January 22 (Wednesday evenings)

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction

In person in Seattle

8-week course

WHY MBSR?

Are you interested in mindfulness and its potential for enhancing health and well-being? Are you under stress? Are you struggling with chronic conditions such as chronic pain, depression, and anxiety? Are you feeling as if life is too much? Or do you simply want to live a fuller life with greater balance?

The Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) course is a great place to start, or continue, your journey into mindfulness. MBSR helps you learn what mindfulness is with enough time and practice to allow you to integrate it into your life with hands-on practices that help you make mindfulness your own.

mindfulness class three people in conversation

WHAT TO EXPECT

This 8-week course includes:

Learning about stress reactivity and how mindfulness helps with stress
Learning how to apply mindfulness to everyday situations like communication
Guided instruction in mindfulness meditation practices
Body awareness practices including the body scan and gentle mindful movement
Group dialogue and small group exercises
A 70-page workbook with short readings, a guide to the course, and resources to support your ongoing investigation of mindfulness
Eight 2.5 hour classroom sessions plus a 7-hour weekend retreat.

students in circle on mats in wood floor classroom @ mindfulness northwest bellingham wa

The eight class sessions include lessons on what mindfulness is and how to apply it to real life situations, sitting and walking meditation, small and whole group discussions, gentle yoga-based movement, and other practices. In between classes, home practice and explorations support the growth of mindfulness in your life. And there’s an additional retreat session on the weekend to deepen your practice.

TEACHER

Karen Schwisow

SCHEDULE

Wednesdays, January 22 – March 12, 2025
6:00pm – 8:30pm

All-Day Retreat: Saturday, March 8, 9am – 4pm
at Brightwater Education Center.

LOCATION

Nalanda West (Seattle)

COST

$475 - $715 (or $119 – $179/month)

Sliding scale: Choose what’s right for you.
Payment plan option: 4-months, no-interest.
Scholarships available: No need to apply; just choose a scholarship tuition during registration.

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Attend with a Friend Discount

When you and a friend both register for this class, you can both take 20% off! Use code "MindfulFriends" at checkout.

Karen used caring, humor, and honesty to teach us the material and helped us work through difficulties and find the benefit for each of us. I was meditating frequently before the class, but now my practice is much richer, more meaningful, and I do it much more often.

Tom Faber

Seattle, WA

MEET THE INSTRUCTOR

CONTINUING EDUCATION IS AVAILABLE

CE Credits: American Psychological Association approved credits are available for Psychologists, MFTs, LPCCs, LEPs, and LCSWs.
BRN Credits: Board of Registered Nursing approved credits are available for Nurses.

5-week Mindfulness for Healthcare Providers (MHP) Course

Physicians, nurses, therapists, and social workers: PeaceHealth St. Joseph designates this live activity for a maximum of 16.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. It meets the criteria for Category I CME credit to satisfy the relicensure requirements of the Washington State Medical Quality Assurance Commission.

Learning Objectives for the 5-week Mindfulness for Healthcare Providers Course. After this education, learners should be able to:

Choose appropriate mindfulness training techniques in preventive and responsive ways in high-stress situations.
Utilize appropriate mindfulness practices to mitigate the risk factors for burnout.
Discuss strategies with peers for a more positive, mindful engagement in work and home situations that have previously triggered stress response and unhelpful behaviors.
Identify helpful vs. unhelpful thought patterns, problem solving, emotional regulation, and meaning-focused coping strategies.
Demonstrate meaningful change in personal mindfulness, perceived stress, and burnout as shown in standardized measures administered pre- and post-activity.

8-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) Course

Psychologists: Up to 27.0 CE Continuing Education Credits for this program are provided by UC San Diego Center for Mindfulness. The UC San Diego Center for Mindfulness is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. The UC San Diego Center for Mindfulness maintains responsibility for this program and its content.

Licensed MFTs, LPCCs, LEPs, LCSWs: Up to 27.0 Continuing Education Credits for this program are provided by UC San Diego Center for Mindfulness. The UC San Diego Center for Mindfulness is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. 27.0 CE credit may be applied to your license renewal through the California Board of Behavioral Sciences.

Nurses: UC San Diego Center for Mindfulness is approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing, Provider Number CEP16351, for 32.0 contact hours.

UCSD CE Learning Objectives for the 8 week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) course:

Articulate the key aspects of mindfulness as it relates to stress reduction, coping with pain and illness and enhancing well-being
Differentiate MBSR from relaxation and other distraction techniques that may seem similar but are fundamentally and theoretically quite different in contending with difficulty and enhancing quality of life
Apply mindfulness techniques in both personal and professional settings as a means of contending more effectively with the demands of both settings
Integrate mindfulness into social interaction with patients, colleagues, supervisors, family and friends to facilitate more effective and mindful communication
Articulate the potential benefits of mindfulness-based stress reduction (and mindfulness in general) to educate patients and their families about the benefits of such programs in their own lives
Implement brief mindfulness practices with patients and family members as a means of contending with acute pain, anxiety and distress.

CE Registrants are responsible for completing all requirements for attendance or making up missed classes, as well as completing the post class evaluation by no later than 3 days after the last class meeting. Failure to do so will result in forfeiture of CE’s.

8-week Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) Course

Psychologists: Up to 24.0 Continuing Education Credits for this program are provided by UC San Diego Center for Mindfulness. The UC San Diego Center for Mindfulness is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. The UC San Diego Center for Mindfulness maintains responsibility for this program and its content.

Licensed MFTs, LPCCs, LEPs, LCSWs: Up to 24.0 Continuing Education Credits for this program are provided by UC San Diego Center for Mindfulness. The UC San Diego Center for Mindfulness is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. Credits may be applied to your license renewal through the California Board of Behavioral Sciences.

Nurses: UC San Diego Center for Mindfulness is approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing, Provider Number CEP16351, for 28.75 contact hours.

UCSD CE Learning Objectives for the 8-week Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) class:

Describe the theory and research supporting mindful self-compassion
Develop and apply self-compassion practices to motivate themselves with encouragement rather than self-criticism
Assess and manage difficult situations and emotions with greater moment-to-moment acceptance
Develop and apply self-compassion practices to respond to feelings of failure or inadequacy with self-kindness
Transform difficult relationships, old and new, through self-validation
Utilize the art of savoring and self-appreciation to overcome negative attention bias
Apply core mindfulness and self-compassion practices into daily life
Demonstrate simple self-compassion practices to patients, students, or clients

More about MBSR

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) is the “gold standard” course for learning mindfulness and how to apply it to your daily life. It was designed by Jon Kabat-Zinn and the Center for Mindfulness at the UMass Medical Center in the late 1970’s. Please see our MBSR page for full details about this well-researched class.

Decades of research show that MBSR reduces chronic pain and boosts the immune system; addresses painful mental states like depression and anxiety; minimizes emotional reactivity and promotes well-being; increases flexible attention and sharpens mental focus; and actually thickens grey matter in the areas of empathy and problem-solving. Happiness can be a delightful by-product.

Preparing for MBSR

We recommend watching this five-minute message from Executive Director Tim Burnett on what our classes look and feel like before enrolling in an 8-week or residential MBSR or MSC.

If you’re unsure about registering for a course, please contact the Mindfulness Northwest office. We want to be sure there is sufficient support for you and that the timing is right for taking our courses.

Wondering what this class is like? You can also sign up for a FREE 90 minute introduction to mindfulness:

March 16 (Sunday late afternoon)

An Afternoon of Mindfulness

ONLINE

1.5-hour free workshop

learn more & register

April 30 (Wednesday Evening)

An Evening of Mindfulness