East Coast Mindfulness MBSR Teacher Training Pathway:
Dual Certification: Online and In Person MBSR Teacher

Overview

East Coast Mindfulness (ECM) offers a professional MBSR teacher training pathway that results in dual certification: You will earn certification as both an In Person and Online MBSR Teacher. All teacher training programs in the pathway are delivered live, entirely online, letting teacher trainees come together within a small cohort of fellow teacher trainees (no more than 4 in a cohort) from various places across the globe to learn and grow while being trained to teach MBSR by a senior MBSR teacher and teacher trainer. Additionally, ECM teacher trainees are mentored individually while teaching at least their first three MBSR courses.

ECM trainees are willing to be seen as both brilliant and also as totally human—not having it all together. They’re able and willing to be taught, which sometimes includes experiences of discomfort, such as receiving suggestions and feedback for ways to improve, and they’re willing to implement feedback into their MBSR teaching. ECM’s small cohort model paired with ongoing individual mentoring means you will get to know your mentor and fellow trainees, your mentor and training colleagues will get to know you, and along the way, you’ll get to know yourself better too. This supportive learning environment lets you fully explore and develop your own voice for teaching MBSR, while upholding the standards of good teaching for delivering MBSR according to curricula, standards, and protocols.

If this way of learning and being in relationship with a mentor and a small cohort of fellow teacher trainees is appealing to you, ECM’s MBSR Teacher Training pathway could be ideal for you.

The entire training pathway takes approximately 2 years to complete. At the successful completion of the training pathway:

  • You will earn dual certification: Certified In Person MBSR Teacher and Certified Online MBSR Teacher, if during your cycles of mentorship, you demonstrate adequate mastery in both in person and online teaching of MBSR.
  • There is also the opportunity to earn certification as either one or the other: Certified In Person MBSR Teacher or Certified Online MBSR teacher.

NOTE: If you are currently training to teach MBSR with another institution and would like to continue your training through East Coast Mindfulness, email Rebecca at info@eastcoastmindfulness.com to let us know. We can meet you where you are, and finalize your training.

Already teaching MBSR? We also offer a 9-session, 20+ hour Group Mentorship program for MBSR teachers of all experience levels: whether you’ve taught 1 or 100 MBSR courses. We explore assumptions about:

• what MBSR is and what it is not
• what “good teaching” of MBSR is and isn’t
• your personal and professional experience of teaching MBSR
• your personal meditation practice, and more

Why Train with East Coast Mindfulness to Teach MBSR?

  • Trainers are highly experienced in teaching MBSR and training others to teach MBSR. Rebecca created the live online version of the MBSR course and trained UMass Medical School’s Center for Mindfulness (CFM) to hold their first online MBSR course in 2016. She also designed and taught the CFM’s first online Fundamentals training for MBSR teachers-in-training and served as a one-to-one mentor for MBSR teacher trainees at the CFM, performing certification reviews at the conclusion of an MBSR teacher’s formal training.

  • All trainings are held online, live—providing the intimacy of being invited into each other’s homes and the connections we will make with one another as we gather from across the world

  • Teacher trainees have found the online format for training to teach MBSR effective and engaging, and have formed lasting friendships and connections with their teaching colleagues and trainers

  • You will not need to travel to complete trainings, which reduces the carbon footprint and eliminates travel and lodging costs

  • You begin teaching early on under the direct mentorship of an experienced MBSR teacher trainer, so you don’t develop unskillful habits during the early formative stage of your teacher development

  • By beginning to teach MBSR early in your training, you earn money sooner, which offsets the cost of teacher training

  • You get to participate in an MBSR course taught by your mentor

  • Trainees who receive certification are listed on our site

  • The heart intention of East Coast Mindfulness is to be a global online center for connection and intimacy. This means being available and attentive to your development as a teacher trainee

Requirements for Entering ECM's MBSR Teacher Training Pathway

  • Completion of at least one in person or live online 8-Week MBSR course:
    • MBSR course was taught live by a certified MBSR teacher
    • MBSR was taken for your own growth
    • MBSR course consisted of an orientation, 8 classes of at least 2.5 hours, and an all day (retreat class) of at least 7 hours

  • Consistent personal mindfulness meditation practice of at least the past 2 years

  • Strong relationship with a meditation teacher (or teachers), either living or no longer living. Ideally this will be a one-to-one relationship with a live meditation teacher, but might also be met through a connection through teachings (even ancient teachings) of a teacher or teachers.

