Educational Programs
The following educational retreat programs are offered by Mindfulness Travels. Please read this entire page for program dates, presenter bios, continuing education information, and additional details.
Mindful Movement for Self-Regulation: Evidence-Based Benefits and Clinical Applications
with Dr. Larry Cammarata
For other programs (e.g., Mindfulness Skills in Clinical Practice), please be sure to read the entire page.
January 11 - 18, 2025: Drake Bay, Costa Rica (CEs and CMEs approved)
May 4 - 10, 2025: Marrakech, Morocco (CEs and CMEs approved)
October 7 - 13, 2025: Lefkada Island, Greece (CEs and CMEs approved)
Educational Organization: Mindfulness Travels
Program Content and Description
This educational program integrates the application of mindfulness, mindful movement, and body awareness skills in the treatment of psychological and psychophysiological disorders. Mindful movement is an accessible body-centered mindfulness practice that may be of particular benefit to clients and patients who are challenged by the sitting required of many mindfulness practices. Mindful movement can be used as a standalone mindfulness practice or as a complement to seated meditation. The practice of mindful movement develops the ability to regulate the mind, body, and breath, which can reduce the symptoms and suffering associated with psychological conditions such as Anxiety Disorders and Trauma and Stress-Related Disorders. We will examine mindfulness, mindful movement, and client-directed body-oriented interventions designed to facilitate self-regulation, mood stabilization, enhanced concentration, and quality of life. Five self-regulation skills that are facilitated by mindful stillness and mindful movement will be covered. The research-validated benefits of mindful movement will be reviewed, with an emphasis upon the neuroscientific, psychological, and physical benefits of the practice. Self-compassion training as a complement to mindfulness skills training will be discussed, along with the research findings associated with self-compassion. The application of mindfulness, mindful movement, and body-centered interventions in the treatment of various clinical populations will also be covered. The ethics, limitations, and boundaries of using these practices will also be reviewed. The benefits for clinicians attending the training include: (1) developing a deeper understanding of the philosophical and scientific foundations of mindfulness and mindful movement; (2) increased confidence in applying mindfulness, mindful movement, and self-compassion training in the treatment of various clinical populations; (3) integrating cognitive and experiential knowledge in a way that supports the quality of patient care; (4) increased emotional and physical resilience in the delivery of clinical services; (5) understanding clear definitions of mindfulness and mindful movement that can be conveyed to clients and patients and; (6) increased knowledge of research findings validating the efficacy of mindfulness, mindful movement, and self-compassion training.
Learning Objectives
At the end of the program, participants will be able to:
• Describe the essential elements that define mindfulness.
• List the key components of mindful movement.
• Identify the key elements of self-regulation and explain how they are related to mindful movement.
• Assess how the practice of mindful movement can be applied in the treatment of psychological disorders.
• List the benefits of mindful movement and body-awareness practices in the context of mindfulness-based therapy.
• Describe the status of current research in the field of mindful movement.
• Explain why mindfulness is not always sufficient to reduce distress, symptoms, and suffering.
• Explain how compassion and acceptance-based interventions such as self-compassion and loving-kindness meditation complement mindfulness-based interventions.
Target Audience
Mental health professionals, including Psychologists, Licensed Professional Counselors/Licensed Mental Health Counselors, Social Workers, Licensed Marriage & Family Therapists, Nurses, and Physicians.
Program Level
This educational program is appropriate for an Intermediate Level audience.
Continuing Education Hours
Mindful Movement for Self-Regulation is approved for 9 CE hours. This live in-person activity professional continuing education activity was sponsored by Praxis Continuing Education and Training and co-sponsored by Mindfulness Travels. Praxis Continuing Education and Training, who has been approved as a provider of continuing education by the organizations listed below, maintains responsibility for the educational activity offered and for following the standards and regulations for the organizations listed below.
Praxis CET maintains responsibility for the program with the CE approvals outlined below:
Joint Accreditation: In support of improving patient care, this activity has been planned and implemented by Praxis Continuing Education and Training, Inc and Mindfulness Travels. Praxis Continuing Education and Training, Inc is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.
IPCE: This activity was planned by and for the healthcare team, and learners will receive 9 Interprofessional Continuing Education (IPCE) credit for learning and change.
Nursing: Praxis Continuing Education and Training, Inc designates this activity for a maximum of 9 ANCC contact hours.
