Approved MBSR Mentors
Pam Erdmann
Location: New Hampshire, USA
Pam Erdmann started working for the Center for Mindfulness (CFM) at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in 1993. Before joining the CFM, Pam was the Associate Chairperson of the Counseling Psychology Department at Antioch/New England University with a private therapy practice for families and adults. After joining the CFM, she first worked in the Prison Project and then in the Stress Reduction Clinic where she worked with corporations, educators and the general public. Since 2003, she continues to design and teach teacher training courses and supervise trainees at the University of Bangor, Wales, U.K. as well as reviewing certifications and supervising teachers for Oasis for the CFM. Currently she is teaching MBSR in the County House of Correction, Marlborough, NH. In her 78th year, Pam’s great passion is training “the next generation”. Her focus continues to be helping folks bring all of themselves into the classroom: vulnerability, courage and expertise. She believes that there be a commitment to living the curriculum rather than just “showing up,” focusing on presence not perfection. Pam is totally in love with MBSR supervision and all the folks with whom she has been fortunate enough to share the journey.
Micki Fine, M.Ed. L.P.C.
Location: Texas, USA
Micki Fine is the founder and director of Mindful Living in Houston, Texas. She is as passionate about spreading the practice of mindfulness as she was when she started teaching in 1995. She is credentialed as a Certified Mindfulness Teacher through the University of Massachusetts Medical Center (2005), holds a master’s degree in counseling psychology and is licensed as a professional counselor. She has been in private psychotherapy practice since 1990. Micki teaches Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction in a variety of settings including her private practice, Rice University and formerly, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center for patients, faculty and staff, among others. In addition, Micki has consulted on and taught for national grants (NIDA) studying mindfulness and its effects on chemical dependency recovery and smoking cessation. Micki is the author of The Need to Please: Mindfulness Skill for Gaining Freedom from Chronic People Pleasing and Approval Seeking, which has been translated into Spanish and French.
Allan Goldstein
Allan Goldstein is the Managing Director of the UC San Diego Center for Mindfulness, Certified MBSR Teacher, MBSR Practicum Teacher Trainer, and Mentor. Working in collaboration with Dr. Steven Hickman, Executive Director, he has contributed to the development and evolution of the UCSD CFM Professional Training Institute and Certification programs and the Center’s UC San Diego Health System’s group mindfulness programs and teaching staff. He is a member of the working committee of the Mindfulness International Integrity Network. Allan has had a passion for learning, teaching, and providing mentorship for teachers of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Programs since participating in his first program in 1993. He began his professional training at the UMass Center for Mindfulness in the year 2000. Allan has taught MBSR extensively to groups and individuals in various health care, university, military, business, and community settings, including the virtual world of Second Life. Allan’s strong passion for promoting and facilitating the valuable teachings found within MBSR and Mindfulness-Based Programs has propelled him on a journey that continues to unfold in mystery with his love for this sacred work.
Contact Allan Goldstein Visit his website mbsrmentorship.com
Trish Magyari MS LCPC
Location: Maryland, USA
Trish Magyari is a Certified MBSR teacher, mindfulness-based psychotherapist and Insight Meditation teacher who has taught the MBSR course over 70 times, specializing in trauma, chronic pain, illness, disability, anxiety, depression and grief. Trish completed the UMASS MBSR Teacher Development Intensive (TDI) under the direction of Jon Kabat-Zinn in 2000, as well as MBCT teacher training in 2003 and MSC teacher training in 2015. She served as Director of MBSR at the University of Maryland Center for Integrative Medicine (UM-CIM) and since 2003 has offered a professional MBSR/mindfulness-based therapy practicum, apprenticeship and supervision. Trish has developed the curriculum for and led the MBSR intervention in clinical trials at the NIH, UM-CIM, and Johns Hopkins Hospital for people with chronic pain conditions, for HIV positive urban youth, and for adults with PTSD from childhood sexual abuse. Trish is also a registered yoga teacher and certified LifeForce Yoga practitioner, specializing in yoga for anxiety, depression and PTSD. She has a passion for supporting developing teachers in reaching their professional goals and draws on her experience of providing almost 1,000 hours of one-on-one supervision to graduate counseling students at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health.
