Mindfulness and Compassion Grand Rounds at Harvard Medical School will be held about twice monthly, live online via Zoom, and will be accessible across Harvard Medical School, Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA), and members of the CMC community. Grand Rounds has 3 main aims:
Disseminate information about new cutting edge science and impactful clinical research findings
Highlight best practices for enhancing the efficacy, accessibility, and safety of mindfulness and compassion delivery and applications for population mental health
Provide opportunities for healthcare provider self-care and burnout prevention
Not able to attend live? Every lecture is recorded; a link to that recording is emailed the following day to all registrants.
2023/24 Academic Year
Subject of lecture - The Myth of Self-Improvement: Returning to the Heart of Who We Are
Date: Monday, April 22, 2024
Time: 1-2pm (ET)
Presenter: Caverly Morgan
Topic Description: When pursuing mindfulness practice it can be easy to fall for the story that, through practice, you’ll finally become the right person. While it’s certainly the case that utilizing the tools that a practice offers can increase the quality of one’s life, we sometimes forget to pause and question whether a distorted view of who we truly are is kept in place. This talk explores this central theme: “The reason self-improvement never works is that there isn’t actually a separate self to improve.” ~Caverly Morgan Join us for a shared exploration.
Presenter Bio: Caverly Morgan is a spiritual teacher, non-profit founder, speaker and author who blends the original spirit of Zen with a modern nondual approach. Her practice began in 1995 and has included eight years of training in a silent Zen monastery. Caverly has been teaching contemplative practice since 2001. She is the founder of Peace in Schools, a nonprofit that created the nation’s first for-credit mindfulness class in public high schools. Caverly is the author of The Heart of Who We Are: Realizing Freedom Together as well as A Kids Book About Mindfulness.
Learning Objectives:
Distinguish between an approach seeped in self-improvement vs. a liberatory one
Differentiate the “still small voice within” (as the Quakers speak of it) from the voice of the separate self
Practice inquiring into who you truly are
Continuing Education Information
For those seeking CE credit, the link to a feedback form will be sent during the live lecture in the Zoom chat. This must be filled out to receive CE; credits are processed at the end of the academic year in June 2024 for the entire Grand Rounds series. CE certificates are issued after that time. Although these sessions are recorded, we can only offer CE to those who attend live.
The Harvard Medical School is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians. The Harvard Medical School designates this live activity for a maximum of 1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
The Cambridge Health Alliance, Psychiatry Continuing Education Division, is approved by the American Psychological Association (APA) to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. The Cambridge Health Alliance, Psychiatry Continuing Education Division, maintains responsibility for this program and its content. This activity offers 1.0 continuing education credits.
The Cambridge Health Alliance, Psychiatry Continuing Education Division, has been approved by the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC) as an approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 5444. This program meets the requirements for 1.0 continuing education hours. CHA is solely responsible for all aspects of the program. This offering is also applicable for Commonwealth of Massachusetts Counseling/Allied Mental Health accreditation for a total of 1.0 credits.
As a Jointly Accredited Organization, Harvard Medical School is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved under this program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. Social workers completing this course receive 1 clinical continuing education credit.
An attendance attestation form will be shared during each event, before the Q&A session.
Previous Speakers
Sign up to get the link to the recordings here.
Is Mindfulness Self-Help Helpful for Depression?
Date: Monday, April 1, 2024
Time: 1-2pm (ET)
Presenter: Professor Clara Strauss BA (Hons) PhD DClinPsy
Living Wide Awake: Turning Fear into Compassionate Action
Date: Monday, March 18, 2024
Time: 1-2pm (ET)
Presenter: Koshin Paley Ellison Sensei, MFA, LMSW, DMIN and Chodo Robert Campbell Sensei, GC-C, Co-Founders and Co-Guiding Teachers of the New York Zen Center
Breathing and the Brain: Rhythm and Emotion
Date: Monday, March 4, 2024
Time: 1-2pm (ET)
Presenter: Jack L. Feldman, Distinguished Professor and David Geffen School of Medicine Chair in Neuroscience, Department of Neurobiology, UCLA
Integrating Mindfulness Into Healthcare
Date: February 12, 2024
Time: 1-2pm (ET)
Presenter: Paula Gardiner, MD, MPH
Liberation Ecotherapy: A Healing Justice Framework for Nature-based Social Prescribing for Mental Health
Date: January 29, 2024
Time: 1-2pm (ET)
Presenter: J. Phoenix Smith, MSW
The Role of Mindfulness in Reversing High Blood Pressure: Clinical Trial Discoveries
Date: Monday, December 18, 2023
Time: 1-2pm (ET)
Presenter: Eric B. Loucks, MD
Truth and Repair: How Trauma Survivors Envision Justice
Date: Monday, December 4, 2023
Time: 1-2pm (ET)
Presenter: Judith L. Herman, MD
The Power of Ceremony: Indigenous Contemplative Practices, Neurodecolonization, and Indigenous Mindfulness
Date: Monday, November 6, 2023
Time: 1-2pm (ET)
Presenter: Michael Yellow Bird, MSW, PhD, Dean and Professor
Mindfulness Based Real-Time fMRI Neurofeedback, Cathy Kerr Annual Memorial Lecture
Date: Monday, October 16, 2023
Time: 1-2pm (ET)
Presenter: Susan Whitfield-Gabrieli, PhD
Connecting Our Inner Work to the Outer World
Date: Monday, October 2, 2023
Time: 1-2pm (ET)
Presenter: Shelly Tygielski
What Actually Makes Us Happy?: Lessons from the Longest Study of Human Thriving
Date: Monday, September 18, 2023
Time: 1-2pm (ET)
Presenter: Robert J. Waldinger, MD
Mindfulness-Based Childbirth and Parenting: Preparing a New Generation for Birthing and Beyond
Date: Monday, June 5, 2023
Time: 1-2pm (ET)
Presenters: Nancy Bardacke, CNM, MA and Larissa Duncan, Ph.D.
