This eight-week course uses mindfulness as a tool for self-care to support those living with and beyond a cancer diagnosis. It is designed to help improve wellbeing and give you tools to respond to the stresses and strains of everyday life. It is based on the original ground-breaking Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy course.

Receiving a cancer diagnosis, undergoing treatments and living with the ongoing possibility of a recurrence, however great or small, is a life-changing experience – things will never be ‘the same as they were before’. However, this is the hope and expectation of those around us, particularly once active treatment has come to an end. This can leave us feeling isolated, unheard and plagued by thoughts of ‘what if’.

In this eight-week mindfulness course, written specifically for those living with a cancer diagnosis by leading practitioner in the field, Trish Bartley, we explore our daily experiences. This is not counselling, but is skills-based learning that offers tools to help you work in a more skilful and compassionate way with the day-to-day challenges we face.

Participants welcome talking about the impact of cancer on their daily life with others ‘who get it’ as opposed to friends and family. They are engaged by learning what this thing called ‘mindfulness’ is and how each of us can apply it in our daily lives, as a form of self-care.

Attendance at all eight sessions of the course is crucial, as is the commitment to 30 minutes of daily home practice. Many of us will need to carve out this time from the busyness of our daily routines, the various roles we play, as well as our habitual tendencies. There maybe 101 reasons why we may not be able to commit to this. But then we may also ask, ‘if not now, when?’ Maybe this is the time to prioritise our own self-care.

Who is it for?
This eight-week course is designed for both those living with and beyond the cancer diagnosis, be it a recent diagnosis or many years ago, as well as others also affected. This includes partners, family members, carers and friends.

All active, hospital-based treatment needs to have been completed, and participants will need the physical and mental presence to gain the best from the course. Each applicant will have 45-minute one-to-one meeting with the course tutor, Chris Barker, to discuss their unique situation and hopes for the course. This helps ensure that this is the ‘right time’ for such a significant undertaking, and to ensure the hopes / expectations are in line with what this course typically offers. No charge will be made for those who do not progress with the course following this meeting.

When?
Every Thursday evening from 6.30-9pm, starting on 16 April 2026 and concluding on 4 June 2026. An optional half-day retreat will take place from 10am to 2.30pm on Sunday 24 May 2026.

Where?
The course and retreat are both online.

You will get Zoom log-in details when your place is confirmed.

The format of the course?
The course involves:

One-to-one pre-course meeting lasting 45-minutes with the course tutor Chris Barker.
Eight weekly two and a half hour classes including mindfulness practices, discussion and exercises.
Optional half-day retreat, lasting four and a half hours.
Daily meditation home practice of 30 minutes.

Facilitator
Chris Barker