MA Programme : Post-Qualification Training in Mindfulness-Based Psychotherapeutic Practice - Two year Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Course

This post-qualification MA Course is an in-depth Training in Core Process Psychotherapy that builds on the foundation of the trainee's prior clinical experience and learning. It presents a mindfulness-based form of psychotherapy which assumes inherent core health within all aspects of human experience.

Core Process principles, models, clinical dharma skills and theoretical frameworks are built upon this foundation, which is applied to the psychotherapeutic relationship and viewed as a joint practice. Participants are rigorously trained in this approach in order to be able to demonstrate clinical competence.

The process of offering a contemplative approach to psychotherapy is facilitated through lectures and skills practice within the context of personal, interpersonal and group enquiry. Given that this Training emphasises the fundamental interconnectedness of our individual experience, one major learning vehicle comprises developing the skills to enquire jointly into relationship itself at depth. The training group learns to cultivate and deepen awareness as a primary psychotherapeutic and transformational tool.

The course content is structured so that basic contemplative and inter-relational practices and skills are developed alongside the unfolding theoretical Core Process developmental model of the self, placed within a wider Buddhist understanding of the non-separable nature of our experience and its illimitable source in pristine awareness. The taught component of this course comprises two years.

Year One

Concepts underpinning Core Process psychotherapy such as the relational field, the universal holding field, the nature of being and embodied presence are introduced in the context of basic Buddhist teachings on impermanence, the nature of suffering, the factors of personality and the interdependent nature or co-arising of experience. These form frameworks for beginning to enquire jointly in relationship into our selfstructures derived from early wounding in relationship and primary patterns of traumatization, and for building fundamental clinical skills of embodied open-hearted presence and compassionate responsiveness.

Year Two

Builds on these skills and concepts and integrates trainees existing clinical experience with Core Process frameworks for understanding and working with specific selfstrategies and patterns of relating. Trainees are expected to work with two Core Process clients during this year, when ready to do so, while building the cognitive and clinical requirements for graduation. An additional six months after course completion enables trainees to write their dissertation, thus completing all course requirements for graduation.

There are two clinical pathways for those undertaking this Course: either to work towards graduation which involves having two Core Process clients for six months; or working towards accreditation, which means undertaking a further Clinical Year postgraduation and building the required client hours for registration with U.K.C.P. The M.A. is awarded to all trainees at graduation.

This 30-month Training is held residentially at the Institute currently over 10 five-day seminars, divided into 2 one-year modules. There is also a 15 day Clinical Year for those wishing to prepare for Registration as a Core Process Psychotherapist with UKCP.

Karuna Institute

International Training and Retreat Centre

MA Programme : Post-Qualification Training in Mindfulness-Based Psychotherapeutic Practice - Two year Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Course

Year One

Year Two

course details