Mindful Healthcare Scholars program (MHS) is a uniquely tailored interprofessional program for people working in or want to work in any clinical system such as hospitals, healthcare systems, primary care, community health centers, mental healthcare, addiction treatment, and other healthcare institutions. This program aims to provide a year-long curriculum with education from mindfulness experts, in-person and virtual workshops, mentorship, implementation guidance, and real-life projects to bring evidence-based, Mindfulness-Based Interventions (MBIs) into your healthcare system, using insurance coverage and other innovative payment models. At the end of this program, scholars will be qualified to provide leadership on implementation of MBIs into a healthcare setting.

Components of the Program

  • 12 month program starts June 13, 2024

  • In-person introductory workshop in the Boston area

    • 2 days, June 13 and 14; live online option will be available

  • Monthly live online sessions with faculty and guest speakers

    • Typically the first Wednesday of each month for 1.5 hours

  • Monthly small groups for practice, peer support, and project planning, 1 hour each month

Three happy hospital workers, one mixed race male, a white female, and a black male, sitting next to each other at an angle as though they are listening to someone off camera talking.

Invited Faculty Includes:

 

Carl Fulwiler, MD, PhD

 
  • Mindfulness, Self-Compassion, and Leadership

    Mindfulness-Based Interventions in Healthcare Settings

    Best Patient Practice Models

    Developing Your Personal Mindfulness Practice

    Identifying Payment Models for Financial Stability

    Types of MBIs: Which is right for you?

    Communicating MBI Proposal to Upper Leadership

    Self-Compassion for Burnout Prevention

    Trauma-Informed Mindfulness and Adaptations for Diverse Populations

    Overview of MBI Clinic Procedure and Clinic Workflows

    Embodying Mindfulness in the Healthcare Setting

    Evaluating Your Groups

    Improving Leadership Skills: team building, change management, and interprofessional

    Building Your Support Network: peer scholars, alumni, and faculty

  • A Mindful Healthcare Scholar is someone working in or who wants to work in a healthcare setting who has clinical, managerial, or administrative responsibilities and is seeking to lead the implementation of evidence-based mindfulness-based intervention groups within their clinical site. This leader does not need to have any prior mind/body experience and does not need to be a healthcare clinician. Mindful Healthcare Scholars can take the program on their own, and have the opportunity to include a team from their clinical site to participate in some aspects of the MHS program. For example, a team may include an administrator, billing person, clinic manager, scheduler, nurse, clinician, and potential clinical group leaders.

  • There are numerous clinical trials showing how evidence-based MBIs can reduce depression, anxiety, stress, blood pressure, cardiovascular risk, and chronic pain, while also helping people make healthy behavior change and self-manage chronic illness. Mindfulness training in healthcare also helps reduce clinicians’ stress and burnout, improve communication, and increase the overall well-being of healthcare providers.

    Examples include: 

    Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)

    Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT)

    Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC)

    Mindful Behavior Change, a program studied and created by CMC’s research team.

    Integrated Group Medical Visits (IGMV)

    Yoga

    Qigong

    Tai Tai Chi

  • The Center for Mindfulness and Compassion (CMC), established in 2014, is part of the Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA) healthcare system, a Harvard Medical School (HMS) teaching hospital. CMC is a research, training, and clinical center, working to integrate evidence-based mindfulness and compassion practices into primary care, mental health, and outpatient healthcare settings. Examples include:

    CMC’s MINDFUL-PC project, which integrated mindfulness into primary care across the CHA healthcare system, has been studied in several clinical trials and has been disseminated to several other healthcare systems. 

    The Mindful Mental Health Service, which was founded 8 years ago and has had more than 5,000 healthcare system referrals, now offers a core set of referral-based, insurance reimbursable MBI services for hundreds of patients every year. 

    Our team has already provided implementation consultation for other healthcare settings such as Beth Israel Lahey Health Primary Care, the Marino Center for Integrative Health; Boston Medical Center; Cambridge Health Alliance; and The Mandela Yoga Project.