Contact Trish Magyari Call her mobile 443-939-0232 Visit her website trishmagyari.com
Kate Mitcheom MSN CNM RYT
Location: Connecticut, USA
Kate Mitcheom has been practicing meditation since 1991 and teaching meditation since 1995. She received her Master’s Degree in Nursing from Yale University in 1981. In 1995 and 1997 she trained with Jon Kabat-Zinn, PhD., founder of the internationally acclaimed Stress Reduction Clinic at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center in Worcester. In 1996 she founded the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Program (MBSR) at the Fair Haven Community Health Center in New Haven, CT, where she teaches meditation to pregnant women and their partners in the inner-city and offers MBSR for patients with chronic and life-threatening illnesses. Kate has also taught Mindfulness in schools and completed training in MBCT (Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy) with Susan Woods in 2011. She is certified by and teaches for the Center for Mindfulness at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center, offers consulting, conference presentations and staff development training for hospitals, health centers, schools and universities throughout Connecticut and New England. Kate completed Yoga Teacher Training with Todd Norian and has been teaching yoga for the past 15 years. She also completed a four year study in Energy Medicine with the Institute of Healing Arts and Sciences in Hartford, CT. Since 1995, she has attended approximately 15 silent meditation retreats of 7-14 days duration at the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, MA. In 2013 she completed a year long Integrated Study and Practice Program at the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies.
She lives in Branford, CT where she and her husband of over thirty years raised their three children.
Contact Kate Mitcheom Visit her website katemitcheom.com
Gwen Morgan MA MSW RSW
Location: Toronto, Ontario
Gwen Morgan is a clinical Social Worker with over 25 years of experience working in medical settings with a focus on stress management and chronic illnesses. She discovered mindfulness meditation in 2002 in the midst of coping with the ‘full catastrophe’ of being a working Mom with four children. In 2007, she completed the 7-day MBSR professional training with Jon Kabat-Zinn and Saki Santorelli. She has also trained in mindful eating, is a Certified Level 2 MBCT facilitator, and a Certified Teacher of MBSR with the UC San Diego Mindfulness-Based Professional Training Institute. Over the years, Gwen has run a mindfulness group program, called Finding Balance, for patients with diabetes, as well as MB-EAT, MBCT and MBSR programs for diverse populations. Gwen has also trained professionals supervising their Social Work Practicum and through workshops, medical rounds, community talks and presentations that included an introduction to MBCT for the Ontario Association of Social Workers and Social Service Workers. Most recently, Gwen was an Assistant to Susan Woods and Alan Goldstein at The Centre’s MBSR Intensive Training and Retreat.
Paul Sugar
Location: Arizona, USA
Paul Sugar is the Founder and Director of the Scottsdale Institute for Health and Medicine. Paul completed the advanced MBSR teacher training in 1994 at the Center for Mindfulness pioneered by Jon Kabat-Zinn at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center and is a Certified MBSR instructor through the Center for Mindfulness at UCSD. He has taught over 80 8-week MBSR and MBCT programs and has delivered hundreds of mindfulness-based workshops for over the last 20 years. Paul has taught mindfulness in the healthcare, corporate, academic, sports and private sectors. In addition, he created The Attention Academy school program in 1998 which has become a seminal mindfulness in the schools study. He has also spearheaded a number of other mindfulness-based studies in the healthcare field. Paul has been practicing and teaching meditation, yoga and tai chi for over 40 years. In his role as business entrepreneur he has founded and operated a number of service related businesses in the healthcare field and serves on the Board of Directors of three mindfulness-based non-profit organizations. Beyond combining management, financial and marketing skills to maximize the growth of these organizations, Paul has applied the principles of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and Peak Performance to create a uniquely effective business model.
Contact Paul Sugar Visit his website stressbeaters.com
Helen Vantine PhD
Location: Georgia, USA
Helen Vantine is the founder and co-director of the Atlanta Mindfulness Institute. She has a private psychotherapy practice where she practices mindfulness-based psychotherapy. She is credentialed as an MBSR teacher through the Center for Mindfulness at the University of Massachusetts, and has been a teaching assistant for the CFM at the Omega Institute. She is also trained as a Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy teacher through UCSD. She has taught mindfulness and MBSR extensively in corporations, health care settings, universities, and government agencies, as well as teaching over 500 individuals in MBSR courses over that past 9 years. In addition, she has led a number of supervision groups in the practice of mindfulness-based psychotherapy. Helen has had a meditation practice since 1971. For the past 20 years she has studied Buddhism, both in the Zen tradition and the Theravada tradition. She is currently enrolled in the Community Dharma Leader Program at Spirit Rock. Helen believes that meditation is the fundamental practice for raising consciousness. For the past 10 years she has found that MBSR programs are an amazingly effective tool for raising consciousness by introducing meditation and mindfulness in a systematic, accessible and thoughtful manner. In addition to open enrollment courses, the Atlanta Mindfulness Institute has offered Mindfulness and Psychotherapy, an 8-week course based on MBSR targeting psychotherapists and health care professionals. This course has introduced over 250 psychotherapists to the practice of mindfulness-based psychotherapy and Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction.
Livia F. Walsh MS MA RN LMFT
Location: California, USA
Livia F. Walsh is a Nurse and a licensed Psychotherapist in private practice in Encinitas, California. In her 40+ years of professional practice, she pursued training in the areas of holistic/integrative health including mindfulness. She is the founder of Mindfulness For Health and Well-Being which offers programs such as Living a Mindful and Compassionate Life. She is a certified MBSR teacher, trained at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center under the direction of Jon Kabat-Zinn, Saki Santorelli and the senior teaching staff.
