The Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy Certificate Program

September 6, 2024 - May 18, 2025

It is hard to verbalize the surprisingly profound impact this experience (so much more than a program) has had on me. It has been so complete—spiritually, emotionally, professionally, and intellectually.

Amanda Peacock, LCSW

The experience in the Mindfulness & Psychotherapy program has been absolutely transformative for me. Not only has it been personally enriching, but it has also sparked new professional developments and interests.

Jennifer Earls, MA

I have gotten so much out of the program so far this year. It has been transformative for me, both personally and professionally. I use what I am learning in this program every day, both in my work with clients as well as in the rest of my life. You have created an emotionally safe, intellectually stimulating, and interpersonally rich context in which to learn and grow.

Paula Fuchs, Psy.D.

When I signed up for the program, it was done to help me bring mindfulness into my work. As it turns out, something that I had not expected has happened — I have brought meditation and mindfulness into my own life in a way that has become so important and valuable to me and has had a deep impact on my life.

Jeanne Mahoney, MSW

I just wanted to say again how thrilled I am to be part of this program. Each week, I’m more & more amazed at the line-up of incredible teachers we’ve had. When I talk to colleagues about it, they are so impressed. Thanks again for this opportunity.

Ann Biasetti, LICSW

This has been such an important experience for me... The combination of the program material, the commitment to – and support of – meditation, and the wonderful connections in the group have had an enormously positive impact on both my life and my work. Introducing aspects of mindfulness into my clinical work has begun to add a new energy and another dimension to the therapy.

Barbara Furstenberg, Psy.D.

Almost a year has passed, an incredibly self-fulfilling year... I found precisely what I needed. The incredible classes, exciting speakers, relaxing retreats, and new friends made this year are simply unforgettable. I sincerely want to thank you for this opportunity.

Hila Brukman, Art Therapist

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Options for
Participation

Students may attend the opening and closing retreats in-person or remotely via Zoom.

All other real-time group meetings during the year are held online.

Program Overview

The Barre Center for Buddhist Studies is happy to be partnering with the Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy on their Certificate Program in Mindfulness & Psychotherapy.

This is a 9-month immersive training for mental health and other healthcare professionals in the application of mindfulness to psychotherapy and the delivery of care. Unlike many other professional programs, this program draws heavily on a deeper understanding of mindfulness in the context of a path of awakening, a strong commitment to the creation of a supportive learning community, and support for every student’s personal engagement with practice and the program material.

This program forms the 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 mental health professionals associated with a major medical school.

The certificate program consists of two retreats (at the opening and closing of the program) for didactic instruction, community building, and meditation instruction/practice, and online components including:

Ongoing instruction/discussion with faculty members
Small-group moderated live discussions, case consultation, and practice instruction
Asynchronous video lectures and readings by international experts
Active online discussion forum on program material

Prerequisites / Admission:

This program is by application only. It is expected that applicants are familiar with mindfulness meditation, and though the focus is on psychotherapy, those in other helping professions will be considered. Enrollment is limited.

Continuing Education:

CE credits for psychologists, social workers, and counselors have been applied for. CMEs are not available for physicians. Up to 60 CEs are offered for those completing the program.

Application Timeframe

Rolling applications open until August 30, 2024 (or until the program fills)

Program Dates

September 6, 2024 - May 18, 2025 (including two retreats and regular online programming)

Retreat Dates

September 6-11, 2024
May 15-18, 2025

Program Options

Students may attend the opening and closing retreats in-person or remotely via Zoom. All other real-time group meetings during the year are held online.

Program Duration

Approximately 35 weeks

Time Commitment

Approximately 4 hours/week

Participation Expectation

Attendance at retreats (in-person and remote options available) and weekly online Office Hours and Section Meetings (schedule to be coordinated after registration)

Asynchronous Components

Recorded video lectures
Suggested readings
Peer discussion board

Prerequisites

This program is for psychotherapists and those in other helping professions. Applicants should have experience with mindfulness meditation.

Program Information

Opening Retreat:

The opening retreat will offer a deep dive into Buddhist psychology, orientation to the program, didactic instruction on the role of the clinician’s own mindfulness practice, meditation instruction and practice, and opportunities to become familiar with the year’s learning community.

Weekly Online Events:

Office Hours: The full cohort will meet in real-time with that week’s lecturer for discussion and Q&A. Office Hours are held approximately 2 out of 3 weeks for 90 minutes (Wednesdays, 8:00-9:30 PM ET).
Section Meetings: On the weeks when Office Hours are not held, groups will meet with program faculty and have time for deeper sharing, conversation, case presentations, and discussion of program material. Section Meetings are held in small groups every three or four weeks for 90 minutes. Section Meetings are assigned based on student time zones after registration.

Asynchronous Online Events:

Most weeks, a lecture will be recorded by that week’s faculty member to be viewed prior to Office Hours. Required readings associated with that presentation are provided. Suggested readings are offered for those who wish to explore a particular topic more deeply.
An active discussion board provides a way for peer-to-peer conversation and to post questions to the faculty.

Closing Retreat:

The program will conclude with a closing retreat, during which we will practice mindfulness meditation together, consolidate what has been learned during the year, set our intentions for ongoing learning and practice in the future, and identify opportunities to support one another as a community after the end of the program.

Retreat Information:

*Remote students will attend programmed periods virtually via Zoom during the retreats.

