This course is a level 4 Certificate accredited by the CPCAB and is for people who wish to develop and deliver their own Mindfulness and Compassion Programmes for individuals or groups.  

All applicants must meet all three prerequisites listed below:

1). Experience of mindfulness either through your own learning and experience and/or having completed the 8-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) course or similar either live, with a teacher and as part of a group or as E-learning.

And/or completion of the MindfulnessUK Compassionate Mindful Resilience (CMR) course.

All these are available from www.mindfulnessuk.com 

2). Achievement of Level 3 or higher qualification, in any subject or Recognised Prior Learning (RPL).  RPL must be agreed with Angie Ward Head of Teacher Training before applications can be accepted.  https://www.gov.uk/what-different-qualification-levels-mean

3). A sustained and regular personal mindful meditation practice over a minimum of 6 months.

If you are unsure if you meet these or would like an informal chat please contact us at info@mindfulnessuk.com or call the office on 01823 697527.

This is a 200-hour qualification.

MindfulnessUK provides a student handbook and meditations electronically as well comprehensive course notes in hard copy that we post to your home (if you reside within the UK and provide in a PDF to download if outside the UK.

There are a total 36 Guided Learning Hours (GLH’s) delivered face to face either in person or via Zoom, live with a Tutor and learners. These include all teaching and In-Class Assessments (ICA’s)working in pairs or small groups for all 8 Learning Outcomes.

There is pre-reading and preparation for GLH’s. All learners are expected to come to teaching sessions fully prepared.

There are 164 hours of Self-Directed Study (SDS) This includes the pre-reading, preparation, meditation practice and refection logs, reading course books, watching YouTube etc…as well as writing SDS assignments to meet set Assessment Criteria (AC’s) for 7 of the 8 Learning Outcomes. This SDS assignments submission dates are provided by the tutor at the beginning of each course.

All learners must complete the assignments sequentially and cannot move on to the next until all ACs are met.

Every learner utilises their time differently in line with their other commitments and this makes the SSD hours completely flexible.

The IMC Student handbook issued to all learners has further detail on assessment – here is a summary:

In Class Assessment (ICA) 

You will be given specific instructions on how to prepare for all 5 ICA’s after your tutor has covered the related teaching material.

You will be observed teaching in pairs or small groups demonstrating the four aspects of mindfulness and embodiment of mindfulness and compassion.

Self-directed Study (SDS) written assignments

All SDS assignments are completed after your tutor has delivered the course material within the teaching session. 

You are given clear assignment briefs and supportive video resources for SDS assignments are provided for learners to refer to at any time.

At level 4, assignments are required to be authentic, well-structured and presented, relevant to subject matter, meet Assessment Criteria and, where appropriate, demonstrate knowledge of both practical application and theory with wider reading and research with references.

Each cohort is encouraged to have a WhatsApp group so learners often ask each other and if in doubt contact the admin team or phone the office and an IMC tutor will respond asap, we are a friendly bunch at MindfulnessUK ?

No, you don’t need to have any particular background.  You may or may not have a specific group that you have expertise already in with and wish to teach them Mindfulness and Compassion or you may have never taught anything before and are looking for a new career path. There are no placements or clinical hours for this qualification.

This is a level 4, 200 hour, qualification accredited by the Counselling and Psychotherapy Central Awarding Body (CPCAB).  Learners learn how to develop and deliver Mindfulness, Self-Compassion and Compassion for Others practices that are bespoke to their existing clients and/or new clients in a robust and sustainable way.  Learners write assignments that meet Level 4 pre-set Assessment Criteria in order to gain the qualification and learn how to develop and deliver your own bespoke programmes, rather than be given a prescriptive programme to teach.

Completion of the IMC does not lead to a listing on the British Association of Mindfulness-based Approaches (BAMBA).

In comparison our comprehensive 12-month MBSRTT training pathway will equip you with all the knowledge, material and experience you need to deliver the MBSR to groups or individuals and become listed on BAMBA.  The 8-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) course is well-known, having been taught and researched since the 70’s.

No, the IMC is unique to MindfulnessUK.

Graduates go on to develop and teach their own bespoke programmes, having learnt how to do this in a safe, robust and sustainable way.

The course costs cover all teaching session (GLHs) course notes, meditations, handbook, assessments, Internal Moderation, Verification and certification (on completion of all Assessment Criteria).

For online IMC courses:  

The Cost as a one-off payment is £1675 plus £140 for a one-off registration with the awarding body, total cost £1815.  Payment is due on application in full or in instalment.