She is a Senior Guiding Teacher and Mentor at University of California San Diego Center for Mindfulness. Livia is also a certified Mindful Self-Compassion teacher at UCSD and completed her training with Kristen Neff, Chris Germer, Steve Hickman and Michelle Becker. She has integrated mindfulness in her work as a nurse and psychotherapist with patients, students/ and interns. She teaches MBI’s to the professional and clinical staffs and interns in settings including hospice, hospitals, cancer centers, senior and community centers. She has presented Mindfulness based workshops/programs to such populations as nurses, physicians, teachers, psychotherapists and clergy. She believes strongly in the mind-body connection and in an integrative approach to attaining and sustaining optimal health and well-being
Livia has taught meditation practices for over 30 years and received teachings from several teachers/masters in the Tibetan and Zen Buddhist traditions. She is ordained in Thich Nhat Hanh’s Order of Inter-being and continues to be a student, teacher and practitioner.
Char Wilkins MSW LCSW
Location: Connecticut, USA
Char Wilkins is a mindfulness-based psychotherapist trained to teach Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), and Mindful Eating/Conscious Living (ME-CL) programs. She has been awarded teacher certification in MBSR by the Center for Mindfulness, UMass Medical School, Worcester, MA. Char specializes in working with women who have experience childhood abuse and struggle with depression, anxiety and disordered eating. As a senior trainer at UCSD Professional Training Institute, she is currently a lead facilitator for the MBSR foundational program and both ME-CL 1 & 2 trainings. Char particularly enjoys mentoring one-on-one those teachers-in-training engaged in deepening their practice and further their teaching skills in MBSR, ME-CL or MBCT. She has had a longstanding meditation practice that includes extended yearly retreats and is currently studying Qigong and Taijiquan. An experienced facilitator and mentor she is never without her sense of humor and a few mindless moments!
Contact Char Wilkins Visit her website amindfulpath.com
Susan Woods, MSW., LICSW
Location: Vermont, USA
Susan Woods created the MBSR and MBCT certification programs at the MBPTI. Susan’s passion is to create professional trainings that provide depth and quality leading to best practice skills that support competency in the delivery of mindfulness-based programs. Susan has been teaching MBSR and MBCT for many years. She is a certified MBSR teacher through the Center of Mindfulness, University of Massachusetts Medical Center where she was a teacher. Since 2005, Susan has been leading professional training programs in MBSR and MBCT and has taught at venues worldwide. She is an MBSR/MBCT mentor and supervisor, and a professional advisor on various MBCT clinical trials. Susan has presented on the clinical application of mindfulness at numerous conferences and is a published author on the training of health professionals in mindfulness-based skills. Susan is a graduate of the two-year Community Dharma Leaders program at Spirit Rock Meditation Center, Woodacre, CA. She is a certified yoga teacher.
Susan is currently unable to accept new mentees. Website: www.aconsciouslife.org
French Speaking MBSR Mentor
Joe Flanders, PhD OPQ
Dr. Joe Flanders is the founder and director of the MindSpace (in Montreal). He obtained his PhD in Clinical Psychology from McGill University and completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Dr. Flanders is an assistant professor (professional) in the McGill University Psychology Department. He is a licensed psychologist and a member of the Quebec Order of Psychologists. At MindSpace, he offers Mindfulness–Based Stress Reduction and Mindfulness–Based Cognitive Therapy to individuals, groups, and organizations. Dr. Flanders works with clients in English and in French.
Spanish Speaking MBSR Mentor
Allan Barboza
Location: Costa Rica
Allan Barboza is the Founder and Director of the Centro Costarricense para Mindfulness (Costa Rican Center for Mindfulness) in Central America, a certified MBSR Teacher and a Certified Mindfulness-Based Psychotherapist. He also has been trained in Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy and along with his passion to bring mindfulness practices to the adult populations, he received the curricular training from Mindful Schools and initiated the first educational institution in Costa Rica that included in its curriculum a mindfulness-based protocol which he currently supervises. One of Allan’s main interests is to spread MBSR to Latin American communities and countries, a task that he started by translating important material to Spanish, co-teaching also in South America and becoming a Spanish speaking MBSR Mentor. His passion around contemplative practices enables him to continue to dedicate time to study, practice and investigate, and in 2013, he participated in the first mindfulness meditation oriented research in his country. As the pioneer of Mindfulness Based Interventions (MBIs) in Costa Rica and a committed practitioner of Zen meditation, Allan is a true supporter of maintaining the essence and the ethics around this noble practice as a way to guarantee a responsible approach to all these interventions. (Allan’s bio in Spanish)
Contact Allan Barboza Visit his website: mindfulnesscr.com