WHAT IS A 

MINDFULNESS BASED STRESS REDUCTION (MBSR) COURSE 

ALL ABOUT 

????????

Good Question! 

Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) 

Is an 8 week program 

Created by Jon Kabat-Zinn in the Massachusetts Medical Centre in 1979 
for people suffering from chronic and acute stress, chronic pain and illnesses,
and the associated anxieties, depression, grief and trauma.

WHAT WILL WE BE DOING WEEK TO WEEK?

' IF YOU TAKE CARE OF EACH MOMENT, 

YOU TAKE CARE OF ALL TIME.' 

                                                                                                                                      Jack Kornfield

Our mindfulness group is starting soon! Join our community of like-minded individuals who are interested in exploring the practice of mindfulness and meditation. Our group sessions provide a supportive environment to help you reduce stress, improve focus, and cultivate inner peace. No experience necessary – beginners are welcome!

Here is the info below…..

WEEK 1 - RECOGNISING THE PRESENT MOMENT 

You will be exploring how to: 

• Interrupt your ‘automatic pilot’ 
• Slow down and pay attention to your immediate experience 
• Use body sensations as an anchor in the present moment 
• Move from ‘doing’ mode into ‘being’ mode 
• Notice the flow of thoughts, feelings and sensations that arise in the present moment. 

WEEK 2 - PERCEPTION - Making sense of the world

You will explore how to:

• Notice how perception works
• Observe experience through the lenses of sensations, emotions and thoughts
• Observe how we appraise experience as pleasant, unpleasant or neutral
• Use the breath as a way to anchor yourself in the present
• Cultivate a concentration practice using the breath
• Honour and accept all of your experiences and not just the 'good' bits
• Begin actively working with obstacles to practising regularly

WEEK 3 - PRACTISE, PRACTISE, PRACTISE

You will be exploring how to:

• Practise patience and acceptance of yourself as you are
• Bring an exploratory attitude to unpleasant experience
• Come back to the present moment again and again
• Use movement practice to explore limits, and cultivate concentration, strength and flexibility of mind and body
• Continue to develop concentration through your practice of mindfulness

WEEK 4 - INVESTIGATING STRESSFUL EXPERIENCE and approaching the difficult

You will be:

• Learning about the physiology and psychology of stress and reactivity
• Cultivation of more equanimity in the face of difficult physical and emotional experiences
• Using metaphors to work effectively with stressful experiences
• Using bodily sensations as a way to ground and open up choice in stressful moments
• Recognising and interrupting the thoughts which are associated with painful emotions.
• Focusing on the breath and body sensations while exploring stressful experiences and watching it change

WEEK 5 - FINDING ANOTHER PLACE TO STAND

You will be exploring how to:

• Investigate your conditioned ways of reacting to stress and stay present to this experience
• Open up possibilities of responding rather than reacting in habitual ways -
CHOICE
• Recognise unhelpful patterns of thinking and how they shape your perceptions and contribute to your stress
• Recognise narratives and stories that we tell ourselves 
• Interrupt ruminating thoughts by focusing on the breath and body sensations
• Explore an open awareness as a mediation practice

BONUS DAY : The Day of Mindfulness

In the day of practice you will be exploring how to:

• Cultivate sustained curiosity into the 'waves' of sensations, feelings and thoughts over the extended time period of a day
• Use silence as a path for 'settling' in oneself
• Cultivate a sense of community and connectedness through silent practice together
• Develop concentration and strength in the practice.
   

This week really consolidates the learnings this far after completing the MBSR course you will be invited back to attend the day of mindfulness in future courses.

WEEK 6 - INTERPERSONAL MINDFULNESS

You will be exploring how to:

• Pay detailed attention to the 'other'
• Listen and see others in more flexible and accepting ways
• Use mindful contemplation as a way of cultivating acceptance and compassion for yourself and others
• Use mindfulness practice as a way of preparing for conversation with others
• Explore patterns of relating through mindfulness
• This week we are starting to look outwardly again at how we can bring mindfulness to our everyday relationships

WEEK 7 - LIVING ON PURPOSE

You will be exploring how to:

• Integrate what you have been learning into daily life
• Reflect on some options about self-care and making choices in your life
• Begin practising without the audio recordings

WEEK 8 - MAKING MINDFULNESS A PART OF YOUR LIFE

You will be exploring how to:

• Explore and reflect what you have achieved through the practice and program
• Recognise that living mindfully is a process of ongoing practise
• Explore choices about continuing to support this practice in your life

The MBSR program entails. 

