MINDFULNESS AND COMPASSION ACROSS THE LIFESPAN:
TAILORING THE PRACTICE TO THE PERSON

TRAINING PROGRAM

It’s now well known that mindfulness and compassion practices can enhance virtually any form of psychotherapy and have proven effective in treating anxiety, depression, chronic pain, and many other conditions. These practices offer the promise of a trans-theoretical approach to psychological healing, helping us zero in on the common elements across effective treatments. Recently, clinicians are discovering that they also hold an even greater potential—they can challenge our conventional view of ourselves and the world, waking us up from limiting beliefs about who we are and how to find happiness. 

But mindfulness and compassion practices are not one-size-fits-all remedies. Researchers are now differentiating the effects of focused attention, open monitoring, loving-kindness, compassion, and equanimity techniques. To be both safe and effective, practices need to be tailored to fit the needs of clients of different ages, backgrounds, and personality structure—and this workshop will show you how.

Whatever your treatment orientation—from ACT, CBT, or DBT to psychodynamic, interpersonal, or humanistic approaches—these evidence-based mindfulness, compassion, and self-compassion tools can enhance your work with clients, enlivening and enriching both your clinical work and personal life while improving therapeutic outcomes.  

Drawing on insights from ancient wisdom traditions along with the latest findings in neuroscience and evolutionary psychology, Drs. Siegel and Willard will cover some universal mechanisms that underlie psychological disorders, and how mindfulness and compassion practices can help transform your life and the lives of every client you serve.

The workshop will be infused with practicing mindfulness and compassion ourselves, to deepen our understanding of the practices, enhance therapeutic presence, and support our own self-care. We plan to experientially explore awareness, movement, compassion and other practices, as we consider adaptations for a range of presenting concerns, for attention spans ranging from 30 seconds to 30 minutes and beyond.  

Throughout the workshop, you will learn creative ways to deal with the obstacles and challenges that arise when working with various challenges and personalities. Upon completion, you will have a foundation for integrating these transformative practices into both your personal life and your therapeutic work.

ACCOMMODATIONS - VILLA ZUCCARI

Located in the San Luca district of Montefalco, the Villa is a large country house. The building’s oldest wing dates back to the late 16th century while the facade and the general layout date back to the 1800’s. Originally, the family’s living quarters were on the large upper floor while the ground floor served as the storage area for the foods harvested from the fields and the administrative office. The villa is surrounded by centuries-old trees and grounds that extend over an area of 40,000 square meters, where you can enjoy the 20 x 10 meter infinity swimming pool. The park, with its cypress-lined path, forest and extremely rare varieties of trees, including the Ginkgo biloba, paulownia, field maple, pink flowering horse-chestnut tree, Italian stone pine, and many more, is completely level, making it an ideal place for walking or jogging. The 980 Meilland rose bushes offer a unique spectacle from May to October.

EXPERIENCE UMBRIA

Truffle Hunting is an extraordinary Italian adventure where you can be immersed in the traditions and culture of Umbria, the pinnacle of Italy’s truffle tradition

Guided by expert truffle hunters along the forests made up of beech and oak trees, you will find rich black truffles of both the winter and summer varieties while white truffles are found in the valleys below the mountains.

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Walking Tour of Assisi

Experience a nostalgic walking tour guided by expert historian on the trails of the Medieval town of Assisi, a UNESCO Heritage Site. Ancient walk of Peace Bosc di San Francesco. Followed by a special dinner in the gardens

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YOUR FACILITATOR GUIDES

24 CE CREDITS

This program offers an experiential learning environment, with a focus on developing the capacity for self-awareness in stressful and demanding situations. Designed for medical practitioners and healthcare professionals (Physicians, NPs, PAs, Nurses, Psychologists, Therapists, Counselors) involved in practice and education. No prior experience is required; however, experience with meditation or other contemplative practices is welcomed. Session themes include communication with patients/families, responding to suffering, difficult decisions, errors, professionalism, medical education, compassion, self-care, resilience, and burnout. 

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DESIRED OUTCOMES

Mindfulness Knowledge and Skills

• Establish a direct, first hand, experience of mindfulness

• Cultivate mindfulness through silence, conversation and dialogue

• Establish an experiential understanding of their capacity to deliberately “train” the mind

Focused Attention

• Focus and sustain attention on a single object

• Focus and sustain attention on changing objects

• Apply and enhance the capacity to pause or stop

• Demonstrate an increased ability to recognize mind wandering and to redirect the mind

Situational Awareness

• Explore new approaches to meeting challenging situations as a provider

• Improve ability to step back, listen and be present to self and others

• Demonstrate the ability to be aware of multiple aspects of present moment experience

Compassion and Resiliency

• Observe and investigate the dynamic interplay of fear/constriction and vulnerability/openness within ourselves and our patients

• Recognize the therapeutic power of the heart through kindness, self-compassion practices

• Report how Mindfulness-based practices and self-compassion practices can help patients better care for themselves and be able to support these competencies with evidence-based research

• Utilize mindfulness practices and self-compassion practices as a method for developing resilience

• Describe the signs and consequences of burnout

• Discuss warning signs of accumulating stress and apply mindfulness practices to manage them more effectively

Accreditation

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