The MBSR (Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction) Course is a way of training mindfulness skills in a group format.
It lasts 8 weeks with each session lasting about 2.5 hours. In addition to practical instruction and training, the sessions provide support for participants in fostering a daily mindfulness practice as well as allowing discussion about how to integrate the ideas into every-day life
There is a day-long session in the sixth week of the class to help participants deepen their practice.
The Geneva Course is modelled after the world-renowned Stress Reduction Programme founded by Jon Kabat-Zinn in 1979 at the University of Massachusetts Medical Centre (UMMC). This clinic is the oldest and largest stress reduction clinic in the world. The Stress Reduction Programme is now offered in over 200 medical centres, hospitals and clinics around the world, including some of the leading integrative medical centres, like the Duke Centre for Integrative Medicine. Over the last 32 years over 21,000 people have completed the Course at UMMC alone. You can read more about the UMMC Stress Reduction Programme by clicking on their site in the Research section of this site.
This high participatory, practical, skills-based course is aimed at training participants to be less reactive in stressful situations and includes:
- Guided instruction in mindfulness meditation
- Introduction to a number of mindfulness practices
- Gentle stretching and mindful yoga
- Group discussion aimed at developing the practices in everyday life
- Daily home assignments
- Guided audio and handouts for home practice.