  • Personal practice of mindful movement (for example, yoga, tai chi, chi gong) for at least a year

  • Regular participation in some form of personal development, such as counseling, coaching, spiritual advising, or so on, with a professional

  • Minimum of one mindfulness retreat of at least 5 days completed within the past 2 years:
    • Retreat was led by a teacher either in person or live online (no recorded retreats, solo retreats, or retreats that rely on recordings of teachers instead of live interaction with a teacher or teachers).
    • Retreat was in a tradition that aligns with the practices and attitudes of MBSR.

  • Regular participation with a professional in some form of personal development, such as counseling, coaching, spiritual advising, and so on

  • Work/Education experience:
    • A university degree (or equivalent life experience)
    • Experience working in or with groups

  • Willingness to work hard. ECM's training pathway requires efforts such as—
    • Staying in good, consistent communication with your mentor
    • Developing and revising materials, such as class plans, meditation guidance audios, and so on, based on feedback and ongoing growth
    • Submitting all materials on time
    • Participating fully in all trainings, including completion of all preparatory work prior to trainings and all follow-on work after trainings.

  • Willingness to be in collegial relationship with trainee cohort. ECM’s training pathway is designed for small trainee cohorts. These cohorts participate together in trainings throughout the years while in the training pathway, supporting each other throughout.

  • Ability to gather students for your MBSR courses. Gathering enough participants for an MBSR course is challenging for most. Ideal candidates for the ECM teacher training pathway have in place a means to gather at least 8 participants for their MBSR courses (such as within an organization where they work or an organization with which they are associated, and so on).

What Technology You Will Need

  • High-speed internet connection

  • Please, no phones

  • Join on a computer that has a full-sized screen on which you can see at least 25 Zoom participants, without having to scroll

  • Ensure that your computer is situated on a stable surface (instead of resting on your lap, etc.)

  • Video and microphone capability (so that you can be seen and heard)

  • A place for practice that allows for being undisturbed

  • Current version of Zoom installed

The Teacher Training Pathway
Course sequence and approximate timeline for completion

Check indidividual course pages for exact dates each course will be offered

Fundamentals in Teaching MBSR

Over the course of 10 weeks, participate fully in an MBSR online course taught by your mentor, and spend an additional 6.5 hours on a separate day during each week of the MBSR course with your mentor and your teacher training cohort. Limited to no fewer than 3, and no more than 4, trainees.

Cost: $3000 (includes a seat in the MBSR course)

NOTE: The cost of the Fundamentals course—and all courses in the Teacher Training Pathway—will be offset by earnings received from teaching your MBSR courses.

Fall 2024
Time to Process, Prepare to Teach, etc.

On your own:
• Complete follow-on work from Fundamentals
• Continue to prepare lessons plans
• Gather MBSR participants
• Promote your first MBSR course
• Coordinate mentorship dates with your mentor, and so on.

Winter 2025
Mentorship Cycle 1

The first of 3 cycles of mentorship in which you will engage with the teacher of your Fundamentals training—your mentor.

This mentorship cycle includes:
• One-to-one mentoring session before and after each of the 10 sessions of your MBSR course
• Review of video-recordings of your classes (if you chose to record this cycle) NOTE: You may opt to use your own 4 MBSR audios or those of your mentor during this first cycle of teaching MBSR.

Cost: $2200

Spring 2025
Retreat During First Year of Training

Participate in a retreat for yourself. Ideally this retreat would be at least 5 days in duration, but there may be situations where a shorter retreat is acceptable.

Sometime in the first year of the training pathway:
Fall 2024 - summer 2025
Cohort Meetup

A single online day of practice, teaching, sharing, and checking in with your mentor and small cohort from Fundamentals.

NOTE: The date for Cohort Meetup is coordinated with the members of the cohort to ensure that everyone can make it.