Physicians: Praxis Continuing Education and Training, Inc designates this live activity for a maximum of 9 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
Psychologists: Continuing Education (CE) credits for psychologists are provided through the co-sponsorship of the American Psychological Association (APA) Office of Continuing Education in Psychology (CEP). The APA CEP Office maintains responsibly for the content of the programs.
Social Workers: As a Jointly Accredited Organization, Praxis Continuing Education and Training, Inc. is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved under this program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. Social workers completing this course receive 9 clinical continuing education credits.
NY Social Workers: Praxis Continuing Education and Training, Inc is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #SW-0467
NY Counselors: Praxis Continuing Education and Training, Inc. is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed mental health counselors. #MHC-0198.
NY Psychologists: Praxis Continuing Education and Training, Inc. is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Psychology as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed psychologists #PSY-0002.
How to earn CE credits:
In order to earn CE credits, you must attend the activity in full. No partial credit will be awarded. You will be asked to sign in each day of the activity. Upon completion of the course in full, you will be provided an instruction sheet on how to access the course post activity requirements. On this form, you will receive a link to a website where you will complete an online course evaluation and attest to attending the complete activity. Upon submission, you will be able to print or download your CE Certificate of completion.
Disclosure Information:
There was no commercial support for this activity. None of the planners or presenters for this educational activity have relevant financial relationship(s) to disclose with ineligible companies whose primary business is producing, marketing, selling, re-selling, or distributing healthcare products used by or on patients.
Program Agenda Summary
Day 1: 8:30 to 10:00 am
Why use mindfulness?
The essential elements that define mindfulness
The key components of mindful movement
Five self-regulation skills facilitated by mindful stillness and mindful movement
Day 2: 8:30 to 10:00 am
Benefits of mindful movement and body awareness practices in mindfulness-based therapy
The application of mindful movement and mindful body awareness practices in the treatment of psychological disorders
The status of current research in the field of mindful movement: implications for treating psychological and psychophysiological disorders
Day 3: 8:30 to 10:00 am
The limitations of mindfulness: Why mindfulness is not always sufficient to reduce suffering and distress
The mental discipline dimension of mindfulness-based psychology: Effort, mindfulness, and concentration
The wisdom dimension of mindfulness-based psychology: Understanding the mind
The social-ethical dimension of mindfulness-based psychology: Restraining and cultivating the mind
Day 4: 8:30 to 10:00 am
The key components of compassion and self-compassion
Self-compassion as a complement to mindfulness practice
Self-compassion research findings: Implications for treatment of psychological disorders
Methods of facilitating mindful self-compassion
Day 5: 8:30 to 10:00 am
Mindful body awareness skills and practices
Forms of mindful movement practice
How mindfulness of posture, vocal tone, and eye contact can support the treatment process
Day 6: 8:30 to 10:00 am
Loving-Kindness Meditation as a complement to mindfulness and mindful movement practices
Tips for enhancing memorization of simple movements and integration of body awareness principles
Mindful movement and mindful body awareness in everyday life
Indicators of self-regulation through mindful movement and mindful breathing skills
Presenter Bio and Credentials
Larry Cammarata, Ph.D. is a licensed psychologist who specializes in mindfulness-based therapy and education, including the science and practice of mindful movement. For over 40 years, he has undertaken study, formal training, and practice in meditation and Buddhist psychology. He is the Director of Education of Mindfulness Travels and is also the Director of Training for East Bay Mindfulness Center. Larry is an instructor of Taijiquan (Tai Chi) and Qigong who has received advanced training in China and in the US. He was designated as an "Author-Expert" by IDEA for his writing, teaching, and service in the field of mid-body health, fitness, and wellness. His mindful movement work was presented at the 11th Annual International Scientific Conference of the Center for Mindfulness at the University of Massachusetts School of Medicine.
Overcoming Self Doubt, Shame, and Inadequacy:
Discovering the Extraordinary Gift of Being Ordinary
with Dr. Ronald Siegel
Dr. Siegel’s 2025 programs are listed near the end of this page.
