Mindful Self-Compassion - Training

in Oberlethe (near Oldenburg)./Germany

“For someone to develop genuine compassion towards others,
first he or she must have a basis upon which to cultivate compassion,
and that basis is the ability to connect to one’s own feelings and to care for one’s own welfare…
Caring for others requires caring for oneself.“
- Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama -

The program is designed for human service professionals who wish to integrate mindfulness and self-compassion into their work, including psychotherapists, meditation teachers, physicians, social workers, nurses, and personal coaches.

As human beings, most of us instinctively fight negative experiences and find fault in ourselves when things go wrong: “This shouldn’t be happening!” “What’s the matter with me!?” Unfortunately, this tendency just adds stress to our lives and the critical self-talk defeats us before we know what we’re doing. But what would happen if, instead, you took a moment to calm and comfort yourself when you felt bad, just because you felt bad—much like you’d do for others? In other words, what if you learned the art of mindful self-compassion?

Research has shown that self-compassion greatly enhances emotional wellbeing and reduces compassion fatigue of caregivers. It boosts happiness, reduces anxiety and depression, and can even help us stick to a diet or exercise routine.

Fortunately, self-compassion can be learned by anyone, even those who didn’t receive much affection in childhood or who find it embarrassing to be kind to themselves. Self-compassion is actually a courageous mental attitude that stands up to harm—the harm that we inflict on ourselves every day by overworking, overanalyzing, and overreacting—as well as protecting us from external harm. Self-compassion gives emotional strength, allowing us to recover more quickly when we suffer, fail, or feel inadequate, and to respond with kindness, respect, and self-confidence. After all, mistakes and misfortune are part of the human condition.

In this workshop, you’ll learn:
- the theory and practice of mindful self-compassion
- how to enhance the compassionate attitude of mindfulness meditation
- how to teach self-compassion to clients and patients
- how to transform difficult relationships
- how to motivate yourself with encouragement rather than criticism
- how to alleviate compassion fatigue through self-compassion and equanimity principles and practices for thriving as a caregiver

The program, specifically designed for healthcare providers, is an adaptation of the empirically-supported, 8-week Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) program developed by clinical psychologist, Chris Germer (www.MindfulSelfCompassion.org), and Kristin Neff, pioneering researcher in the field (www.Self-Compassion.org). It will be an experiential journey into mindfulness and self-compassion, including meditation, lecture, group exercises, and discussion among colleagues.

Christopher K. Germer, PhD is a psychotherapist in private practice, specializing in mindfulness, acceptance, and compassion-based treatment. He has been integrating the principles and practices of meditation into psychotherapy since 1978. Dr. Germer is a Clinical Instructor in Psychology at Harvard Medical School and a founding member of the Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy. He lectures internationally on mindfulness and self-compassion, is a co-editor of the professionally acclaimed book Mindfulness and Psychotherapy, author of The Mindful Path to Self-Compassion, and co-editor of the forthcoming Wisdom and Compassion in Psychotherapy.

Venue: Seminarhaus Hof Oberlethe, Germany (near Oldenburg)

Seminar fee: 490,- € for registrations up to Novembre 30.
540,- € for registrations from Decembre 1, 2011
The seminar language is english with german translation

Accomodation

The seminar center offers single- and double rooms as well as group sleeping rooms or camping. For booking your room please contact the seminar center directly.

Seminarhaus Hof Oberlethe
Wardenburgerstraße 24
26203 Wardenburg
Telefon: 04407 / 6840
Fax: 04407 / 5480
e-mail: Info@hof-oberlethe.de
http://www.hof-oberlethe.de

In case you would like to participate in this retreat
Please switch to our german-language Webform and proceed by clicking the "In den Warenkorb legen"-button. Please follow the german language checkout. You will then get an Email, containing the bill, mentioning the amount due and our account informations. Within Europe you should face no problems by transfering the money by using our IBAN and BIC-codes mentioned on the Billing-Email.

For further requests you might contact us at:

Arbor Seminare gGmbH
Stühlingerstr. 21, D-79106 Freiburg
phone 0049.(0)761.89 62 91 06, fax 0049.(0)761.89 62 91 07
You can also contact us via Email