Retreat options — In-Person or Remote:

For the 2024-25 program, there are two available options for attending the opening and closing retreats:

All programming between the two retreats will be held online, and it will be the same for all participants. Participation in the retreats and the online program between retreats is required for program participation.

Andrew Olendzki, Ph.D.: Fundamentals of Buddhist Psychology: 1) The Phenomenal Field 2) The Construction of Experience 3) Interdependent Arising of Self. 4) Working with Mental States. 5) A New View of Health

Paul Fulton, Ed.D.: Mindfulness as Advanced Clinical Training for the Psychotherapist, 1) What Variables Predict a Positive Treatment Outcome? 2) What does the Clinician’s Mindfulness Contribute to a Positive Treatment Outcome?

Susan Morgan, CNS, and Bill Morgan, Psy.D.: Meditation Instruction

Liz Roemer, Ph.D.: Mindfulness and Acceptance-based Behavioral Therapies for Anxiety

Dennis Tirch, Ph.D.: Shame and Self-Criticism: Contributions of Compassion Focused Therapy

Ron Siegel, Psy.D.: Fitting the Practice to the Problem

Shelly Harrell, Ph.D.: Sociocultural and Sociopolitical Considerations for the Use of Mindfulness in Psychotherapy

Zindel Segal, Ph.D.: What is the Role of Mindfulness Practice in the Management of Mood Disorders?

Chris Germer, Ph.D.: Self-Compassion in Clinical Practice

Rod Owens: Compassion that Meets the Times: Exploring the Stages of Developing Radical Compassion

Ron Siegel, Psy.D.: Beyond Symptom Management: Treating Psychophysiological Disorders

Jan Surrey, Ph.D.: Psychotherapy as Relational Mindfulness Practice

Zev Schuman-Olivier, MD: Mindfulness and Meditation in Addiction Treatment and Recovery

Gita Vaid, MD: Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy and its Relationship to Mindfulness and Contemplative Psychotherapy

Paul Fulton Ed.D.: Understanding Suffering

Susan Kaiser-Greenland & Chris Willard, Psy.D.: Teaching the ABCs of Attention, Balance and Compassion to Children, Teens, and their Families

Willoughby Britton, Ph.D.: Adverse Effects of Mindfulness Meditation and MBIs

Rick Hanson, Ph.D.: Neurobhavana: Mindful Cultivation and Positive Neuroplasticity

Sara Lazar, Ph.D.: Neuroscience of Mindfulness & Meditation

Paul Fulton, Ed.D.: Personality in Mindfulness & Psychotherapy

Jud Brewer, MD: Craving to Quit: Breaking the Addictive Loop

Susan Pollak, Ed.D.: How to Speak to, Teach, and Apply Mindfulness and Compassion with Patients

Alice Rosen, Ms.Ed., LMHC: Addressing Disordered Eating Through Mindfulness, an Essential Healing Alice Rosen Factor

Koshin Paley Ellison, MFA, DMin, LICSW, & Robert Chodo Campbell, HCC: Contemplative Approaches to Living, Dying and Death

Stephanie Morgan, Psy.D., MSW: Sila or Morality Practice: Implications for Psychotherapy

John Briere, Ph.D.: Mindfulness, Insight, and Trauma Therapy

Paul Fulton Ed.D.: Self in Psychotherapy and Mindfulness

Susie Fairchild, LMHC, Jorge Armesto, Ph.D., C-IAYT, S. Lee Chew, MS, LCMHC: Section Meetings: section-faculty-moderated small group discussion of program material and its application to student work environments

Registration Information

Prerequisites

Application Process

Applications are processed as received and are usually responded to in 3 weeks or less.

A 10% application fee must accompany applications. This fee is applied to tuition on acceptance or returned in full if you are not accepted.

A limited number of admissions are available at a scholarship rate (a discount on the full tuition). Please see the rates below. In addition, limited donated funds are available to BIPOC and international applicants. To inquire about reduced tuition, please write to the BCBS front office at contact@buddhistinquiry.org.

As a way to uphold our mission and values around diversity, equity, and inclusion, we are using the following policies with regard to program registration:

Three residential spaces (or 10% of available residential seats) will be held for self-identified BIPOC participants until eight weeks before the program begins. If the three spaces remain unfilled at that time, they will be open to anyone who would like to join the program.
When a program has a waitlist of participants, spaces will be prioritized for BIPOC participants and then offered on a first-come, first-served basis.

Application Links:

Online Program with IN-PERSON Retreats
Online Program with REMOTE Retreats

Tuition

9-Month Program and Residential Retreat Option:

Meals + Lodging Included (transportation not included)
Standard Tuition: $4,750
Scholarship Rate: $4,100

9-Month Program and Residential Retreat with Off-Campus Housing Option:

Meals Included (lodging not included)
Standard Tuition: $4,350
Scholarship Rate: $3,785

9-Month Program and Remote Retreat Option:

Standard Tuition: $3,500
Scholarship Rate: $3,050

Payment Structure

10% deposit due with application (refunded if not accepted)

100% of the remaining balance due by July 1, 2024

Cancellation Policy

Deposit non-refundable (if accepted)

50% of tuition will be refunded if canceled before August 2

No refunds after August 2

Teacher Dāna

Unlike other BCBS programs, teachers for this program are not supported by teacher dāna. Instead, compensation for the teaching faculty is included in the program fees for this professional certification program.

Continuing Education Units

CEUs for psychologists, social workers, and counselors have been applied for. CMEs are not available for physicians. Up to 60 CEUs are offered for those completing the program.