

This course forms the didactic core for the Advanced Fellowship in Mindfulness and Psychotherapy at the CHA Center for Mindfulness and Compassion affiliated with the Harvard Medical School Department of Psychiatry– the first such professional advanced clinical fellowship for training of mental health professionals associated with a major medical school.
Please note that all applications must be accompanied by a $500 application fee, credited to tuition on acceptance, or refunded if you are not accepted.
We are no longer accepting applications for 2023-2024.
Please return in December, 2023, when we anticipate opening up the application process for 2024-25.
ENGAGE
Immerse yourself in an intensive program of personal and intellectual study
• 9 months, 120+ hours with distinguished faculty interaction
• Weekly live group interactions for conversation with faculty, clinical consultation & ongoing meditation support
• Two retreats (totaling 9 days) for scholarly and meditation instruction, and community building
• Continuing Education credits for most professionals
CONNECT
• Enjoy intimate engagement with distinguished faculty each week
• Enhance your personal meditation practice through 1:1 and small group instruction
• Discover a community of mutual support, investigation and connection with like-minded professionals
TRANSFORM
• Change your life through a deep experiential understanding of meditation practice and Buddhist psychology.
• Establish the foundation to teach or apply mindfulness personally and professionally.
COURSE DESCRIPTION
A groundbreaking and comprehensive training in mindfulness and psychotherapy
The course consists of weekly ‘live’ online events including:
• Interactive live discussions with faculty
• Small group moderated live discussions, case consultation, and practice teaching by students
• Web-based lectures and readings by international experts, viewed at your convenience, from any time zone
• Active online discussion forum on course material
• Active online meditation discussion forum
• Ongoing meditation instruction and support from seasoned meditation teachers
• Two retreats for didactic instruction, community building, and meditation instruction/practice
Admission is by application. Psychologists, psychiatrists, palliative care professionals, social workers, nurses, licensed mental health counselors, marriage and family therapists, and other professional caregivers are invited to apply. Other professionals will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Students should have some experience with mindfulness or other forms of Buddhist meditation practice.
Admission is limited to approximately 45 students. Because of the intimate and interactive nature of this program, admission will be granted to professionals motivated to actively engage with the curriculum and with fellow students, on and off the cushion.
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Topics include (but not limited to):
• How to speak, teach, and apply mindfulness and compassion with patients
• Adverse effects of mindfulness
• The lived experience as the gateway to freedom
• Neurobhavana: Mindful cultivation and positive neuroplasticity
• Essentials of Buddhist & Western psychology
• Models of illness, models of cure
• Neuroscientific and clinical research in mindfulness
• Clinical applications across psychotherapeutic modalities & populations:
• Depression, anxiety, trauma, eating disorders, psychophysiological disorders, children, death & dying
• Mindfulness as training for the psychotherapist
• Self-compassion
• The practice of ethical conduct in clinical practice; the role of ethical conduct in patient well-being
• Teaching mindfulness to clients
• Risks and adverse effects of mindfulness practice
• Psychotherapy as relational mindfulness practice
• The “self” and “ego” in Buddhist and Western psychology
• Psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy and contemplative practice
• Other topics to be announced
Participants are expected to commit themselves to daily meditation practice for the duration of the course. This is essential to understanding how mindfulness works and to its application in psychotherapy and care giving. This commitment will be supported by ongoing instruction and through regular consultation with experienced meditation teachers
60 CE credits and Certificates of Completion are granted through The Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy for those fulfilling course requirements. CMEs are not available for physicians. IMP monitors students’ engagement and progress throughout the course, ensuring that they successfully complete all program content. To demonstrate program completion, students are required to submit evaluations for every module within the course.
Social Workers: We have applied for consideration of 60 Social Work CEs through ASWB ACE.
DATE/TIME: The online “live” program will meet Wednesday evenings from 8:00-9:30 PM EST, beginning September 7. (some weeks, some sections may meet at an alternative time).
The opening retreat begins the evening of September 7 and continues through the 12 in the morning and the evening. These sessions are recorded for those who are unable to attend in real time. Periodic small-group section meetings will be offered at a variety of times to accommodate those in remote time zones.
COST: $4,200
SCHOLARSHIP RATE: $3,600 (by application)
We are committed to diversity, equity and inclusion. Limited additional scholarship funds may be available to applicants who identify as BIPOC.
Click here to apply now
Click here to pay application and course fee
• The opening retreat begins the evening of September 7 and continues through the 12 in the morning and the evening and will be virtual.
• Dates for the closing retreat are TBD. This will also be offered in a virtual format, though in-person attendance will be encouraged, should this become feasible.
Rod Owens
Rick Hanson
Zenju Earthlyn Manuel
Willoughby Britton
Joseph Goldstein
Bill Morgan
Shelly Harrell
Zev Schuman-Olivier
John Briere
Stephanie Morgan
Zindel Segal
Chris Germer
Susan Morgan
Ron Siegel
Robert Chodo-Campbell
Kristin Neff
Dennis Tirch
Paul Fulton
Koshin Paley-Ellison
Susan Kaiser-Greenland
Jack Engler
Andrew Olendzki
Chris Willard
Susie Fairchild
Alice Rosen
Janet Surrey
John Makransky
Lizabeth Roemer
Jorge Armesto
Gita Vaid