  • CMC specifically designed Mindful Behavior Change with groups that are insurance reimbursable and integrated into the healthcare system. In order for MTPC* groups to be led as an insurance-reimbursable modality, at least one group leader should be a licensed clinician in the state where the group is offered.

    *If your identified group leader is not trained in an MBI and is interested in becoming trained in MTPC, which is specifically designed to be led in clinical settings, please learn more about the MTPC Group Leader Training pathway. See below for discounts on Professional Training Packages.

  • Kiera Fredericksen, LICSW, Scholars Program Co-Director

    Paula Gardiner, MD, MPH, Scholars Program Co-Director

    Zev Schuman-Olivier, MD, Scholars Program Co-Director

For even more details, watch this recent video of Dr. Paula Gardiner

discussing some of the information you’ll dive into deeply through this curriculum.

 
 

Mindful Healthcare Scholars are Team Leaders

Mindful Healthcare Scholars who have teams at the healthcare site will be given additional preference during admission consideration. Healthcare systems will receive a 50% discount on the 2nd and 3rd additional team members. Organizational pricing for groups larger than 3 individuals is available upon request.

Each Mindful Healthcare Scholar can identify others in their healthcare system to participate in lecture days. Common team members include billing experts, practice managers, nursing team members, potential group co-leaders [including licensed clinicians and community mindfulness teachers], front desk registration staff, etc.

 

Apply Now

Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis through May 30, 2024. There will be a competitive application process for a limited number of spots based on:

  1. Letter of support from upper leadership for developing or improving an existing mindfulness program and/or a letter of recommendation from someone who has worked with you

  2. The ability to develop a team to support group delivery and MBI implementation

  3. Potential for MBI programs being implemented for clinical populations

Cost, Discounts, Scholarships, Refunds

  • Early Bird: before March 15, 2024 - $3,500

    Regular Registration: until April 20, 2024 - $3,900

    Late Registration: after April 20 and  before program starts June 13, 2024 - $4,900

  • Our scholarship spots have been filled for this program.

  • $1,000 off Regular or Late Registration for CHA physicians, $1,500 off Regular or Late Registration for CHA non-physician clinicians.

  • A full refund will be issued, minus a $100 processing fee, for cancellations made up to two weeks before the start date of the training. A 50% refund will be issued for cancellation in the period between two weeks and two working days before the start of the training. No refund is available if cancellation is within 2 working days before the start of the training or once program training materials are received.

  • Mindful Healthcare Scholars can also apply for individual MBI group leader training pathways at a discount (when purchased during MHS registration). The following discounts are available:

    • 25% discount for the scholar registration and team on standard price of 8-week MBI groups at CMC, which count as prerequisites for group leadership level training

    • 25% discount for the scholar on our MBC Group Leader Training and Level 1 Certification

    • Fully Admitted Scholars are eligible for a 25% discount off the full tuition cost of the Institute for Meditation & Psychotherapy’s Certificate Program (when purchased upfront). To learn more about the Certificate Program and apply, click here.

 

Statement About Inclusivity 

We at CMC denounce acts of all forms of violence and racism. We denounce the persistent and dehumanizing systematic brutality against Black, Indigenous, and all communities of Color. We condemn oppression and its impact on intergenerational trauma, health, and well-being at the individual, community, and global levels. Learn more here.

If you have questions, please contact us: cmc@challiance.org

CE Information

We are in the process of applying for Continuing Education Credits and are hopeful we will be able to offer that option for the following professions.

  • Please check this page regularly for updates on the status of CME credit approval.

  • Please check this page regularly for updates on the status of CE credit approval.

  • Please check this page regularly for updates on the status of CE credit approval.

  • Please check this page regularly for updates on the status of CE credit approval.

  • Please check this page regularly for updates on the status of CE credit approval.

  • For the purpose of recertification, the American Nurses Credentialing Center accepts AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ issued by organizations accredited by the ACCME (Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education).

 
Photo of three hospital workers, white female, mixed race female, and black male, sitting crossed legged next to each other smiling.