October 4 - 10, 2024: Lefkada Island, Greece (CEs and CMEs approved)
Educational Organization: Mindfulness Travels
Program Content and Description
“Did I sound stupid?” “Should I have sent that email?” “How do I look?” Why do we—and our clients—spend so much time feeling self-conscious and comparing ourselves to others? Why do we struggle to live up to inner ideals or outer standards, only to regularly feel not good enough or ashamed of our shortcomings? The assumption that we can find lasting happiness by being more successful, likeable, attractive, intelligent, or morally above reproach is so woven into our biology and culture that few of us notice it’s not actually true. Sure, having success or otherwise getting to think highly of ourselves feels good—it just isn't long before we hit a bump in the road, lose the feeling and are left hungry for the next boost. Particularly in the age of Facebook and Instagram, we need a way to free ourselves and our clients from the anxiety, depression, addictions, and stress-related disorders that arise from continuous self-evaluation and social comparison. This experiential, interactive workshop will zero in on how we and our clients can use mindfulness, self-compassion, and related practices to step off the self-evaluation roller coaster. We’ll explore techniques to navigate failure, rejection, and shame, while developing stronger relationships and greater comfort with vulnerability— tailoring techniques to clients with both secure and challenged attachment histories and a wide variety of disorders. Rather than imagining that we or our clients can develop a single, stable, secure self, we’ll see how working with our ever-changing parts or sub-personalities can help us relate to all experiences—pleasant and unpleasant, everyday and traumatic—as opportunities to awaken, grow and heal. You’ll learn helpful practices for savoring ordinary present moments, connecting more deeply to others, and tasting the wonderful freedom that comes from everything no longer being about us. Each day will include a mix of experiential exercises, research, theory, and opportunities to connect with fellow participants. You’ll leave with practical tools to apply in your work, while feeling refreshed and renewed personally.
Learning Objectives
At the end of the program, participants will be able to:
• Describe research in evolutionary psychology, illuminating the origins and dynamics of self-evaluative preoccupation
• Identify techniques to reinforce the experiential rather than narrative self
• Apply mindfulness techniques to increase affect tolerance and experiential approach
• Demonstrate applications of self-compassion to help manage difficult emotions
• Implement practices of mindfulness and self-compassion to soften the inner critic
• Identify cognitive and behavioral tools to help clients act more skillfully and freely by becoming less concerned with self-evaluation
• Identify common elements in anxiety, depression, addictions and stress-related physical disorders
• Specify the three core human motivational systems and how compassion practices serve to balance them
• Describe the distinction between empathy and compassion practices to reduce clinician fatigue and burnout
• Specify how a therapist can best choose which mindfulness and self-compassion exercises are most appropriate under different circumstances
• Describe how to use mindfulness and compassion practices to help clients integrate disavowed or split-off aspects of experience
Target Audience
Mental health professionals, including Psychologists, Licensed Professional Counselors/Licensed Mental Health Counselors, Social Workers, Licensed Marriage & Family Therapists, Nurses, and Physicians.
Program Level
This educational program is appropriate for an intermediate-advanced level audience.
Continuing Education Hours
Overcoming Self Doubt, Shame, and Inadequacy is approved for 15 CE hours. This live in-person activity professional continuing education activity was sponsored by Praxis Continuing Education and Training and co-sponsored by Mindfulness Travels. Praxis Continuing Education and Training, who has been approved as a provider of continuing education by the organizations listed below, maintains responsibility for the educational activity offered and for following the standards and regulations for the organizations listed below.
Praxis CET maintains responsibility for the program with the CE approvals outlined below:
Joint Accreditation: In support of improving patient care, this activity has been planned and implemented by Praxis Continuing Education and Training, Inc and Mindfulness Travels. Praxis Continuing Education and Training, Inc is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.
Nursing: Praxis Continuing Education and Training, Inc designates this activity for a maximum of 15 ANCC contact hours.
IPCE: This activity was planned by and for the healthcare team, and learners will receive 15 Interprofessional Continuing Education (IPCE) credit for learning and change.
Physicians: Praxis Continuing Education and Training, Inc designates this live activity for a maximum of 15 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
Psychologists: Continuing Education (CE) credits for psychologists are provided through the co-sponsorship of the American Psychological Association (APA) Office of Continuing Education in Psychology (CEP). The APA CEP Office maintains responsibly for the content of the programs.
Social Workers: As a Jointly Accredited Organization, Praxis Continuing Education and Training, Inc. is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved under this program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. Social workers completing this course receive 15 clinical continuing education credits.
NY Social Workers: Praxis Continuing Education and Training, Inc is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #SW-0467
NY Counselors: Praxis Continuing Education and Training, Inc. is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed mental health counselors. #MHC-0198.