• Weekly group meetings (2.5-hour classes) for 8 weeks plus a bonus one day of mindfulness
• An individual phone interview with your teacher
• A bonus one-day retreat (seven-hour mindfulness practice) between sessions six and seven, 
• Homework each week (working up to 45 minutes of daily practice), 
• Instruction in three formal techniques: mindfulness meditation, body scanning and simple yoga postures
• Group discussions and exploration - of experience of the meditation practice and its application to life - is a central part of the program
• Participants receive a 128-page workbook (worth $30)
• Participants receive lifetime access to a mindfulness app ( worth $11)
• Social interaction with other participants
• An exploration of your own patterns of thinking, feeling and action, and how to transform them
• Brief lectures and discussions
• Individual feedback and support
• Scientific rationale

MBSR is an authentic, evidence-based program of mindfulness training, grounded in 39 years of research. Unlike many shorter mindfulness courses, which have no evidence of benefit, MBSR is globally recognised as the gold standard for mental and physical health in the field.

I am recommending this for you and to help Mental health issues, PTSD symptoms such as flashbacks, insomnia and bad dreams, anxiety and stress. It would help with loss of mental focus and loss of motivation and deal with all types of stress.

This course with give you social interaction and a purpose. It gives you a routine and purpose once a week to get up and get out into the world. This will help her with the mental as well as social and physical parts of your life and many areas of life that may cause you stress and discontent.

Course fees - Your investment in yourself

• $560 ($21.53 per hour) plus GST for the 8 weeks for privately paying clients. 
• The fee of the course is $690 ($26 per hour) plus GST. (for NDIS and Workcover clients due to report writing and liaison with case managers).
• Supported rate is $300 ($13.50 an hour) plus GST (negotiable) for those who are financially struggling, not working, and would like to attend. 

Weekly payment plans are also available (please reply to Karen via this email if you would like to arrange a payment plan).

SPECIAL RATES

Bring a friend: $600 (2 for the price of one)

Early Early Bird: $500 book and pay before 25 December 2024

Early Bird: $525 book and pay before 10 January 2025

Returning past participant: $275

Returning past participants supported $150

Weekly payment plans are available. Contact Karen via email to arrange your plan.

Venue: CWA hall Woy Woy

Time: Fridays 10 - 12:30 pm commencing 7 February 2025 plus a BONUS one day retreat between week six and seven.

Book here: 

https://www.trybooking.com/CVDDJ

or simply scan the QR code located at the bottom of the page.

Look forward to seeing you on Friday the 11th of October at 10 am.

If you know anyone who might be interested, please feel free to forward this email to them. I would greatly appreciate it.

This program will run every 12 weeks in 2025, starting 7 February 2025. 

COURSE DATES FOR YOUR DIARY: 

Friday 11th of October 2024

Friday 7th of February 2025

Friday 9th of May 2025

Friday 8th of August 2025

Online MBSR course date TBA

Up and coming One day of mindfulness for MBSR graduates is : 

Friday 21st of March 2025 10 am - 3:30 pm ish

Friday 20th of June 2025 10 am- 3:30pm ish

Friday 9th of September 2025 10 am - 3:30 ish

Karen Booth

Psychotherapist and Counsellor, Mental Health RN, Group Therapist

Trauma, Grief and Addiction Specialist

PACFA AND GANZ: Clinical 22268 

ACA: Level 4

ABN: 23 513 591 450 

Medibank private provider no: 126386W 

Work cover provider no: 15399 

Victim Services Accredited counsellor A2097

Member of the International Association of Trauma Professionals (IATP)

Phone: 0417 999 549 

Email: kbooth63@iinet.net.au                                                   

www.karenboothcounselling.com