Registration is required. please register here.
Thursdays, March 16 – May 4, 2017, 6:00pm – 8:30pm
Retreat Sunday April 23, 2017, 10am-2pm
Course Description:
Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) is a well-researched and effective 8-week program developed by Drs. Chris Germer and Kristin Neff. This class helps participants develop the habits of being kinder to ourselves and others, and living with more ease and well-being in our daily life. Mindful self-compassion is a first step in emotional healing. We learn to be-friend oneself, and acknowledge our difficult thoughts and feelings with a spirit of openness, curiosity and love, rather than self-judgment, or self-criticism.
In the weekly program, participants will learn through activities such as meditation, experiential exercises, short presentations, group discussion and home practices. Learning is mostly experiential and includes current theory and research on self-compassion.
Research has shown that self-compassion greatly enhances emotional well-being. It boosts resilience, happiness, reduces anxiety and depression, and can even help maintain healthy lifestyle habits such as healthy eating and exercise. MSC can be learned by anyone. It’s the practice of recognizing moments of difficulty, and repeatedly evoking good will toward ourselves. It extends cultivation of that same desire beyond ourselves to all living beings to live happily and free from suffering.
Perhaps most importantly, cultivating self-compassion allows one to honor and accept our humanness. Things will not always go the way we want them to. We often encounter frustrations and losses. We make mistakes and bump up against our limitations, or fall short of our ideals. This is the human condition, a reality shared by us all. The more we open our heart to this reality instead of constantly fighting against it, the more we will be able to feel compassion for ourselves and all our fellow humans.
Class Dates:
8-week course on Thursday evenings for 2.5 hours
March 16 – May 4, 2017 from 6:00 - 8:30pm
Retreat: Sunday, April 23, 2017, 10am-2pm
Course Fees:
$360.00 regular registration
$365.00: Registration with a certificate of completion to use for CEUs
$270.00 (25% off): UW Affiliate Registration, which requires department approval and budget number
Scholarships and income-based reduced fee options available. Please see the registration page for details, or email mindful@uw.edu
About the Instructors:
Yaffa Maritz, LMHC
Yaffa is a co-founder of Listening Mothers and clinical director of both Listening Mothers and Reflective Parenting, two research based parenting programs. She is the founder and director of the Community of Mindful Parenting. Yaffa was born and trained in Israel as a clinical psychologist. She is also a licensed mental health counselor with advanced training in infant mental health. She is an advocate for the well-being of children and their families and served on several local and national boards that promote this agenda, including the Governor’s Commission for Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention. Yaffa believes that by supporting parents and creating nurturing communities for them, we can set the foundation for the positive growth of children’s social, emotional, and mental health.
Yaffa participated in the Stanford yearlong teachers training program called CCT (Compassion Cultivation Training) that was offered through Stanford's Center for Compassion, Altruism, Research and Education. She also completed the advanced training program in MSC (Mindful Self-Compassion) with Drs. Kristin Neff and Chris Germer.
Elizabeth H. B. Lin, MD, MPH
Elizabeth is a family medicine physician, clinical professor at the School of Medicine, University of Washington, and an affiliate scientific investigator at the Group Health Research Institute. As a physician researcher, Elizabeth and her team have conducted innovative research to improve mind-body health in general medical settings, which have been adopted worldwide. Elizabeth has had a daily meditation practice for more than 25 years. She has trained extensively with leaders in mindfulness programs, and began teaching Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction 4 years ago. She has trained with Drs. Chris Germer and Kristen Neff, to become a teacher in Mindful Self-Compassion.