NY Psychologists: Praxis Continuing Education and Training, Inc. is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Psychology as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed psychologists #PSY-0002.
How to earn CE credits:
In order to earn CE credits, you must attend the activity in full. No partial credit will be awarded. You will be asked to sign in each day of the activity. Upon completion of the course in full, you will be provided an instruction sheet on how to access the course post activity requirements. On this form, you will receive a link to a website where you will complete an online course evaluation and attest to attending the complete activity. Upon submission, you will be able to print or download your CE Certificate of completion.
Disclosure Information:
There was no commercial support for this activity. None of the planners or presenters for this educational activity have relevant financial relationship(s) to disclose with ineligible companies whose primary business is producing, marketing, selling, re-selling, or distributing healthcare products used by or on patients.
Program Agenda Summary
Day 1: 4:00 to 6:30 pm
The self-evaluation trap
It’s Darwin’s fault: The challenge of our evolutionary history
Cultivating mindfulness and self-compassion: Formal and informal practices
Day 2: 4:00 to 6:30 pm
Discovering who we really are: Understanding the narrative and experiential self
All parts are welcome: Working with the shadow and exiles
Swimming in Lake Wobegon: Awakening to the failure of success
Day 3: 4:00 to 6:30 pm
Breaking free from conspicuous consumption and other status signals
The challenges of contemporary culture: Resisting selfie-esteem
Treating self-esteem addiction
Day 4: 4:00 to 6:30 pm
Empathy fatigue and the promise of compassion
Avoiding avoidance: Working with anxiety, depression, and addictions
Tailoring the practice to the person
Day 5: 4:00 to 6:30 pm
Relationships as an antidote: How to make a connection, not an impression
The power of cognitive reappraisal: Separating the doer from the deed
You’re not that special—and other good news
Cultivating secure attachment later in life
Day 6: 4:00 to 6:30 pm
Treating self-esteem traumas: You have to feel it to heal it
Moving beyond I, me, mine: Embracing the reality of impermanence and interconnection
It’s about other people: Cultivating generosity and service
Presenter Bio and Credentials
Ronald D. Siegel, Psy.D. is Assistant Professor of Psychology, Part Time, at Harvard Medical School. He is a long time student of mindfulness meditation and serves on the Board of Directors and faculty of the Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy. He teaches internationally about the application of mindfulness practice in psychotherapy and other fields, and maintains a private clinical practice in Lincoln, Massachusetts. He is author of The Mindfulness Solution: Everyday Practices for Everyday Problems. Mindfulness and Psychotherapy, coeditor of and Wisdom and Compassion in Psychotherapy: Deepening Mindfulness in Clinical Practice. Back Sense: A Revolutionary Approach to Halting the Cycle of Chronic Back Pain, and coauthor of the recent volume, Sitting Together: Essential Skills for Mindfulness-Based Psychotherapy.
Learning from Non-Ordinary States: Mindfulness, Compassion, & Psychedelic-Assisted Psychotherapy
with Dr. Ronald Siegel
January 11 - 18, 2025: Drake Bay, Costa Rica (CEs and CMEs approved)
May 4 - 10, 2025: Marrakech, Morocco (CEs and CMEs approved)
October 7 - 13, 2025: Lefkada Island, Greece (CEs and CMEs approved)
Educational Organization: Mindfulness Travels
Program Content and Description
Ever since Freud, psychotherapists have worked with non-ordinary states such as dreams, hypnosis, and free association to understand and heal the heart and mind. In the past decade, mindfulness and compassion practices have become mainstream tools, while more recently, research on psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy has mushroomed. Psychedelics, often combined with insights from mindfulness and compassion practices, now offer not only possible breakthrough treatments for PTSD, depression, addictions, and end-of-life anxiety but also provide new insights into the nature of psychological distress and mechanisms of healing. What can clinicians learn from these developments? What can they teach us about the neurobiology of human suffering and flourishing? How can they inform our practice? In this interactive workshop, you’ll learn practical tools and techniques derived from mindfulness and compassion-oriented treatment and psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy to help clients with a wide-array of disorders. We’ll explore ways to help clients integrate split-off traumatic memories, open their hearts, embrace vulnerability, surrender to the flow of ever-changing experience, move from isolation to deep connection with people and nature, appreciate the unreliable fluidity of thought, and find meaning in everyday moments. You’ll learn how to use mindfulness and self-compassion practices along with other techniques to harness these healing mechanisms, while also gaining the knowledge necessary to help clients who might be experimenting with psychedelics to integrate and grow from their experiences.
