EXPERIENCED MINDFULNESS TEACHER?
JOIN OUR ONLINE PROGRAMME TO DEVELOP YOUR SKILLS TO TEACH IN THE WORKPLACE
Further skills for trained teachers
Course Purpose
How can you skilfully navigate workplace demands whilst keeping the integrity of the underlying mindfulness teachings? How can research and science help to successfully position mindfulness in the workplace? What didactic methods and delivery options are most effective in organisational settings? What is the impact of organisational power dynamics on group work and inquiry? What methods of evaluation work well in workplace situations? And how can you build a sustainable mindfulness practice in the workplace with authenticity and integrity?
The purpose of the Mindfulness: Teaching in the Workplace Programme is to help experienced mindfulness teachers build the competencies required to offer mindfulness training in organisational contexts.
Course overview
The course explores the competencies and skills required to introduce mindfulness confidently in workplace settings and build a practice in the field.
Succinct presentations on relevant theories and concepts are blended with opportunities for hands-on practice, experiential learning and real-world applications through case study simulations and real-world assignments.
Who is this training for?
The programme is for experienced mindfulness teachers, who are teaching Mindfulness- Based Programmes in line with the UK Good Practice Guidelines, and mindfulness teachers in training, who must have:
Completed an introductory level mindfulness teacher training
Taught or co-taught two mindfulness-based courses under supervision
‘Mindfulness: Teaching in the Workplace’ (MTW) programme is designed to give you the skills and competencies to offer mindfulness in a workplace context. It is not a curriculum training. A curriculum well-suited for workplace settings is ‘Finding Peace in a Frantic world’. It is highly recommended that all applicants are trained to teach Finding Peace prior to joining the MTW programme. You can find out when the next ‘Finding Peace in a Frantic World’ teacher training will be held here.
It is highly recommended that all applicants have a supervisor with experience in workplace settings. If you are looking for a supervisor, The Mindfulness Network has a listing of workplace supervisors who meet high quality standards.
Applicants should also have knowledge and experience of the chosen workplace setting(s) and population(s) they plan to teach.
How is the programme structured?
The programme is divided into two teaching blocks designed to develop the basic and advanced skills required to bring mindfulness to organisational settings. Teaching block 1 consists of six half-day sessions while teaching block 2 consists of four half-day sessions. Each session is taught on a Friday morning and lasts 4.5 hours, including scheduled breaks. Participants should also allow for 2 to 3 hours of homework and preparation in between sessions each week.
The sessions comprise a mix of interactive presentations, group work, class interaction and exercises designed to get participants thinking and make them active members in the learning process.
The teaching blocks are underpinned by a client case study offering opportunities to practice common workplace scenarios, take part in simulations, role-plays and do teach-backs in small groups.
Core themes include:
Teaching block 1 (Introducing mindfulness)
- Intentional client conversations
- Assessing the workplace context
- Teaching methods for introducing mindfulness
- Positioning mindfulness in the workplace
- Evaluating the effectiveness of mindfulness interventions in the workplace
Teaching block 2 (Embedding mindfulness)
- Advanced teaching methods
- Sustaining the practice and anchoring mindfulness in organisations
- Inquiry in the workplace
- Establishing a mindfulness in the workplace business
In-between teaching block 1 and 2, participants will be expected to:
- Complete a teaching assignment for a real-world client and write a reflective piece of analysis of their experience
- Work with a group of peers in virtual teams to solve a workplace-related problem. The ultimate task will be a presentation to the class.
Available support
There will be ongoing support and guidance in the form of:
Virtual check-in sessions: facilitated help sessions are offered in between teaching blocks and after the end of programme
Online library: Teaching materials, theme presentations, relevant articles and workplace tools will be available via the online course platform.
Networking: Participants will be able to connect with Mindfulness teachers who already teach in the workplace.
Virtual groups: Programme participants will be encouraged and supported to set up virtual networks of peers with similar interests or focus areas. Once established, these groups will be self-organised and managed without input or facilitation from the OMF
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the Programme, participants will have explored how to:
- Engage with workplace clients to discuss motivations, needs and barriers; to learn about the organisational context; and to agree objectives and next steps
- Design interventions suited to introducing mindfulness to workplace settings and adapt teaching methods and delivery style whilst retaining fidelity to the underpinning philosophy, intentionality, and rigour.
