Come and meet the training team at one of Bangor University’s Open Day sessions. This is an opportunity to learn more about the training routes, ask questions, and have mindfulness practice together. We highly recommend that you read the following FAQs and the Trainee Handbook 2022-23 before considering this training programme. If there are any questions that are not answered here then you are welcome to email us at training@mindfulness-network.org.
Full details of each training event can be found in the event description when booking via our CALENDAR and, unless otherwise stated, the training will be delivered in English. We always recommend that you read the event description thoroughly before submitting an application and familiarise yourself with our Payment Terms and Conditions. When you fill in an application form you will be asked to provide information about yourself, your mindfulness experience and practice, plus some questions about your physical and mental health and a chance to provide any other information that you feel is relevant. This helps us assess your application for each individual event and allows us to best support you during the time you are with us. We do ask that you provide details for an emergency contact in case we are required to contact your next of kin. More details can be found in our Safeguarding and Data Protection policies. The Mindfulness Network now offers trainings online via our e-learning platform called the Mindfulness Network Community – a safe space for participants to access course materials and connect with the training team. We will enrol you onto the training course and we strongly encourage you to log into your account and familiarise yourself with the environment well in advance of the starting date so that you can begin the training feeling prepared. Sessions will be hosted via Zoom. You can read more about the experience of taking part in online training in this blog post written by a recent trainee. All of our events take place in UK Time unless otherwise stated on the course description. We welcome participants from all over the world and appreciate this means you may be joining us from a different Time Zone. While additional practice opportunities may be available in the morning or evenings, the core content will usually take place between the hours of 9am and 5.30pm UK Time – please check the course schedule for specific timings of each event. Participants must commit to the entire core content of the training. If this is not possible, please contact us to discuss before submitting an application.
Absolutely not. All of our training events can be taken individually. You do not have to be on the TTP. However, if you decide to register for the TTP at a later date (or if you are on the waiting list to join the TTP), then any courses you take with us will be applied retrospectively to your training portfolio.
The Essentials is a 5 day training course, delivered in retreat conditions, open to anyone with at least 6 months regular mindfulness practice who wants to learn more about mindfulness, either to enrich your existing personal practice or as a first step towards leading mindfulness practices. After this course you should have more insight into your own mindfulness practice, be able to lead others in short mindfulness practices, and consider going on to develop skills to teach mindfulness. After completing the Essentials, you can continue to build on this learning with Specialist Trainings that are meant for those who already have some training in leading mindfulness practices (e.g. our Essentials training) and who want to teach a particular course such as MBSR or MBCT, or who want to offer mindfulness in a particular context such as their workplace, coaching, counselling or yoga. From 2023 onwards, the Essentials will be the starting point of our Training Pathway, which is currently being developed and expanded in association with Bangor University’s Mindfulness Centre to have a range of different routes and Specialist options. If you have previously completed a Level 1 training (TTR1, TTO1, TTC1 or Teaching 1 on the Bangor University Master’s) before 2023, then it is not a requirement to complete the Essentials as part of your Training Pathway. However, existing mindfulness teachers or trainees wanting to re-establish a connection with the essentials of teaching MBPs are very welcome to join the Essentials training. Find out more about The Essentials Training Read more about why we developed The Essentials Training: Putting Out the Welcome Mat for Mindfulness
About the Training Pathway (TTP) in association with Bangor University:
We highly recommend that you read the Trainee Handbook 2022-23, which provides greater detail about the Training, Retreat and Teaching Requirements.
Once you have read the FAQs and the Trainee Handbook 2022-23 you can APPLY HERE.
The overall length of your Pathway will depend on your experience so far as some previous training may count retrospectively towards your portfolio. The Pathway is flexible and is designed to fit around your pre-existing circumstances and training history. Each individual event is listed on our CALENDAR and has full details of the length of training. We run a regular programme of training events at different times throughout the year.
