Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) arose from a collaboration between Dr Kristin Neff, researcher, author and professor at the University of Texas at Austin, and Dr Christopher Germer, clinical psychologist and lecturer in psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, who were increasingly immersed in exploring self-compassion in their respective fields – when they hit upon the idea of devising a structured programme to teach the skills of self-compassion in a group format. The first MSC course took place in 2010 and there are now almost 1,000 trained MSC teachers worldwide, with over 100,000 people having taken the programme either over 8 weeks or in a 5-day intensive residential format.

There is a robust teacher training programme which has been developed across the globe in partnership with many mindfulness teacher training organisations – the first MSC teacher training in the UK was held at Bangor University in 2014.

This nurturing weekend of teaching and practice provides the opportunity to learn the core principles of Mindful Self-Compassion, interwoven with plenty of practice, periods of silence and opportunities for self-care. The ethos of MSC invites opportunities to dwell at depth with both the joys and challenges of living this human life – held in a container of respect, care and kindness. The weekend will comprise a blend of teaching, guided exercises, self-compassion practices, large and small group discussions and time for individual self-care outside of the sessions. It is a spacious and gentle exploration of the key themes and practices of MSC, offered in a format which provides a nourishing space to let go of everyday concerns and respond to your own needs with kindness. There will be periods of silence woven into the weekend timetable.