Learning Objectives
At the end of the program, participants will be able to:
Identify the common elements in a wide variety of psychological disorders
Describe how mindfulness practices work to resolve psychological distress
Discuss the role of compassion and self-compassion in psychotherapeutic progress
Summarize current research demonstrating efficacy and mechanisms of action in psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy
Identify contraindications for psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy
Discuss how to advise patients considering psychedelic experiences outside of treatment and how to help those who engage in these to integrate the experience.
Discuss the role of transpersonal or “mystical” experience in both mindfulness-informed and psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy
Describe practical ways to introduce the transformative elements of mindfulness and compassion-informed, and psychedelic-assisted sessions into other forms of psychotherapy
Target Audience
Mental health professionals, including Psychologists, Licensed Professional Counselors/Licensed Mental Health Counselors, Social Workers, Licensed Marriage & Family Therapists, Nurses, and Physicians.
Program Level
This educational program is appropriate for all levels—a beginner, intermediate, and advanced level audience.
Continuing Education Hours
Learning from Non-Ordinary States: Mindfulness, Compassion, & Psychedelic-Assisted Psychotherapy is approved for 12 CE hours. This live in-person activity professional continuing education activity was sponsored by Praxis Continuing Education and Training and co-sponsored by Mindfulness Travels. Praxis Continuing Education and Training, who has been approved as a provider of continuing education by the organizations listed below, maintains responsibility for the educational activity offered and for following the standards and regulations for the organizations listed below.
Praxis CET maintains responsibility for the program with the CE approvals outlined below:
Joint Accreditation: In support of improving patient care, this activity has been planned and implemented by Praxis Continuing Education and Training, Inc and Mindfulness Travels. Praxis Continuing Education and Training, Inc is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.
Nursing: Praxis Continuing Education and Training, Inc designates this activity for a maximum of 12 ANCC contact hours.
IPCE: This activity was planned by and for the healthcare team, and learners will receive 12 Interprofessional Continuing Education (IPCE) credit for learning and change.
Physicians: Praxis Continuing Education and Training, Inc designates this live activity for a maximum of 12 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
Psychologists: Continuing Education (CE) credits for psychologists are provided through the co-sponsorship of the American Psychological Association (APA) Office of Continuing Education in Psychology (CEP). The APA CEP Office maintains responsibly for the content of the programs.
Social Workers: As a Jointly Accredited Organization, Praxis Continuing Education and Training, Inc. is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved under this program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. Social workers completing this course receive 12 clinical continuing education credits.
NY Social Workers: Praxis Continuing Education and Training, Inc is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #SW-0467
NY Counselors: Praxis Continuing Education and Training, Inc. is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed mental health counselors. #MHC-0198.
NY Psychologists: Praxis Continuing Education and Training, Inc. is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Psychology as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed psychologists #PSY-0002.
How to earn CE credits:
In order to earn CE credits, you must attend the activity in full. No partial credit will be awarded. You will be asked to sign in each day of the activity. Upon completion of the course in full, you will be provided an instruction sheet on how to access the course post activity requirements. On this form, you will receive a link to a website where you will complete an online course evaluation and attest to attending the complete activity. Upon submission, you will be able to print or download your CE Certificate of completion.
Disclosure Information:
There was no commercial support for this activity. None of the planners or presenters for this educational activity have relevant financial relationship(s) to disclose with ineligible companies whose primary business is producing, marketing, selling, re-selling, or distributing healthcare products used by or on patients.
Program Agenda Summary
Day 1: 4:00 to 6:00 pm
History of non-ordinary states in psychotherapy
Common factors in psychopathology and their antidotes
Day 2: 4:00 to 6:00 pm
How non-ordinary states heal
Origins and effects of different psychedelic agents
History of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy (PAP)
Day 3: 4:00 to 6:00 pm
Cautions and contraindications for PAP
Structuring PAP
What are mindfulness practices
Day 4: 4:00 to 6:00 pm
How do they work?
Tailoring practices to individuals’ needs
Compassion: What is it really?
Day 5: 4:00 to 6:00 pm
Avoiding empathy fatigue
Synergies among mindfulness, compassion, & PAP.
