Teacher Development Intensive

The Teacher Development Intensive (TDI) is the culmination of Phase 2 Oasis Institute MBSR professional education and training program. Successful completion of the TDI provides you with the minimum qualifications for beginning to teach MBSR.

The TDI focuses on MBSR teacher formation and readiness. It is an eight-day residential intensive training that will help you refine your teaching skills through highly focused and sustained inner work in the context of a rigorous teaching laboratory. This environment allows you to cultivate a practical and in-depth familiarity with, and competency in, multiple aspects of the MBSR curriculum, including presentational elements, guidance in meditation and yoga practice, inquiry and group dynamics,TDI and preparation of supporting materials.

Highly participatory and collaborative, the TDI will further your ability to:

  • Meet the experience and expression of stress, pain, grief, and anxiety within yourself and when working with others.
  • Understand the experiential, didactic, and conceptual elements of MBSR.
  • Examine and apply the language and methods used for teaching and guiding others in the formal and informal methods of mindfulness meditation in various settings.
  • Demonstrate proficiency in guiding others in a range of MBSR meditation practices.
  • Practice the skills of inquiry, dialogue, and group dynamics that are the hallmarks of MBSR.
  • Participate in individual interviews and continued inquiry with TDI teachers.
  • Receive guidance in the development of supporting materials.

Prerequisites

  • Completion of the Practicum in MBSR.
  • Completion of required study components.
  • Ongoing daily meditation as well as yoga and other body-centered awareness practices; and commitment to the integration of mindfulness in everyday life.
  • Professional experience in the fields of health care, education, social change and/or contemplative arts or practice.
  • Participation in at least two 5-10 day silent, teacher-led mindfulness meditation retreats.
  • Supporting documentation of required preliminary teaching based on elements of MBSR.

TDI details

  • Eight-day residential training program.
  • 92 hours of direct instruction.
  • Comprehensive investigation of the underpinnings of the MBSR curriculum.
  • Extensive first-hand experience about how to teach MBSR.
  • Exploration of the dynamics of change and transformation within yourself and in MBSR class participants.
  • Refinement of your personal meditation and yoga practice.
  • Exploration of the ways that the MBSR model has been integrated into other mindfulness-based approaches and interventions.
  • Participation in an ongoing supportive learning community.

Learning Objectives

  • Examine, in detail, the MBSR curriculum and its theoretical, philosophical, and pedagogical underpinnings.
  • Demonstrate and apply foundational MBSR teaching skills.
  • Analyze and demonstrate the precise use of language to enhance clarity of communication in all phases of instruction.
  • Investigate and make explicit the psychodynamic elements that manifest within the teacher and participants in the MBSR classroom.
  • Develop and demonstrate a capacity for sustained dynamic stability in the midst of uncertain and highly charged situations.
  • In-depth preparation for beginning to teach MBSR.

Teaching MBSR

Successful completion of the TDI means that you meet the minimum qualifications for beginning to teach complete MBSR courses on your own.

 

Program Dates and Fees

Fall 2013:  September 25 - October 3

  • Application Deadline: May 15, 2013
  • Location: St. Arbogast, Austria
  • Instructors: Florence Meleo-Meyer, and Camilla Sköld
  • Fees
    • Application fee: $50 (non-refundable)
    • Tuition: €1800 (payable upon acceptance)
    • Housing and Meals: cost TBA

    For more information about the program organizer and host in Austria, please click here

    TDI trainings in 2014 will be announced on this web page during the summer of 2013.

    It is not possible for us to send individual email messages announcing such courses. We will announce future courses here on our web site as well as with our general email list (for which you can sign up here) and our Facebook page.

    Continuing Education Credits (USA only) (click for details) 


    How to Apply

    Please apply using our online application form. You will need to have your CV/Resume available on your computer before you begin filling out the application form because you will attach it to the application form and you cannot submit the form without the CV/Resume. The CV/Resume should be in MS Word or PDF format.

    (The application deadline has passed)

    Application Fee

    After you submit your application, you must pay a $50 application fee. The application fee is non-refundable, regardless of your final acceptance status.

    You have three options for paying this application fee:

    1. Click here to make an online payment using MasterCard or Visa; or
    2. Call Jessica in our office at 508-856-1084 to make a credit card payment over the phone (we can accept payment with American Express, Visa, MasterCard, and Discover cards over the phone); or
    3. Mail a check payable to UMMS-CFM to:

      Center for Mindfulness
      UMass Medical School
      55 Lake Avenue North
      Worcester, MA 01655
      Attention: Oasis

    Click HERE to access a program calendar and information about tuition and fees, continuing education credits, and registration.