Overview

Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) is an evidence-based, user-friendly program that brings the principles of mindfulness meditation into your everyday life.

You will learn specific skills and practices to help break cycles of anxiety, stress, unhappiness and exhaustion you may experience.

Openground is proud to be endorsed by Emeritus Professor Jon Kabat-Zinn, who developed MBSR at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in 1979 for people suffering chronic and acute stress, chronic pain and illness, and associated anxiety and depression.

Participants will develop personal skills, attitudes and knowledge to develop their capacities for attention, awareness and wise action. A range of mindfulness practices will be taught to cultivate a observant, accepting and compassionate stance towards your own internal experiences including cognitions, emotional states, body sensations, and impulses, and how to apply this in a practical way to immediate life challenges.

The training includes:

• an individual phone interview, and ongoing individual support from your teacher during the program,

• 8 weekly classes (2.5-hour duration), held on Thursdays 6:00pm - 8:30pm

• one (1) full day of Mindfulness retreat,

• mindfulness meditation and body awareness training,

• an exploration of your own patterns and how to transform them,

• good conversations about things that matter, and

• scientific rationale for the practice.

Target audience

The training is relevant to all psychologists, general practitioners, allied health professionals including social workers, occupational therapists and counsellors, human resource professionals, and members of the public over 18 years of age.

Level of Learning

Foundational. This training is targeted to those new to the topic. It is also appropriate for the Intermediate/Advanced level participants who wish to further enhance and deepen their skills of focus, listening and therapeutic presence in addition to a deeper understanding of the therapeutic action of mindfulness-based programs.

APS CPD-Approved

This activity has been assessed against the APS Standards for CPD activities and approved for its education quality. Learn more about the APS CPD Approval process.

Resources

Participants will receive a high-quality workbook and access to meditation recordings.

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this training, participants should be able to:

• apply mindfulness skills to challenging interpersonal situations, 

• employ cognitive diffusion techniques,

• recognise the role of body awareness and interoception in increasing emotional awareness and self-agency,

• apply self-compassion techniques in moments of stress and tension,

• acquire a direct experience of the impact of daily mindfulness meditation practice on self and other participants in the group,

• recognise how mindfulness meditation can assist in emotional processing and regulation,

• recognise the operation of the Autonomic Nervous System in psychological processes, and

• participate in a group process which encourages opennes, empathy, compassion, as well as self-agency and boundaries.

Presenter(s)

Helen Gardner

About the presenter(s)

Helen Gardner BMusEd (hons), MBSR facilitator (MTIA)

Helen is a passionate advocate for mindfulness and meditation, drawing on her own transformative experiences with these practices to guide and support others.
Her journey began through a mindfulness program for parents of children living with chronic pain. Since then, she has developed a dedicated meditation practice and commits time each year to silent retreat. Her personal experience is supported by formal training, including completion of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) teacher training with the Mindfulness Training Institute (Australia), as well as specialist training in teaching mindfulness to young people through Youth Mindfulness (UK).
With over 30 years of teaching experience in both primary and secondary education, Helen understands the emotional and psychological challenges young people face today. She currently collaborates on the development of school-based social and emotional learning programs that integrate mindfulness as a foundational skill. These programs help students manage stress, build resilience, and improve focus—enhancing both well-being and learning outcomes.

Website/s

https://www.openground.com.au/