The role of transpersonal or mystical experience in therapeutic change
Day 6: 4:00 to 6:00 pm
Overcoming self-esteem addiction
Discovering the extraordinary gift of being ordinary
Presenter Bio and Credentials
Ronald D. Siegel, Psy.D. is Assistant Professor of Psychology, Part Time, at Harvard Medical School. He is a long time student of mindfulness meditation and serves on the Board of Directors and faculty of the Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy. He teaches internationally about the application of mindfulness practice in psychotherapy and other fields, and maintains a private clinical practice in Lincoln, Massachusetts. He is author of The Mindfulness Solution: Everyday Practices for Everyday Problems. Mindfulness and Psychotherapy, coeditor of and Wisdom and Compassion in Psychotherapy: Deepening Mindfulness in Clinical Practice. Back Sense: A Revolutionary Approach to Halting the Cycle of Chronic Back Pain, and coauthor of the recent volume, Sitting Together: Essential Skills for Mindfulness-Based Psychotherapy.
Mindfulness Skills in Clinical Practice
with Dr. Larry Cammarata
September 19 - 25, 2025: Ponte de Lima, Portugal (18 CEs and CMEs pending approval)
Educational Organization: Mindfulness Travels
Program Content and Description
This educational program provides a comprehensive foundation for the application of mindfulness in clinical practice. Mindfulness is a skill that contributes to therapeutic efficacy. Research has shown that mindfulness-based interventions have been successfully applied to diverse clinical populations such as mood disorders, addictions, anxiety disorders, personality disorders, eating disorders, trauma and stress-related disorders, chronic pain, and insomnia. Mindfulness training has been shown to benefit the clinician by increasing attention, empathy, self-compassion, and affect tolerance. Topics include: defining mindfulness; understanding the philosophical and ethical foundations of the practice; becoming a mindfulness-based clinician; mindfulness-based and acceptance-based interventions; understanding and applying mindfulness through the orientation of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT); mindfulness and therapeutic efficacy; the science and practice of mindful movement; research validated mindfulness-based therapies; how psychological knowledge and social ethics can enhance the efficacy of mindfulness-based treatment; self-compassion, addiction, and wellbeing; and how mindfulness can increase psychological flexibility. Self-compassion training as a complement to mindfulness skills training will be discussed, along with the research findings associated with self-compassion. The application of mindfulness, mindful movement, and body-centered interventions in the treatment of various clinical populations will also be covered. The ethics, limitations, and boundaries of using these practices will be reviewed. The benefits for clinicians attending the training include: (1) developing a deeper understanding of the philosophical and scientific foundations of mindfulness and mindful movement; (2) increased confidence in applying mindfulness, mindful movement, and self-compassion training in the treatment of various clinical populations; (3) integrating cognitive and experiential knowledge in a way that supports the quality of patient care; (4) increased emotional and physical resilience in the delivery of clinical services; (5) understanding clear definitions of mindfulness and mindful movement that can be conveyed to clients and patients and; (6) increased knowledge of research findings validating the efficacy of mindfulness, mindful movement, and self-compassion training.
Learning Objectives
At the end of the program, participants will be able to:
List the essential elements that define mindfulness.
Explain why mindfulness is not always sufficient to reduce distress, symptoms, and suffering.
Describe 4 core orientations toward self, others, and the world that complement and extend the practice of mindfulness.
Explain how compassion and acceptance-based interventions such as self-compassion and loving-kindness meditation complement mindfulness-based interventions.
List 2 essential ways of incorporating mindfulness into clinical practice.
Describe the ACT conceptualization of psychological problems.
Describe 3 defining features of self-compassion.
Discuss the clinician’s role in mindfulness-based relapse prevention for addiction.
From a mindfulness-based perspective, describe what is meant by the term “wellbeing”.
Explain the difference between cognitive restructuring and cognitive defusion in the treatment of depression.
List 2 key questions that inform an ACT-based perspective in the treatment of relationship dysfunction.
Explain how the skill of mindfulness can be applied in the treatment of insomnia and other dysregulations of sleep.
Describe the basic principles of mindful body-focused treatment interventions.
List the key components that define mindful movement.
Analyze and compare the treatment rationales for applying mindful movement in the treatment of depression vs. anxiety.
Identify the key elements of self-regulation and discuss how they are related to the practices of mindfulness and mindful movement.
