT training programs.
ABOUT PRESENTER
Dh .Karunavira
Karunavira studied Mindfulness Based Approaches at the Centre for Mindfulness Research and Practice (CMRP), Bangor University gaining his M.Sc. in 2010. He currently is a senior trainer for CMRP. He is also a founding director of, ‘Mindfulhealth’, training mindfulness teachers in the UK
He has taught mindfulness-based approaches (MBCT and MBSR) and trained mindfulness teachers within the local and wider (international) community since 2005, specialising in working with Carers, Young People, NHS Staff and traditional Arab and Far Eastern communities. He leads mindfulness retreats in the UK and across Europe. He previously trained as a Psychotherapeutic Counsellor specialising in working within the NHS with parents/carers of children with complex needs, working with this population as a Mindfulness Therapist.
Karunavira left his initial career as Headteacher in Primary education in 1982 to pursue Buddhist studies. From 1990 he taught meditation and Buddhist studies in the UK and between 2000 and 2010 he was the spiritual director of the Brighton Buddhist Centre (UK)
This presentation is intended for licensed mental health professionals and advanced graduate student trainees seeking licensure and with some clinical experience. The instructional level of this presentation is INTERMEDIATE.
Mindfulness-Based Programs (MBPs) and the evidence-based adaptations on which they are grounded, have been shown to be trans-therapeutic interventions of benefit to those with a range of transdiagnostic emotional disorders. One such adaptation, the 8-week Feeling Tone program, focuses on feeling tone, or vedana, the second foundation of mindfulness. The key elements of the Feeling Tone program are described in this virtual CE training, during which you will be introduced to the Buddhist Psychological Model, a framework for understanding the central role of feeling tone in perpetuating aversion and attachment. An experiential demonstration will provide the opportunity to cultivate the key skills trained in this program.
Required reading (Access will be given via email to registrants)
Grabovac, A. D., Lau, M. A., & Willett, B. R. (2011). Mechanisms of mindfulness: A Buddhist psychological model. Mindfulness, 2(3), 154–166. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-011-0054-5
Suggested Reading (click below to download)
Williams, J. M. G., Baer, R., Batchelor, M., Crane, R. S., Cullen, C., De Wilde, K., ... & Taylor, L. (2022). What Next After MBSR/MBCT? An Open Trial of an 8-Week Follow-on Program Exploring Mindfulness of Feeling Tone (vedanā). Mindfulness, 13(8), 1931-1944.
Objectives (updated)
Mark Lau, PhD, is a Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the University of British Columbia, and a registered psychologist in private practice at the Vancouver CBT Centre. Dr. Lau has over 25 years experience providing Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) and Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) to individuals and groups; conducting MBCT and CBT research; providing leadership in developing models of mental health care delivery including innovative ways of delivering MBCT & CBT; and, providing leadership in training and education including providing MBCT single and multi-day professional trainings across North America, Europe and Australia for mental health professionals. Mark is also an MBCT teacher trainer/mentor with the UCSD Mindfulness-Based Professional Training Institute and is one of a handful of MBCT trainers who provide the 5-day MBCT Professional Training in North America. He has provided MBCT & Fostering Resilience workshops to psychiatrists, physicians, UBC internal medicine residents, university research administrators and college staff. Dr. Lau’s research interests include investigating the mechanisms underlying MBCT’s effectiveness, the development and validation of the Toronto Mindfulness Scale, and evaluating effective methods of disseminating MBCT and CBT. He is a former Associate Editor of the journal Mindfulness.
Andrea Grabovac, MD, FRCPC, is a Clinical Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of British Columbia, and Co-Director of the North American Chapter of the Mindfulness integrated Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (MiCBT) Institute. She has practiced inpatient psychiatry for 20 years at Vancouver Hospital, and her outpatient work focuses on mindfulness-based treatments to treat anxiety, depression and other clinical conditions.
For the last 15 years she has been training physicians and mental health clinicians nationally and internationally in the delivery of Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy and MiCBT, both of which are evidence-based treatments for mental health conditions. She also co-facilitates 5 day Cultivating Wellbeing retreats for physicians and their spouses. She is a clinician trainer and mentor with the UCSD Mindfulness Based Professional Training Institute in California, the Center for Mindfulness Studies in Toronto, and the MiCBT Institute in Australia. She is Co-Investigator in CIHR trials comparing MBCT to CBT for sexual disorders, and has co-authored Canadian competency-based guidelines for training psychiatrists in Mindfulness Based treatments.
She serves as Associate Editor with the journal Mindfulness, and is an active member of the International Mindfulness Integrity Network. .
This presentation is intended only for licensed mental health professionals and advanced post-doctoral trainees. The instructional level of this presentation is BEGINNER and no previous formal meditation experience is required.
Copyright Philadelphia Behavior Therapy Association