- Offer an orientation (‘introduction’) and an assessment suitable to the context of teaching in the workplace whilst staying within an agreed ethical framework
- Decide on the research and evidence base most relevant to the workplace context and present it with credibility and integrity
- Guide practices, facilitate inquiry and offer cognitive exercises tailored to the context of teaching in the workplace; work skilfully with group dynamics to foster psychological safety
- Work with participant vulnerabilities within the context of delivering mindfulness teaching in the workplace
- Develop a framework for evaluating the results of a workplace mindfulness intervention; and work with others to implement the evaluation
- Make recommendations and design and implement workplace mindfulness interventions to sustain the practice and anchor the changes
- Adopt tools and techniques designed to launch and grow a sustainable mindfulness practice in the workplace with authenticity and integrity
Certification
A Certificate of Readiness to Teach in the Workplace will be available for all participants who have attended and actively participated in both training blocks, and completed all programme assignments
This has to be one of the best courses I’ve attended during my career. Never have I felt so inspired by a course and the community I have met along the way.
It’s not enough to be a trained mindfulness teacher, or have experience in the dynamics of working in an organisational setting. It’s about really taking the time to think about and learn how to position these together, so mindfulness in the workplace setting resonates, considers the various contexts and is then skilfully applied so it delivers benefit – and it really can offer so many benefits.
If you are a trained mindfulness teacher wanting to branch out into the workplace setting I can’t recommend this course enough.
| PROGRAMME | |
|---|---|
| Course Leaders | Leonie Schell and Susan Peacock |
| Who is it for | Trained Mindfulness Teachers |
| Where is the course | Online programme |
| How much is it | From £615 |
| Course Dates | Commences October yearly |
| Course Times | Taught in 10 classes of 4.5 hours each preceeded by optional networking/ practice |
Who will be the teachers?
Co-Facilitators
The programme will be facilitated by Susan Peacock and Leonie Schell.
SUSAN PEACOCK
Who am I?
In 2011, I founded LiveWorkWell and have worked with a wide range of public and private sector organisations such as Publicis, McKinsey & Company, The Guardian, the Oxfordshire County Council and Simply Business, supporting their people to engage fully and sustainably in the constantly evolving corporate world.
Having spent the first 10 years of my career at international advertising agencies, I saw how vital resilience is in fast-paced environments. To help others maintain balance in work and life, I became a Chartered Psychologist – now with more than 15 years experience – and trained as a mindfulness teacher and organisational change consultant.
What do I bring to the MiTW Programme?
My passion is to help individuals and teams perform at their best by enhancing their resilience, effectiveness and relationships. As part of a parliamentary programme run by the University of Oxford’s Mindfulness Centre, I deliver training for MPs, Peers and their staff.
And through the global consultancy Awaris, where I am an associate, I have trained leaders and teams at Redbull, Mitsubishi Bank, a winning Formula One Team and the European Commission.
I was invited to contribute to Britain’s first parliamentary enquiry on mindfulness and the book Mindfulness in the Workplace, where I contributed a chapter which tells the story of LiveWorkWell’s long-running programme at the media agency Publicis.
Creating cultures that embed the ability to navigate uncertainty and change in innovative and creative ways is vital for teams and individuals to thrive and I believe that this is where mindfulness is transformational.
LEONIE SCHELL
Who am I?
An organisational change consultant and mindfulness trainer, I work in partnership with organisations to develop fresh mindsets and enable employees to reach their full human potential in an interconnected world through mindfulness training and other approaches rooted in contemporary neuroscience and scientific evidence.
As founder and former Chair of the Mindfulness Network at Big Four Firm EY, I established a thriving mindfulness practice in a global organisation.
I was an Associate at the Mindfulness Initiative in charge of progressing the implementation of the workplace recommendations of the Mindful Nation UK report. I established and coordinated the private sector workplace taskforce and was a key contributor to the publication ‘Building the Case for Mindfulness in the Workplace’. I have been a member of the faculty responsible for the ‘Mindfulness in the Workplace’ masterclasses at the Oxford Mindfulness Centre since 2017.
Who will be our guest speakers?
WILLEM KUYKEN
Sir John Ritblat Family Foundation Professor of Mindfulness and Psychological Science. Willem is a Principal Investigator at the University of Oxford Mindfulness Research Centre. Willem’s work focuses on depression and evidence-based approaches to depression. In particular, his research examines how mindfulness and mindfulness-based programs can prevent depression and enhance human potential across the lifespan.
CHRIS TAMDJIDI
Chris is the co-founder and Director of Awaris. Chris has spent the last 10 years focusing on Leadership development especially in the fields of mindfulness, authentic leadership and personal transformation. He works with many large organisations on transforming leadership habits. He is also active in politics – working both with members of the German Parliament and the European Parliament, as well as the European commission on cultivating a shift in political climate.
Prior to this he worked for 7 years with The Boston Consulting Group in the Munich, Kuala Lumpur and London offices. Chris has a Degree in Physics from Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine and an MBA from UT in Austin. He grew up mainly in Asia and the Middle-East, living in Dubai for 6 years.