The overall cost of your Pathway will depend on your experience so far as some previous training will count retrospectively towards your portfolio. Each individual event is listed on our CALENDAR and has full details of the cost of training and accommodation (if residential). Costs of the TTP
Part of our vision involves removing financial barriers, as much as we can, by offering bursaries so that people from all backgrounds can afford to train to be mindfulness-based teachers, receive supervision and attend mindfulness retreats. Find out more about our available bursaries. For those registered on the Teacher Training Pathway we have historically offered a 10% reduction of the training cost for the events that are required to reach Certification as Trained Teacher, delivered in collaboration with the Mindfulness Centre at Bangor University. For clarity, these are: PLEASE NOTE: The 10% reduction in cost will no longer be available for Masters students after 1st September 2022, or for TTP students after 1st April 2023. The 10% reduction in cost is not available for other Mindfulness Network training, retreat or supervision services, and ends once you have reached Trained Teacher certification. It is not available in addition to a bursary contribution of 25% or more. We remain committed to ensuring that our services are as accessible and inclusive as possible. Bursary-assisted places are available across all Mindfulness Network training, retreats and supervision for those in need of financial support and who work in a way that is aligned to our vision and mission. There are three certification points, outlined in brief, below. Certification as a Practising Teacher The training, retreats, supervision and reflective writing required to exit the Pathway develop the skills, attitudes and knowledge required to begin to teach MBSR/MBCT. Ideally, you will teach your first course as an assistant to a more experienced teacher. However, this isn’t always possible. For the first one or two courses you teach, we recommend that you have weekly supervision. Supervision should begin before your classes start so that you can have some guidance with the participant assessment process, development of your teaching materials and recordings as well as week-by-week guidance through the course(s). Following this, supervision should be as much as you need, but at least in line with the BAMBA Good Practice Guidelines. On achieving certification as a Practising Teacher you will be eligible to apply to be listed with BAMBA. Certification as Trained Teacher Certification as Trained Teacher provides an opportunity to develop experience and confidence in MBSR/MBCT teaching through further training, supervised teaching, attendance on retreats, continuing personal practice and engagement with your supervisor. You and your supervisor will reflect on your readiness for Mindfulness-based Intervention – Teaching Assessment Criteria (MBI-TAC) assessment. Certification as Competency-assessed Teacher Once you have successfully submitted your portfolio and become a Trained Teacher you will receive a registration link to enable you to sign up for this module within Bangor University. Registration takes place at two time points each year – September or January. Those registered in September must submit by January, those registered in January must submit by May. It is wise to either have a course already recorded prior to registration, or certainty that it is achievable within this time span. Module registration fees cannot be refunded if you are unable to submit on time. The module will involve: You don’t have to wait until you are certified to apply for the British Association of Mindfulness-Based Approaches (BAMBA) Listing. Once you have completed the training, retreat and supervised teaching needed for certification you can register with BAMBA. The retreat requirement for the TTP is to engage in annual mindfulness meditation retreats of a minimum of five days. This is in line with Good Practice Guidelines for Mindfulness Teachers. While on the TTP, we recommend you sit the Foundations of Mindfulness Retreat and the Deepening and Extending the Foundations of Mindfulness at some point as these have been specifically designed for mindfulness teachers in training. These would count towards your annual retreat requirement. Visit our CALENDAR to browse retreats. It is currently possible to specialise in delivery of a mindfulness-based program such as Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction (MBSR), Mindfulness based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) and MBCT for Cancer (MBCT-Ca). It is also possible to specialise in integrating a mindfulness approach within a one to one or other professional context, eg. councelling and psychotherapy. We are exploring the possibility of broadening our specialisms to include Workplace Mindfulness, Youth Mindfulness, Mindfulness-based Relapse Prevention and Mindfulness-based Childbirth and Parenting among others, so please email us at training@mindfulness-network.org if you would like more information. Bangor University have a partnership arrangement with the Mindfulness Network for the provision of mindfulness supervision for our trainees. The supervisors within this group are senior teachers, have taken mindfulness supervision training and have been carefully selected to join this team. The Mindfulness Network website has a list of recommended supervisors and their availability. There is a particular section that lists supervisors specialising in supervising those on training programs. If you already have an experienced mindfulness teacher as a supervisor and wish to continue working with them, please discuss this with your mentor. We will contact the supervisor you would like to work with to ask for information and let them know what is required before agreeing that they can work as your supervisor. Supervision is typically arranged on Skype, Zoom or telephone. Your supervisor does not need to attend your courses but will at some point watch videos of your teaching. Read more in our Supervision FAQs. By registering for the TTP you become a part of a community of trainees supporting one another by connecting online and at various training events and retreats. Connection with other teachers and practitioners is so useful as you train. Peer support can be just as valuable as supervision in helping you to develop insight and to reflect on your experiences together. The support and mutual understanding peers can provide can help to remind you that you are not on this journey alone and can motivate you to turn towards the challenges. Our community of trainees come together to share in the joys and challenges of the TTP via: Email us at training@mindfulness-network.org.
