This training provides clinicians with a structured introduction to Mindfulness-Integrated Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (MiCBT) and its application in clinical practice. It is the first step in developing competency in the clinical application of MiCBT. Training progresses through the four stages of MiCBT: attention training and emotional regulation; development of interoceptive awareness and equanimity targeting the co-emergence of sensation and reactivity; application of these skills within interpersonal contexts; and consolidation through compassion-based processes to support maintenance and adaptive responding.

MiCBT offers a structured, evidence-based framework for working with attention, interoception, and reinforcement processes that maintain psychological distress (Cayoun, 2011; 2015). Training focuses on the development of attentional stability, metacognitive awareness, interoceptive sensitivity, and equanimity, and how these capacities are applied within clinical contexts to support behavioral and emotional regulation.

This program is designed for clinicians/health professionals seeking a clear and reproducible method for integrating mindfulness within cognitive behavioral therapy. It is suitable for those beginning formal training in MiCBT and does not require prior experience in mindfulness practice. Emphasis is placed on direct experience, clinical application, and the development of skills that can be implemented within ongoing treatment.

Course Structure

This is a 10-week live online training, with weekly 2-hour sessions. Sessions integrate practice, theory, and clinical application.

Each session includes:

• Guided mindfulness practices aligned with MiCBT principles
• Experiential exercises, including interoceptive exposure
• Didactic teaching focused on mechanisms of change
• Home practice instructions

Participants are expected to engage in daily practice, as skill acquisition in MiCBT is dependent on repeated experiential learning.

Materials

Participants receive structured materials to support learning and integration, including guided audio practices, worksheets, and selected readings aligned with the MiCBT framework.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the training, participants will be able to:

• Apply attention training techniques in clinical settings
• Identify and work with interoceptive processes underlying distress
• Support clients in developing equanimity toward internal experience
• Integrate MiCBT principles within treatment planning
• Translate mindfulness-based skills into ongoing clinical work

With mindful self-compassion, we’re better able to recognize when we’re under stress and face what’s happening in our lives (mindfulness) and to take a kinder and more sustainable approach to life’s challenges. Self-compassion gives emotional strength and resilience, allowing us to recover more quickly from bruised egos to admit our shortcomings, forgive ourselves, and respond to ourselves and others with care and respect. After all, making mistakes is part of being human. Self-compassion also provides the support and inspiration required to make necessary changes in our lives and reach our full potential.

Research has shown that self-compassion greatly enhances emotional well-being. It boosts happiness, reduces anxiety and depression, and can even help you stick to your diet and exercise routine. And it’s easier than you think. Most of us feel compassion when a close friend is struggling. What would it be like to receive the same caring attention whenever you needed it most? All that’s required is shift in the direction of our attention—recognizing that as a human being, you, too, are a worthy recipient of compassion.

At the completion of this program, participants should be able to:

• describe the theory and research supporting mindful self-compassion
• motivate themselves with encouragement rather than self-criticism
• relate to difficult emotions with greater moment-to-moment acceptance
• respond to feelings of failure or inadequacy with self-kindness
• begin to transform difficult relationships, old and new, through self-validation
• practice the art of savoring and self-appreciation
• integrate core mindfulness and self-compassion exercises into daily life
• teach simple self-compassion practices to patients, students, or clients

Please Note: Those who have completed a UC San Diego Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program can receive a $50 discount on the 8-Day MSC Program or the 5-Day MSC Intensive Training Program. (Not applicable for Introduction to MSC Workshop, SC-MSC, or 2-Day MSC Core Skills Workshop.) Please email us (mindfulness@health.ucsd.edu) before you register to receive your discount code.

This skill-building kid's program (ages 7-12) utilizes a combination of age-appropriate exercises - mindfulness, yoga/mindful movement, art, meditation practices, and multimedia - to cultivate kindness, encourage insight, build skills of self-awareness and empathy, and strengthen the capacity for greater emotional regulation and stronger emotional resilience.

Kids can easily experience what is commonly known as the "monkey mind," a mind that jumps around, and is continually distracted by thoughts and ruminations about the past and future. Neuroscience research provides strong evidence that when practiced, mindfulness can help to calm the mind and body, alter the structure and function of the brain/pre-frontal cortex, and promote a greater sense of well-being.

One of our students stated, "I may not always understand my feelings, but I know if I name it, I can tame it. I can choose what is important to pay attention to and can focus better when I need to." By building the capacity to become more self-aware, kids develop greater resilience and emotional strength in the face of adversity. Mindfulness and self-kindness help to cultivate the skills to respond with greater kindness and generosity to the needs of others as well as their own.

The kids will learn:

• To understand and manage big emotions 

• Feel calmer and less anxious 

• To be kinder to themselves and others

• To treat themselves with care instead of harsh self-criticism 

• Improve focus and learning 

The kids will practice:

• Short meditations and breathing techniques 

• Reflection exercises 

• Group discussions and sharing

• Movement to foster the mind and body connection 

• Short and engaging practices to use “in the moment”

Don't know where to start? Our Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program is our flag-ship program and a great place to learn about mindfulness and what it has to offer in your life.

Many participants come to us suffering from the following:

• Chronic pain
• Stress, anxiety, and worry
• Chronic or life-threatening medical illnesses
• Depression
• Relationship difficulties
• Sleep disturbance
• Hypertension and headaches
• Grief and loss

Now is the perfect moment to bring balance back into your life with this evidence‑based, 8‑week MBSR program—designed to help you regain calm, resilience, and heightened awareness.

MBSR involves cultivating a different relationship between you and the things that challenge you in your life, and relies completely upon the tools you already have. Specifically, mindfulness helps you access the ability to be non-judgmental, compassionate, patient, present and aware.

However, just because you have the inner wisdom and resources to contend differently with your life and all its aspects, does not mean that you routinely use them. Most of us are on “auto-pilot” much of the day and tend to react much more than we respond to the decisions and situations we face. Our courses are intended to develop the innate ability to cultivate mindfulness over “mindlessness”, with which we are all familiar. 

This is an opportunity to rediscover yourself and to access the qualities and strengths you possess deep inside. 

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) was developed by Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn, a professor emeritus of medicine and the creator of the 'Stress Reduction Clinic' and the 'Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society' at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, and the author of many books including Full Catastrophe Living.

MBSR All-Day Session (Included in our registration):

As part of the MBSR course, we offer an All-Day Session of Mindfulness, typically held between weeks 6 and 7. This teacher-led silent retreat is a chance to experience mindfulness practices you have already been learning—such as sitting meditation, mindful movement, walking meditation— in a supportive and spacious way. You'll also have the opportunity to reflect and share your experience at the end of the day and during class.

MBSR Orientation Video