It is not always easy to communicate in a wise and compassionate way but if we are able to speak and listen with an open and non-judgmental attitude, our work and life will be less exhausting and both participants and clients will benefit. The workshop “Interpersonal Mindfulness” offers you the opportunity to deepen your own mindfulness practice and to get to know a method that supports you in developing mindfulness, empathy and compassion in the interpersonal sphere.

It is based on the practice of Insight Dialogue (ID) as developed by Gregory Kramer (see www.insightdialogue.org). With Kramer’s permission, two leading mindfulness trainers from the USA, Florence Meleo-Meyer and Phyllis Hicks, have designed a programme based on the principles of ID and intended for mainstream settings. This training is called the Interpersonal Mindfulness Program (IMP) and applies the six guidelines of ID into secular domains of work, such as health and education.

This workshop is aimed at mindfulness teachers who would not easily be able to participate in a regular eight-week IMP training course. Health care professionals, coaches and other professionals who work with people are also welcome. This experiential exploration of practices and key elements of IMP will partly take place in a retreat atmosphere.

Objectives:

– Becoming familiar with interpersonal mindfulness experientially. – Deepening one’s own mindfulness practice and applying it to communication in general.

– Deepening competence in teaching mindfulness and broadening understanding of how Interpersonal Mindfulness can be used when teaching a Mindfulness-Based Programme (MBP), such as MBSR, MBCT or MBCL. Content:

– Practising with the interpersonal mindfulness guidelines (in pairs or in groups of 3/4) as used in Insight Dialogue: “Pausing”, “Relaxing”, “Opening”, “Attuning to Emergence”, “Listening Deeply” and “Speaking the Truth”.

– Exploring life themes in meditative dialogue (e.g. reactivity in body and mind, ageing, evaluating, comparing, feelings of superiority and inferiority, desire, different roles in private and social life, change, and cultivating healing qualities in communication).

– Refreshing and deepening the practice of mindfulness and compassion.

Scientific background:

Empathy is an important quality in any teacher-student relationship and, as scientific studies have shown, is also very important in the therapist-client relationship (Hick & Bien, 2008; Wilson & Dufrene, 2008). Professionals who work with people are often susceptible to empathy fatigue. Here, MBPs can prevent empathy fatigue and other symptoms of burnout and contribute to increased self-compassion, wise self-regulation, and empathy skills (Karpowicz et al., 2009; Saunders et al., 2007; Shapiro et al., 2005, 2007). In addition, Porges (2011) and Siegel (2007) have shown that attentive and careful interpersonal attunement has calming effects and leads to a deep inner resonance at the neurobiological level (Porges, 2011; Siegel, 2007). Click here for the first feasibility study on IMP in which Frits Koster was involved as a teacher.