I am currently the Supervision Lead for the Mindfulness Network and a member of the core training team within the MN and Bangor University, with a particular focus on Mindfulness-based Supervision (MBS) training. I co-founded the Mindfulness Network in 2012 and co-directed/directed the charity until 2021. From 2008-2017, I was a Senior Lecturer at the University of Exeter and worked as a mindfulness-based cognitive therapist and trainer. I led the postgraduate training and the NHS Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) service within the AccEPT clinic. Prior to my work at the University of Exeter, I worked as an Occupational Therapist in NHS mental health settings. Mindfulness-based supervision has been one of my passions for many years now.
Qualifications
- Doctor of Clinical Research, with the thesis titled Supervisors’ and Supervisees’ Perspectives of Mindfulness-Based Supervision: A Grounded Theory Study, 2019
- MSc in Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapies, University of Exeter, 2012
- I underwent extensive training with some of the first and second generation of mindfulness-based teachers as part of the Medical Research Council Trial platform: Preventing depression relapse in NHS practice using MBCT
Teaching-Training Specialisms
- MBCT in clinical and research settings particularly for adults with a history of depression
- MBCT for people with current depression
- MBCT for parents with a history of depression
- MBCT/MBSR for people with physical health difficulties/chronic pain/vascular disorders in a clinical setting (includes a trial offering MBCT/Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction (MBSR) for people with a vascular disorder and associated low mood/stress)
- As a trainer, I have a sound knowledge of MBSR for the general public
- MBCL – I have completed both teacher training modules of the Mindfulness-based Compassionate Living course
- I have completed the Bodhi College Teacher Training Programme
- Deeper Mindfulness (Frame by Frame) – I have completed the teacher training
Personal Practice
I have had a personal mindfulness practice since 2004, prior to which I practised yoga regularly. My practice includes the core practices taught in MBCT/MBSR as well as developing other practices of interest and relevance in my life. My practice is supported by regularly mentoring sessions with a teacher from the insight meditation tradition. Movement also plays an important part of practice for me, both formally – with practices such as yoga – to more informal movement activities such as walking and Kayaking in the beauty of Devon where I live.
Research Activities
- Doctoral Thesis on supervisors’ and supervisees’ perspectives of mindfulness-based supervision. Read Here.
- Therapist on Medical Research Council Trial platform: Preventing depression relapse in NHS practice using (MBCT)
- Lead therapist for a National Institutes for Health Research funded PREVENT trial, “Preventing recurrent depression in NHS settings: Comparing antidepressants with mindfulness-based cognitive therapy.”
- Small Random Controlled (RCT) trial of MBCT for parents with a history of recurrent depression
- Small RCT trial offering MBCT/MBSR for people with a vascular disorder and associated low mood/stress
Publications
Evans, A., Griffith, G.M. & Smithson, J. What Do Supervisors’ and Supervisees’ Think About Mindfulness-Based Supervision? A Grounded Theory Study. Mindfulness (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-023-02280-8
Evans A. Mindfulness-based supervision. (2021). In Crane, R.S., Karunavira., Griffith, G.M. (Eds.), Essential Resources for Mindfulness Teachers (pp. 156-166). Routledge.
Evans, A., Griffith, G. M., Crane, R. S., & Sansom, S. A. (2021). Using the Mindfulness-Based Interventions: Teaching Assessment Criteria (MBI:TAC) in Supervision Global Advances in Health and Medicine, 10 1-6, https://doi.org/10.1177/2164956121989949
Evans, A. (2019). Supervisors’ and Supervisees’ Perspectives of Mindfulness-Based Supervision: A Grounded Theory Study. https://ore.exeter.ac.uk/repository/handle/10871/37542
Alsubaie, M., Dickens, C., Dunn, B. D., Gibson, A., Ukoumunne, O. C., Evans, A., … & Kuyken, W. (2018). Feasibility and Acceptability of Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy Compared with Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction and Treatment as Usual in People with Depression and Cardiovascular Disorders: a Three-Arm Randomised Controlled Trial. Mindfulness, 1-21.
Mann, J., Kuyken, W., O’Mahen, H., Ukoumunne, O., Evans, A., & Ford. T. (2016). Manual Development and Pilot Randomised Controlled Trial of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy Versus Usual Care for Parents with a History of Depression. Mindfulness 7(5) 1024–1033 DOI 10.1007/s12671-016-0543-7.
Kuyken, W., Hayes, R., Barrett, B., Byng, R., Dalgleish, T., Kessler, D., Lewis, G., Watkins, E., Brejcha, C., Cardy, J., et al (2015). Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy compared with maintenance antidepressant treatment in the prevention of depressive relapse or recurrence (PREVENT): a randomised controlled trial. Lancet, 386(9988), 63-73.
Kuyken, W., & Evans, A. (2014). Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy for Depression. In R. A. Baer (Ed) Mindfulness-Based Treatment Approaches: Clinician’s Guide to Evidence Base and Applications (2nd edition) (pp. 29-60). London: Elsevier.
Evans, A., Crane, R.C., Cooper, L., Mardula, J., Wilks, J., Surawy., Kenny, M., Kuyken, W. (2014). A Framework for Supervision for Mindfulness-Based Teachers: a Space for Embodied Mutual Inquiry. Mindfulness 6(3), 572-581. DOI 10.1007/s12671-014-0292-4.
Crane, R. S., Eames, C., Kuyken, W., Hastings, R. P., Williams, J. M. G., Bartley, T., Evans, A., Silverton, S., Soulsby, J. G., & Surawy, C. (2013). Development and validation of the mindfulness-based interventions-teaching assessment criteria (MBI:TAC). Assessment, 20(6), 681-688. DOI: 10.1177/1073191113490790.
Kuyken, W., Byford, S., Byng, R., Dalgleish, T., Lewis, G., Taylor, R., Watkins, E.R, Hayes, R., Lanham, P., Kessler, D., Morant, N., & Evans, A. (2010). Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial comparing mindfulness-based cognitive therapy with maintenance anti-depressant treatment in the prevention of depressive relapse/recurrence: the PREVENT trial. BMC Trials, 11, 99. doi:10.1186/1745-6215-11-99.
Kuyken, W., Watkins, E., Holden, E., White, K., Taylor, R.S., Byford, S., Evans, A., Radford, S., Teasdale, J.D., Dalgleish, T., et al (2010). How does mindfulness-based cognitive therapy work?. Behav Res Ther, 48(11), 1105-1112.
Further Information
I can be contacted via email at alison@vividmindfulness.co.uk
Alison’s website: www.vividmindfulness.co.uk