The Buddha Arrives on Turtle Island: Decolonizing the Dharma
Date: Monday, May 15, 2023
Time: 1-2pm (ET)
Presenter: Dr. Eduardo Duran
Building Bridges, Not Walls: Applying Lessons from Contemplative Science to Enhance Equity and Inclusion in the Classroom, Clinic & Beyond
Date: Monday, May 1, 2023
Time: 1-2pm (ET)
Presenter: Doris F. Chang, PhD
Mindful Medicine: Healing Burnout and Replenishing Your Energy
Date: Monday, April 3, 2023
Time: 1-2pm (ET)
Presenter: Jan Chozen-Bays, MD
Contemplative Practices for Inclusive, Anti-Racist Clinical Engagement and Healthcare
Date: Monday, March 20, 2023
Time: 1-2pm (ET)
Presenter: Kamilah Majied, LMSW, PhD
The Minds and Mentors Program: Promoting Peer Support in Recovery Research
Date: Monday, March 6, 2023
Time: 1-2pm (ET)
Presenter: Mercy Ngosa Mumba, PhD, RN, FAAN
Mindful Resilience And Post Traumatic Post Pandemic Growth
Date: Monday, February 6, 2023
Time: 1-2pm (ET)
Presenter: Christopher Willard, PsyD
Mindfulness, Advanced Meditation, and Future Directions for Research
Date: Monday, December 19, 2022
Time: 1-2pm (ET)
Presenter: Matthew D. Sacchet, Ph.D.
Finding Balance in Difficult Situations: Awareness and Wisdom as a Practice
Date: Monday, December 5, 2022
Time: 1-2pm (ET)
Presenter: Alexis Santos
From Beast Machines to Dream Machines
Date: Monday, November 21, 2022
Time: 1-2pm (ET)
Presenter: Professor Anil Seth, D.Phil, MA, MSc
How To Be Your Best: Insights From Neuroimaging To Optimize Performance
Annual Cathy Kerr Memorial Lecture
Date: Monday, November 7, 2022
Time: 1-2pm (ET)
Presenter: Martin Paulus, MD
Radical Friendship in the Workplace: A Mindfulness Practice for Stressful Times
Date: Monday, October 17, 2022
Time: 1-2pm (ET)
Presenter: Kate Johnson
Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement: Clinical Outcomes and Biobehavioral Mechanisms of an Evidence-Based Therapy for Chronic Pain, Opioid Misuse, and Opioid Use Disorder
Date: Monday, October 3, 2022
Time: 1-2pm (ET)
Presenter: Dr. Eric Garland
Befriending Eco-Anxiety: Mindful Practices for Moving Through Grief, Loss, and Change
Date: Monday, September 19, 2022
Time: 1-2pm (ET)
Presenter: Kaira Jewel Lingo
Discovering the Extraordinary Gift of Being Ordinary: Overcoming Self-Doubt and Shame with Mindfulness and Compassion
Date: Monday, May 16, 2022
Time: 1-2pm (ET)
Presenter: Dr. Ronald D. Siegel
The Zen of Therapy: Bringing Mindfulness to Psychiatry
Date: Monday, May 2nd, 2022
Time: 1-2pm (ET)
Presenter: Dr. Mark Epstein
Social Justice in Clinical Practice: A Liberation Health Frame for Healthcare Providers
Date: Monday, April 4th, 2022
Time: 1-2pm (ET)
Presenter: Dr. Dawn Belkin Martinez
From Trauma to Liberation: A Journey to Self-Compassion
Date: Monday, March 21st, 2022
Time: 1-2pm (ET)
Presenter: La Sarmiento
The Mindful College Student: Approaches to Enhance Young Adults’ Health and Performance
Date: Monday, March 7th, 2022
Time: 1-2pm (ET)
Presenter: Dr. Eric Loucks
The Radical Act of Self-Preservation
Date: Monday, February 7th, 2022
Time: 1-2pm (ET)
Presenter: Leslie Booker
Finding Refuge, One Moment at a Time: Mindfulness-Based Trauma Recovery for Refugees
Date: Monday, January 31st, 2022
Time: 1-2pm (ET)
Presenter: Dr. Amit Bernstein
Does Mindfulness Help Migraine? What Does the Evidence Show?
