East Coast Mindfulness MBSR Teacher Training Pathway: Dual Certification: Online and In Person MBSR Teacher
"East Coast Mindfulness provides expert online MBSR teaching and high level training for others to teach the MBSR course with high integrity and depth.”
Overview
East Coast Mindfulness (ECM) offers a professional MBSR teacher training pathway that results in dual certification: You will earn certification as both an In Person and Online MBSR Teacher. All teacher training programs in the pathway are delivered live, entirely online, letting teacher trainees come together within a small cohort of fellow teacher trainees (no more than 4 in a cohort) from various places across the globe to learn and grow while being trained to teach MBSR by a senior MBSR teacher and teacher trainer. Additionally, ECM teacher trainees are mentored individually while teaching at least their first three MBSR courses.
ECM trainees are willing to be seen as both brilliant and also as totally human—not having it all together. They’re able and willing to be taught, which sometimes includes experiences of discomfort, such as receiving suggestions and feedback for ways to improve, and they’re willing to implement feedback into their MBSR teaching. ECM’s small cohort model paired with ongoing individual mentoring means you will get to know your mentor and fellow trainees, your mentor and training colleagues will get to know you, and along the way, you’ll get to know yourself better too. This supportive learning environment lets you fully explore and develop your own voice for teaching MBSR, while upholding the standards of good teaching for delivering MBSR according to curricula, standards, and protocols.
If this way of learning and being in relationship with a mentor and a small cohort of fellow teacher trainees is appealing to you, ECM’s MBSR Teacher Training pathway could be ideal for you.
The entire training pathway takes approximately 2 years to complete. At the successful completion of the training pathway:
- You will earn dual certification: Certified In Person MBSR Teacher and Certified Online MBSR Teacher, if during your cycles of mentorship, you demonstrate adequate mastery in both in person and online teaching of MBSR.
- There is also the opportunity to earn certification as either one or the other: Certified In Person MBSR Teacher or Certified Online MBSR teacher.
NOTE: If you are currently training to teach MBSR with another institution and would like to continue your training through East Coast Mindfulness, email Rebecca at info@eastcoastmindfulness.com to let us know. We can meet you where you are, and finalize your training.
FREE ONLINE INFORMATION SESSIONS
Interested in learning more about our MBSR Teacher Training Pathway before you apply? Sign yourself up for a free 30-minute one-to-one Zoom information session. But first, please…
1. Read all the information on this page:
- Overview
- Why Train with East Coast Mindfulness to Teach MBSR
- Requirements for Entering ECM's Teacher Training Pathway
- What Technology You Will Need
- The Teacher Training Pathway Course Sequence
- Tuition Cost Breakdown
2. Watch the 9-minute video called “The Teacher Training Pathway.”
3. Then, feel free to apply for Fundamentals. Or, if you’d like to learn more and connect about entering the ECM Teacher Training Pathway before applying, sign yourself up for a free 30-minute one-to-one session.
NOTE: If you have begun MBSR Teacher Training elsewhere, and want to learn about transferring to the ECM Teacher Training Pathway, you’re also welcome to sign yourself up for a one-to-one session to discuss possibilities.
For quick questions about MBSR Teacher Training, you’re welcome to email those to info@eastcoastmindfulness.com.
The Teacher Training Pathway Course sequence and approximate timeline for completion
Check individual course pages for exact dates each course will be offered
Fundamentals in Teaching MBSR
Over the course of 10 weeks, participate fully in an MBSR online course taught by your mentor, and spend an additional 7 hours on a separate day during each week of the MBSR course with your mentor and your teacher training cohort. Limited to no fewer than 3, and no more than 4, trainees.
Cost: $3000 (includes a seat in the MBSR course)
Application deadline for the Winter 2025 session is Wednesday, December 4, 2024. If 4 applicants are accepted before December 4, the application process will be closed.
NOTE: You can begin teaching MBSR after completing Fundamentals through ECM. When comparing various training programs, be sure to consider when those programs allow you to begin teaching MBSR (many programs require additional training beyond Fundamentals before you can start teaching MBSR). Being able to teach MBSR early on means that the earnings received from that early MBSR teaching can offset the cost of your continued teacher training.
Time to Process, Prepare to Teach, etc.
On your own:
• Complete follow-on work from Fundamentals
• Continue to prepare lessons plans
• Gather MBSR participants
• Promote your first MBSR course
• Coordinate mentorship dates with your mentor, and so on.
Mentorship Cycle 1: While you teach your first MBSR course
The first of 3 cycles of mentorship in which you will engage with the teacher of your Fundamentals training—your mentor.
