Frequently Asked Questions

Mindfulness-Based Compassionate Living (MBCL) and Mindful Self Compassion (MSC) or both increasingly offered in different parts of the world. Basically, MBCL is designed as a follow-up training and MSC as a stand-alone training,

If you wish to know more about differences and commonalities you can click here.

MBCL was developed as a follow-up training programme for those who wish to deepen the wholesome effects of mindfulness with explicit compassion practices. MBCL builds on what you already learned in MBSR, MBCT or another Mindfulness-Based Programme (MBP). So, sufficient grounding in basic mindfulness practice is a requirement for joining in an MBCL course, preferable through a recognized MBP. If in doubt, approach the MBCL teacher (or Professional working with MBCL) of your choice.

In order to take part in an MBCL Teacher Training programme, you must fulfil the following requirements:

• Participation in an introductory, experiential MBCL course: You can choose between an eight-week MBCL course, a three- or four-day intensive MBCL Foundation Course, or an MBCL Retreat (online or face-to-face).
• Participation in a basic mindfulness course: You must have completed an MBSR or MBCT course (or an equivalent, recognised mindfulness-based programme) and practised mindfulness regularly for at least one year.
• Experience in guiding mindfulness-based practices: For the MBCL Teacher Training course, you need to have experience of guiding mindfulness-based exercises. You can gain this experience by completing teacher training in MBSR, MBCT or an equivalent mindfulness-based programme, or by working with ACT or DBT.

If you enrol on the MBCL Teacher Training programme, you will receive the following materials:

A comprehensive syllabus covering the following topics:

• Important topics and content for preliminary contact with people interested in taking the MBCL course.
• Indications and contraindications for participation in an MBCL course.
• A concise manual of the MBCL sessions.
• Options for continuing to support your participants after the course.
• Materials for small group work as part of the MBCL training, e.g. instructions for mindful feedback and guidelines for interpersonal mindfulness practice.
• An overview of the key didactic topics of the MBCL course.
• A clear overview of all MBCL course practices, their underlying intentions and structure, and example transcripts.

A comprehensive PowerPoint presentation, with all theoretical content available as a printout and a PDF.

Yes, please. The MBCL Teacher Training will support you in using compassion-based interventions in individual or group work, whether you are a course leader or work in another setting, such as healthcare, therapy, counselling, coaching or teaching.

Yes, this is perfectly fine.

After completing an introductory MBCL course, you are welcome to join an MBCL Teacher Training to further deepen your personal mindfulness and compassion practice.

Yes, personal development never stops, even after retirement, and the MBCL Teacher Training could be valuable in non-professional areas such as volunteering or with your family and friends.

If you are a Healthcare professional, therapist, coach and other professional and not certified mindfulness teacher you can benefit from participating in the MBCL Teacher Training.

It will enable your to deepen your skills in mindfulness-based and compassion-focused interventions, as well as enhancing your therapeutic skills in individual or group work – within the ethical code of your own profession.

After completing the training, you can integrate these skills into your professional work setting, whether you work individually or in groups.

If you wish we can register you on https://www.mbcl-international.net/mbcl-teachers/ as an ‘MBCL Professional’.

As long as there are no internationally formulated formal guidelines, the Good Practice Guidelines for Teaching Mindfulness-Based Courses, as set out by BAMBA (the British Association for Mindfulness-Based Approaches), can serve as a basis for guidance.

Click here for the BAMBA Good Practice Guidelines.

As long as no formal guidelines have been formulated internationally, the Good Practice Guidelines for Supervisors of Mindfulness-Based Teachers formulated by BAMBA, the British Association of Mindfulness-Based Approaches, serve as guidelines for MBCL Supervisors.

Click here for the BAMBA Good Practice Guidelines.

The supervisor may ask the supervisee to send an email with specific questions and/or themes for explorations no later than 2-3 days before a scheduled supervision session. From the second session onwards, supervisees may also be asked to submit a short reflection report on the previous conversation and how they have applied its insights during the course.

Supervisees can bring in themes themselves, depending on their learning needs. The six competence domains, as described in the MBI-TAC by Crane et al. (2012), reflect areas for development and are fully applicable to MBCL, providing a valuable resource.

• Providing and organising the MBCL programme to the target group at an appropriate pace.
• Relational skills.
• Embodiment of mindfulness and compassion (embodiment).
• Guiding MBCL practices.
• Communicating MBCL themes through interactive inquiry (mindful dialogue) and didactic teaching.
• Facilitating a safe atmosphere and constructive learning environment (holding).

The full version of MBI-TAC and last updates can be found here.

No formal assessment will take place at the end of the MBCL supervision process, since supervisees have already undergone certification for mindfulness teaching.

Certified mindfulness teachers are considered capable of deciding when to add additional mindfulness-based interventions to their repertoire. However, supervisors can make recommendations based on their impression of supervisees during the MBCL supervision process.

If the supervisor has any concerns about a supervisee’s competence, they will discuss this with the supervisee in a timely manner. The supervisor may then recommend additional training, practice and/or supervision. The supervisor can also seek advice from Frits Koster, Erik van den Brink or other senior MBCL tutors, in consultation with the supervisee.

As there are considerable differences regarding what is common and reasonable in different countries, no fixed rate is prescribed. Supervisors will orientate themselves towards the rates recommended by their national mindfulness teachers associations. Contracting and invoicing procedures have to be discussed individually with the supervisor.

Once the MBCL certification course has been successfully completed, accompanied by at least three one-hour supervision sessions, the supervisor will email the responsible coordinator, Jana Willms (info@mbcl-international.net), stating that the supervisee is recommended for inclusion in the International Register for Certified MBCL Teachers. The supervisee will be copied in on this email.

The supervisee must then send an email to Jana Willms (info@mbcl-international.net), asking for inclusion in the register and providing a contact option (website, email address or PDF file) to be published. They must also attach a copy of a document or a link to a recognised mindfulness institute stating that they are certified to teach MBSR, MBCT or another recognised mindfulness-based programme, as well as a copy of their certificate of participation in the MBCL Teacher Training.