Several times per year, Dr. Cohen and/or Dr. Mendoza offer the full Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) course.  The full course consists of eight 2.5 hour sessions, and one 6-hour silent retreat.  The complete MBSR course is modeled directly after Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn’s original format.  The MBSR course in its entirety has been subjected to decades of research, and shown to offer participants a host of benefits, including but not limited to: decreased stress reactivity, increased emotion regulation and self-control, and decreased distress related to anxiety, depression, worry and rumination.  Research has provided evidence that MBSR harnesses the phenomenon of neuroplasticity, resulting in a brain better able to process strong emotions without being overwhelmed by them. 

As a participant in an MBSR course you can expect classes to include some instruction and didactic presentation by the group facilitator(s), guided mindfulness practices, and debriefing following practices.  Mindfulness is a quality that must be cultivated, and in that spirit, participants spend most of the classes actively practicing various guided mindfulness meditations, which might include a body scan meditation, seated meditation, and gentle yoga.  Participants are offered a chance to share their experiences after practices (although they are never pressured or required to).  Through the debriefing process, participants can come to further understand their unique behavioral, cognitive, and emotional patterns that tend to arise in response to stress.  Participants are invited to complete between-session meditation practices, and they will be provided with recorded meditations to complete at home.  MBSR is an educational group, and not a therapy group.  As such, the group’s aim is to actively teach and practice mindfulness meditation practices.

For questions about MBSR, and whether it might be a good fit for you, please contact us below – Josh or Erin will get back to you shortly.