Instalments are £915 on application, followed by a second and third instalment of £500 debited automatically at later date. When you book (by clicking the instalment option when applying) you will be taken to a page that shows exact instalment amounts with dates)

Please be aware that paying by instalments incurs an additional charge of £100 overall due to additional administration and bank charge fees. 

For the Sharpham Residential IMC course: Costs as specified per the website and all payments and registration are via Sharpham House.

All Cancellation, Terms and Conditions on the website apply.

Additional costs for all IMC courses

There are 3 reading books we recommend, these are listed in your welcome letter and joining instructions.

Please also see FAQ 10 to see additional costs for deferrals.

They are 2 different courses and when you are applying you are choosing which course you wish to attend.

If you are choosing to apply for the residential training at Sharpham House, you must be available to attend all the dates listed on the website for that course as that is when all the GLH’s are delivered as an immersive course.  Applications are  via the link that says more information and booking. This takes you to Sharpham House website as they manage all the booking and payment.

If you are choosing to apply to a course delivered online, all the GLH’s are delivered completely via Zoom (dates towards the bottom of the webpage) then you need to make sure you can attend all dates listed for that course on the website and click the enrol now button which takes you directly to an application form.

The duration is usually between 9 and 14 months from start to finish.

Your final assignment submission date will be approximately 6 weeks after the final teaching session date.  The cohort’s work is then Internally Moderated and Externally Verified by the Awarding body and learners receive certification within 3 months of their final submission.

After Certification is received from the CPCAB, learners become graduates of the qualification, ready to develop and deliver Mindfulness and Compassion tailored to the needs of clients, both individuals and/or groups. Graduates receive a Trained Teacher Logo and are added to the Trained Teacher list on the MindfulnessUK website.

Missing a teaching session:

Learners must attend 80% of the GLHs.  However, if a learner misses any In Class Assessment (ICA) they are required to attend a Tutorial session with their tutor or attend an *alternative session with another cohort (*subject to availability) before they can attend their next GLH’s teaching session.

There are additional costs of £70 per hour if a learner requires catch up sessions with the tutor before re-joining their studies.

There is guidance for Absenteeism in the Student Handbook for learners to refer to and a schedule for teaching days, any ICA’s and written assignments submission dates for each cohort.

Deferrals:

If, due to unforeseen circumstances, learners need to pause their study they have an option to request a deferral.  This needs to be requested within one week of missing a teaching session by emailing the admin team with a clear reason for your request.  After which learners must meet with a tutor within 4 weeks to identify and agree an individual plan for continuing with a clear timeline, usually within one year of their original course end date.

There are additional costs of £70 per hour if a learner requires catch up sessions with the tutor before re-joining their studies.

Deferrals to other courses are dependent on availability, a deferral fee and any additional registration fee applies as per the terms and conditions on the website.

Leaving the course:

If, due to unforeseen circumstances, learners decide to leave their studies, they must inform the admin team by email who will amend all records accordingly. All Cancellation Terms and Conditions on the website will apply.

This depends on your skill set and previous experience, for example this is not a course specifically to teach children and young people.  However, many graduates who already have a background and expertise in this area use this qualification to do just this.

We encourage all our mindfulness graduates to join our Alumni Community and continue to connect with like-minded people and gain in-sight and knowledge from the MindfulnessUK team.  The community is owned by us all and is an opportunity to attend mindfulness-based business development training, take part in sitting groups, get access to updated course information, insightful research and collaborate with other trained teachers, as well as 10% off masterclasses and retreats.  To book please visit our Alumni page on the website.

These are covered in Learning Outcome (LO) 8 with detail and links given in our comprehensive course notes. We strongly recommend that IMC Graduates follow the BAMBA Good Practice Guidelines for Mindfulness teachers, GPGs include things like, these include having appropriate insurance to teach, supervision, regular retreats, commitment to professional development. These GPGs can be found at www.bamba.org

You can go on to complete a Conversion to MBSR Teacher Training and as an IMC Graduate you this would be half the teaching sessions and much less in cost. 

You can become a Compassion Mindful Resilience (CMR) 4 session course Trainer by attending the CMR Train the Trainer Programme.

Other Continuous Professional Development opportunities are all listed on the website and include, Masterclasses, E-learning, 8 week MBSR and Retreats.

The GPGs include attending 5 days of Retreat per annum, these can be completed as single days, 2 & 3 days or 5 days.  MindfunessUK offer a range, both online or in person. Full details on the website.