Co-leadership of CMRP

The Centre for Mindfulness Research and Practice (CMRP) is moving into a new phase! The centre’s activities now take place through Bangor University and through The Mindfulness Network charity. The Master’s programme, the research, policy engagement, and some bespoke training continue within the university. The Continuing Personal and Professional Development (CPPD) programme and within this CMRP’s flagship Teacher Training Programme, and standalone training courses are now delivered through The Mindfulness Network via a collaboration agreement with the university.

We invite you to explore the new Teacher Training website for the CPPD training at www.teach-mindfulness.org where you can find out more about: the Teacher Training Pathway and how to apply, stand-alone courses as part of your own personal and professional development, how to choose the right mindfulness teacher training route for you, a calendar of different training events including retreats, workshops, supervision training, specialist days, distance learning MBSR and Friends of Bangor events. Please note that the cost of training remains the same but now appears as a single overall cost (dependent on the accommodation option chosen), which includes both the training and the accommodation–Previously events were listed on the CMRP website with the costs of training, and then a separate cost was made directly to the venue for accommodation. 

As with any organisation in an emerging context, CMRP has been through many evolutions and phases of development. Read Trish Bartley’s blogfor some of this history.  

The new structures have allowed us to move into a co-leadership – co-holding - and co-development of our work. We (Rebecca and Alison) have collaborated on mindfulness developments since 2005 in various ways, and it is a great pleasure now to be working together on the strategic leadership of CMRP’s work going forward. We are particularly excited about the potential for the strengths of the university context which enables academic rigour and empirical grounding for our work, being combined with a charitable context which enables greater engagement with grassroots issues, with diversity and inclusion developments, and with the ongoing creative growth of our training programmes.  

We are grateful to our community for your understanding during the inevitable disruption that the transition created to some aspects of delivery. We and value your patience and your feedback. We look forward to engaging with you going forward in this new phase of our work.  

Leading each arm of CMRP’s Mindfulness-based Teacher Training Programme

By Sophie Sansom and Gemma Griffith

The collaboration between the Centre for Mindfulness Research and Practice (CMRP) and the Mindfulness Network started a few months ago in July 2018, and we are taking steps to ensure it is underpinned by strong working relationships and co-leadership. Sophie and Emma (TTP Coordinator) will be spending a couple of days in Bangor this November to meet the wider teaching team and get to know the history of the programmes taught at CMRP (and the people behind them). We will be visiting Trigonos together (our much beloved retreat centre that we have used for numerous teacher training events over the years) to really embed a sense of history as we move forward together.   

Our (Gemma and Sophie) ethos and intention for the future of both arms of the CMRP training programme are neatly aligned. We both care deeply about the quality and integrity of the training on offer, hold full awareness of the potential of this work for individuals and the world beyond. Our primary concern is to maintain the internationally recognised standards that have evolved through years of care and dedication. We both hope to offer a supportive container in which those on their journey to becoming a mindfulness teacher feel held, supported, valued and an integral part of the programmes we run. We are connected in this work and are very pleased to be embarking on this adventure together. 

Publication date: 24 October 2018