Online MBSR Group Practice and Teaching (GPT)
Level 2-A MBSR Teacher Training
Upcoming 2027 dates to be announced
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About this Program
MBSR Training Level 2-A: Group Practice and Teaching
The Group Practice and Teaching (GPT) training marks the entry into Level 2 of the MBSR Teacher Training program and is designed to support your continuing development and refinement as an MBSR teacher. With the dynamic support of the GPT group and trainer, you will investigate the intentions and components of various curricular elements, and have opportunities to reflect and practice teaching according to specific needs and requests. Explorations of pedagogical issues, MBI-TAC domains, teacher competencies, and teaching as transformational practice are woven organically into the GPT program. Personal meditation practice continues to be the cornerstone of all investigations and is intrinsic to the course.
As a trainee, you will expand your experiential and cognitive understanding of MBSR through practice teaching, receiving feedback from peers and trainers, study and self-reflection, mindfulness practice, and the support of the learning community. The IPT aims explicitly to develop teaching skills as well as the embodied presence and qualities of heart that support freedom from suffering for ourselves and those we serve.
In this second level of MBSR teacher training, teachers in training bring what has been cultivated in MBSR Essentials, the IPT (Intensive Practice and Teaching), and their own experience of teaching 1-3 MBSR classes into Group Practice Teaching: Teaching as Practice (GPT:TAP).
Participant-teachers identify common challenges in integrating MBSR themes that arise in practices, didactic presentations, inquiry, and holding the container of the classroom. This collaborative process is through a reflective “inside-out” model recognizing the skills of each learner, held in a container where a senior teacher trainer can guide and enhance the learning within the explicit and implicit MBSR curriculum and MBI-TAC developmental domains.
Objectives:
- To further develop teaching skills through investigation, teaching, and feedback in a collaborative, collegial learning environment guided by challenges and inquiries brought by trainee participants and supported by a senior teacher.
- To refine proficiency and develop confidence as an MBSR teacher cultivating inner awareness of the multi-dimensional nature of teaching MBSR from “the inside out” in:
- Holding the group
- Understanding concepts and themes
- Presentations and practices
- Individual and group inquiry
- To enhance the understanding of teaching as a relational mindfulness practice with the “we” of participants, teacher, family, neighborhood, culture, and society.
- To investigate both strengths and challenges within the MBI-TAC framework in discerning ongoing learning opportunities as a teacher.
- To foster formation and mutual support of a teacher community.
Teachers in training will:
- Refine proficiency and increase confidence as an MBSR teacher through cultivating embodiment, inner awareness, and depth of understanding in teaching as practice in:
- Holding the group
- Understanding concepts and themes
- Presentations and practices
- Individual and group inquiry
- Receive constructive, collaborative feedback on their teaching
- Build a long-term, supportive learning community with peers.
About the Facilitator
Dr. Kasim Al-Mashat is a Registered Psychologist and University of Massachusetts (UMass) Center For Mindfulness (CFM) Certified MBSR Teacher and Trainer. He is the founder of the Centre For Mindfulness Canada.
Kasim has also completed a six-month meditation retreat in silence in Southeast Asia and presented a TEDx about mindfulness.
Pre-requisites
Pre-requisites for MBSR Intensive Practice and Teaching:
- Successful completion of MBSR Intensive Practice and Teaching (IPT) or its equivalent.
- Taught at least two MBSR courses.
- Completed at least two qualifying 5-7 day silent Insight or Mindfulness retreat. Three are recommended.
- Continued daily mindfulness meditation practice.
Payment & Refund Policy
Payment Options
- Interact e-transfer (within Canada), wire transfer, money order, or check.
- Credit card payments available via Square invoicing (with additional $100 CAD processing fee)
- Please do not send any payment until your application has been accepted.
- Do you have questions? Please contact us at info@drkasimalmashat.com for questions or instructions on how to send the interact e-transfer or where to mail the check to.
Refund Policy
A refund, less a $100 processing fee, will be offered for cancellations made up to 14 days prior to the program start date. After that, refunds or credit will only be offered for cancellations made due to an emergency or due to extenuating circumstances.