This mentorship cycle includes:
• One-to-one mentoring session before and after each of the 10 sessions of your MBSR course
• Review of video-recordings of your classes (if you chose to record this cycle).
NOTE: You may opt to use your own 4 MBSR audios or those of your mentor during this first cycle of teaching MBSR.
Cost: $2200
Retreat During First Year of Training
Participate in a retreat for yourself. Ideally this retreat would be at least 5 days in duration, but there may be situations where a shorter retreat is acceptable.
More information here.
Cohort Meetup
A single online day of practice, teaching, sharing, and checking in with your mentor and small cohort from Fundamentals.
NOTE: The date for Cohort Meetup is coordinated with the members of the cohort to ensure that everyone can make it.
Cost: there is no cost for this meetup.
Time to Process, Prepare to Teach, etc.
This time is spent on your own:
• Continue to refine lesson plans.
• Create or refine 4 audios for your MBSR course.
• Review lessons learned from first cycle of mentorship.
• Gather students and promote your spring MBSR course.
Mentorship Cycle 2
The second of 3 cycles of mentorship in which you will engage with the teacher of your Fundamentals training—your mentor.
This mentorship cycle includes a one-to-one mentoring session before and after each of the 10 sessions of your MBSR course. During this cycle your mentor will review video of you teaching and your 4 audios used in the MBSR course.
Cost: $2500
Time to Process, Prepare to Teach, etc.
This time is spent on your own:
• Continue to refine lesson plans.
• Refine 4 audios for your MBSR course.
• Review lessons learned from second cycle of mentorship.
• Gather students and promote your winter MBSR course.
Inquiry Intensive
• The Inquiry Intensive takes place over 4 days: from Thursday - Sunday.
• Dates are coordinated with the members of the cohort to ensure that everyone can make it.
Cost: $1200
Retreat During Second Year of Training
Participate in a retreat for yourself. Ideally this retreat would be at least 5 days in duration, but there may be situations where a shorter retreat is acceptable.
More information here.
Mentorship Cycle 3
The final cycle of mentorship in which you will engage with the teacher of your Fundamentals training—your mentor.
This mentorship cycle includes four one-to-one mentoring sessions while you’re teaching MBSR. During this cycle your mentor will review video of you teaching.
Cost: $900
Prepare for Certification Review
This time is spent on your own, preparing all materials for certification review—
• Class plans
• All handouts, home practice sheets, etc
• All audios
• Other, determined by you and your mentor
Review & Certification
Because your mentor will have been working so intimately with you over the 2 years, this process should not be labor-intensive. At the conclusion of this review:
• You will have earned dual certification: In Person and Online MBSR Teacher (or in one or the other)
• You will be listed on ECM’s “Find a Teacher” page
• You will have the opportunity to stay in touch with your mentor and your teaching cohort for collegial support
Cost: $200
Download a PDF version of the MBSR Teacher Training Pathway.
Tuition Cost Breakdown:
| Course | Cost |
|---|---|
| Fundamentals in Teaching MBSR | $3000 |
| Mentorship Cycle 1 | $2200 |
| Mentorship Cycle 2 | $2500 |
| Inquiry Intensive | $1200 |
| Mentorship Cycle 3 | $900 |
| Certification Review | $200 |
| Total Cost of Certification: | $10,000* |
*NOTES:
- Total Cost does not include costs associated with retreats.
- The cost for all training programs will not change if you complete the pathway within 2 years. If there is a lapse in your training, there may be changes in cost and/or changes in the pathway itself. If too much time lapses, you may be asked to re-apply to the training pathway.
- As with the development of your own mindfulness practice, training to teach mindfulness is a process that happens in unique ways for each trainee; therefore, there may be times throughout the pathway when you are asked to pause, wait, attend to your personal practice and/or seek further learning in a particular area, before moving to the next step in your training. Your mentor and/or you may decide that teaching additional cycles of MBSR and/or additional mentoring before moving into the certification process Is needed. ECM retains the responsibility to support the quality and integrity of MBSR teaching, and thus may require this of you.
Teach MBSR Online
If you are already a certified MBSR teacher and would like to add "Certified Online MBSR Teacher" to your credentials, we offer a 4-weekend intensive online training.
Train to Teach MBSR Online
• Training format: four weekends, all conducted online, with assignments in between
• Participants who successfully complete this training are listed on our site
More information (including course schedules, cost, and registration info) can be found on the Train to Teach MBSR Live Online page.
Note: we also offer a 3-day, 27-hour Introduction to Teaching MBSR Live Online course, to help new MBSR teachers identify what is essential in each class of an MBSR course, and gain practical experience in expressing the essence of those classes through the online format.