Cost: there is no cost for this meetup.

Summer 2025
Time to Process, Prepare to Teach, etc.

This time is spent on your own:
• Continue to refine lesson plans.
• Create or refine 4 audios for your MBSR course.
• Review lessons learned from first cycle of mentorship.
• Gather students and promote your spring MBSR course.

Summer 2025
Mentorship Cycle 2

The second of 3 cycles of mentorship in which you will engage with the teacher of your Fundamentals training—your mentor.

This mentorship cycle includes a one-to-one mentoring session before and after each of the 10 sessions of your MBSR course. During this cycle your mentor will review video of you teaching and your 4 audios used in the MBSR course.

Cost: $2500

Fall 2025
Time to Process, Prepare to Teach, etc.

This time is spent on your own:
• Continue to refine lesson plans.
• Refine 4 audios for your MBSR course.
• Review lessons learned from second cycle of mentorship.
• Gather students and promote your winter MBSR course.

Winter 2026
Inquiry Intensive

• The Inquiry Intensive takes place over 4 days: from Thursday - Sunday.
• Dates are coordinated with the members of the cohort to ensure that everyone can make it.

Cost: $1200

Spring 2026
Retreat During Second Year of Training

Participate in a retreat for yourself. Ideally this retreat would be at least 5 days in duration, but there may be situations where a shorter retreat is acceptable.

Sometime in the second year of the training pathway:
Fall 2025 - summer 2026
Mentorship Cycle 3

The final cycle of mentorship in which you will engage with the teacher of your Fundamentals training—your mentor.

This mentorship cycle includes four one-to-one mentoring sessions while you’re teaching MBSR. During this cycle your mentor will review video of you teaching.

Cost: $900

Summer 2026
Prepare for Certification Review

This time is spent on your own, preparing all materials for certification review—
• Class plans
• All handouts, home practice sheets, etc
• All audios
• Other, determined by you and your mentor

Fall 2026
Review & Certification

Because your mentor will have been working so intimately with you over the 2 years, this process should not be labor-intensive. At the conclusion of this review:

• You will have earned dual certification: In Person and Online MBSR Teacher (or in one or the other)
• You will be listed on ECM’s “Find a Teacher” page
• You will have the opportunity to stay in touch with your mentor and your teaching cohort for collegial support

Cost: $200

Completed by your mentor within a month of submission from teacher trainee
Tuition Cost Breakdown:
Course Cost
Fundamentals in Teaching MBSR $3000
Mentorship Cycle 1 $2200
Mentorship Cycle 2 $2500
Inquiry Intensive $1200
Mentorship Cycle 3 $900
Certification Review $200
Total Cost of Certification: $10,000*

*NOTES:

  • Total Cost does not include costs associated with retreats.

  • The cost for all training programs will not change if you complete the pathway within 2 years. If there is a lapse in your training, there may be changes in cost and/or changes in the pathway itself. If too much time lapses, you may be asked to re-apply to the training pathway.

  • As with the development of your own mindfulness practice, training to teach mindfulness is a process that happens in unique ways for each trainee; therefore, there may be times throughout the pathway when you are asked to pause, wait, attend to your personal practice and/or seek further learning in a particular area, before moving to the next step in your training. Your mentor and/or you may decide that teaching additional cycles of MBSR and/or additional mentoring before moving into the certification process Is needed. ECM retains the responsibility to support the quality and integrity of MBSR teaching, and thus may require this of you.

Teach MBSR Online

If you are already a certified MBSR teacher and would like to add "Certified Online MBSR Teacher" to your credentials, we offer a 4-weekend intensive online training.

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Train to Teach MBSR Online

• Training format: four weekends, all conducted online, with assignments in between
• Participants who successfully complete this training are listed on our site

More information (including course schedules, cost, and registration info) can be found on the Train to Teach MBSR Live Online page.

Note: we also offer a 3-day, 27-hour Introduction to Teaching MBSR Live Online course, to help new MBSR teachers identify what is essential in each class of an MBSR course, and gain practical experience in expressing the essence of those classes through the online format.

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