Program Agenda Summary
Day 1: 4:00 to 7:00 pm
What is mindfulness?: Contemporary and classical perspectives
Mindfulness in historical context
Essential elements of mindfulness
Experiential practice of mindfulness
The ethical dimension of mindfulness practice
Defining mindful movement
Defining self-regulation
Clinical applications of mindful movement
Mindful movement research findings
Experiential practice of mindful movement
Day 2: 4:00 to 7:00 pm
The four foundations of mindfulness
Essential ways of incorporating mindfulness into clinical practice
Mindful somatic interventions for cultivating self-regulation and healing stress, trauma, and pain
Principles of mindful body-focused interventions
The form and focus of mindful movement and mindful body awareness interventions
Perspectives on mindfulness-based psychotherapy
Working with thinking
Adverse effects of mindfulness
Day 3: 4:00 to 7:00 pm
Defining Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
ACT conceptualization of psychological problems
Six core processes of psychological flexibility
Mindfulness processes in ACT
Values work
Commitment and behavioral change
FEAR and ACT acronyms
Defining compassion
3 elements of self-compassion
Self-compassion research findings
Experiential practice of self-compassion
Day 4: 4:00 to 7:00 pm
Defining wellbeing from a mindfulness-based perspective
Mindfulness, wellbeing, and resilience
Expanding the context of wellbeing
A culture of addiction
The clinician’s role in mindfulness-based relapse prevention for addiction
Client-centered skills in the treatment of addictions
The importance of self-care and community
ACT skills for recovery from addictions
Day 5: 4:00 to 7:00 pm
Treating people or diagnoses?
Lessons from ACT: targeting suffering or symptoms?
Key issues in treating individuals suffering from depression
Mindfulness-based interventions in treating individuals suffering from depression
Key issues in treating individuals suffering from anxiety
Mindfulness-based interventions in treating individuals suffering from anxiety
Creative body-centered interventions in the treatment of individuals suffering from anxiety and depression
The key to amplifying treatment efficacy outside of the clinician’s office
Mindfulness-based behavioral orientations and skills that support healthy personal and professional relationships
Mindfulness-based relationship perspectives
Day 6: 4:00 to 7:00 pm
An ACT perspective on the conceptualization and treatment of relationship problems
Moving in a valued direction
Mindfulness-based practices and interventions in the treatment of relationship dysfunction
Assessing individuals suffering from sleep disorders
Mindfulness in the conceptualization of sleep disorders
Mindfulness beyond meditation in the treatment of sleep disorders
Hindrances to mindfulness and self-compassion for promoting healthy sleep
5 skills for mind-body regulation in support of deep sleep
Presenter Bio and Credentials
Larry Cammarata, Ph.D. is a licensed psychologist who specializes in mindfulness-based therapy and education, including the science and practice of mindful movement. For over 40 years, he has undertaken study, formal training, and practice in meditation and Buddhist psychology. He is the Director of Education of Mindfulness Travels and is also the Director of Training for East Bay Mindfulness Center. Larry is an instructor of Taijiquan (Tai Chi) and Qigong who has received advanced training in China and in the US. He was designated as an "Author-Expert" by IDEA for his writing, teaching, and service in the field of mid-body health, fitness, and wellness. His mindful movement work was presented at the 11th Annual International Scientific Conference of the Center for Mindfulness at the University of Massachusetts School of Medicine.
Program Fees
The continuing education program fee is $1,800.00 and includes all educational programs during the retreat. This fee is subsumed within the overall fee of a Mindfulness Travels educational retreat.
Retreat Cancellation and Refund Policy
Upon registration for a Mindfulness Travels retreat, participants are required to purchase comprehensive travel insurance that covers cancellations and refunds. Our retreat fee is non-refundable. If Mindfulness Travels must cancel, participants will receive a full refund minus $400. for administrative fees.
Grievance Policy
The CE provider seeks to ensure equitable treatment of every person and to make every attempt to resolve grievances in a fair manner. Please submit a written grievance to Linda Cammarata, RN at this email link: Linda Cammarata or call 828-398-4680. Grievances would receive, to the best of our ability, corrective action in order to prevent further problems.
Accommodations for the Differently Abled
Mindfulness Travels is committed to welcoming people of all abilities and doing our best to make accommodations for those who are differently abled. For individuals requiring special accommodations, please email Linda Cammarata or call 828-398-4680 to discuss your needs.
Continuing Education Verification
It is the participant's responsibility to communicate to their state board to verify CE requirements for their state. Licensed Counselors must check with their state board to ensure the reciprocity of CEs approved through the American Psychological Association (APA).