Date: Monday, January 10th, 2021
Time: 1-2pm (ET)
Presenter: Dr. Rebecca Wells
Understanding and Building Empathy
Annual Cathy Kerr Memorial Lecture
Date: Monday, December 20th, 2021
Time: 1-2pm (ET)
Presenter: Dr. Jamil Zaki
The Intersection of Social Justice, Self-Care, Creativity, and Meditation
Date: Monday, December 6th, 2021
Time: 1-2pm (ET)
Presenter: Myozen Joan Amaral
Childhood Maltreatment, Brain Development and a New Understanding of What Resilience and Recovery May Entail
Date: Monday, November 15th, 2021
Time: 1-2pm (ET)
Presenter: Dr. Martin Teicher
Interlinked: Mindfulness and Compassion from an Asian American Lens
Date: Monday, November 1st, 2021
Time: 1-2pm (ET)
Presenter: Dr. Duncan Ryuken Williams
Bush Medicine: Nature as a Healing Practice for Communities of Color
Date: Monday, October 18th, 2021
Time: 1-2pm (ET)
Presenters: B. Anderson & Aki Baker
The Biopsychosocial Impact of Art on the Neurobiology of Stress: An Awareness-Based Approach to Healing Intergenerational Trauma
Date: Monday, October 4th, 2021
Time: 1-2pm (ET)
Presenter: Dr. Sará King
Interpersonal Neurobiology: The Social Brain and the Embodied Relational Mind
Date: Monday, September 20, 2021
Time: 1-2pm (ET)
Presenter: Dr. Dan Siegel
Mindfulness (-Based Cognitive Therapy) for Life: Ancient Wisdom meets Modern Psychology in the Contemporary World
Distinguished Harvard Medical School Lecture
Date: Monday, June 21, 2021
Time: 1-2pm (ET)
Presenter: Dr. Willem Kuyken
Mindfulness and Behavior Change: New Findings from 5 Years of Mindfulness Training in Primary Care Research
Date: Monday, June 7, 2021
Time: 1-2pm (ET)
Presenter: Dr. Zev Schuman-Olivier
Trauma and the Body: A Somatic Approach to Complex Traumatic Stress
Date: Monday, May 17, 2021
Time: 1-2pm (ET)
Presenter: Dr. Janina Fisher
Concept Construction in a Predicting Brain: A Paradigm for Studying Brain, Body and Mind
Annual Cathy Kerr Memorial Lecture
Date: Monday, May 3, 2021
Time: 1-2pm (ET)
Presenter: Dr. Lisa Feldman Barrett
From Absence to Presence: Restoring the Fragmentation of Collective Trauma
Date: Monday, April 19, 2021
Time: 1-2pm (ET)
Presenter: Thomas Hübl
Interoceptive Awareness Training as an Adjunct to Medication Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder
Date: Monday, April 5, 2021
Time: 1-2pm (ET)
Presenter: Dr. Cynthia Price
The Mindful Hospital: Mindful Community, Compassionate Care
Date: Monday, March 15, 2021
Time: 1-2pm (ET)
Presenters: Dr. Dzung Vo & Dr. Joanna McDermid
Mindfulness and Health Promotion in African American Communities
Date: Monday, March 1, 2021
Time: 1-2pm (ET)
Presenter: Dr. Natalie Watson-Singleton
Acceptance-Based Behavioral Therapy: Treatment for Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Other Applications
Date: Monday, December 21, 2020
Time: 1-2pm (ET)
Presenter: Dr. Lizabeth Roemer
Compassion as a Source of Resilience, Courage, and Joy
Date: Monday, December 7, 2020
Time: 1-2pm (ET)
Presenter: Dr. Thupten Jinpa
Help for Uncertain Times: Mindfulness and Compassion Practices in Action
Date: Monday, November 16, 2020
Time: 1-2pm (ET)
Presenter: Dr. Ronald Siegel
Heal Collective Trauma & Embody Anti-Racism
Date: Monday, November 2, 2020
Time: 1-2pm (ET)
Presenters: Gina LaRoche & Jennifer Cohen
Self-compassion: Helping people help themselves to transform population mental health
Date: Monday, October 26, 2020
Time: 1-2pm (EDT)
Presenter: Kristin Neff, PhD
Digitizing Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy to Increase Access to Care: Clinical Outcomes and Lessons Learned
Date: Monday, October 5, 2020
Time: 1-2pm (EDT)
Presenter: Zindel Segal, PhD
