Buddhist Psychology Training (BPT6) - Fall 2025

Buddhist Psychology Training: Integrating Mindfulness, Science, and Clinical Practice

Prerequisites

• General Prerequisite: Completion of at least one silent multi-day residential or multi-day online Insight Meditation retreat recommended by the start of the program (e.g. Spirit Rock, IMS, IRC, etc.)
• Professional Prerequisite: This program is designed with mental health professionals in mind, but is open to anyone with a sincere interest in the integration of Buddhism and psychological science.

Description

Deepen your understanding of meditation and nourish your work with clients in this training designed for clinicians, counselors, mindfulness teachers, and others providing mental health support. Join a community of peers for an in-depth exploration of mindfulness, Dharma, and science that will support both your personal practice and your work with others. This program is designed with mental health professionals in mind, but is open to anyone with a sincere interest in the integration of Buddhism and psychological science.

Through meditation, Dharma talks, discussions, small group explorations, and clinical case studies, you will develop greater confidence in applying mindfulness-based interventions with clients while enhancing your understanding of Buddhist psychology and meditation practices that illuminate our minds, foster goodness, and transform habits that compound suffering. This training is ideal for those who wish to explore their own minds and hearts as a springboard for best serving their clients, rather than those who are primarily seeking coaching on the implementation of mindfulness-based treatment manuals.

As counselors, we know that only when we’ve truly made ourselves a patient can we become a healer. Through our practice, we become the patient and come to understand, affirm, and ultimately, transform ourselves. This transformation then ripples outwards to our clients and community. This training brings both sides of ourselves—patient and healer—together as we practice and learn in community.

In the course of our time together, we’ll dive into the scientific research on mindfulness and its increasing prominence in psychotherapeutic interventions, exploring data regarding the efficacy of mindfulness and the mechanisms through which mindfulness confers its benefits. We will also examine the convergences and tensions between clinical research and Buddhist psychology and consider ways to integrate mindfulness into treatment. We’ll explore possible contraindications of mindfulness and how to tailor the intervention to individuals. Please join us.

Program Includes

• One 2-day opening retreat, and four daylong retreats (recorded)
• Monthly office hours (recorded)
• Self-study, including home practices, readings, and resources

Program Dates and Times

Program training period: August – December 2025
All meeting times: 9:00am – 3:00pm US Pacific Time

• Fri-Sat, August 22-23; Opening Weekend
• Sat, Sept 27
• Sat, Oct 25
• Sat, Nov 15
• Sat, Dec 13

Office Hours Dates & Times (All times in Pacific Time)

• Fri, Sept 12; 9:00am PT
• Fri, Oct 10; 9:00am PT
• Fri, Nov 7; 9:00am PT
• Fri, Dec 5; 9:00am PT

Continuing Education (CE) credit available:

This program offers 18 CE credits for $180 for psychologists, and California licensed MFTs, LCSWs, LEPs, LPCCs, nurses, and chiropractors. Please review our Continuing Education Credit information page to determine if your association or board will accept credits offered by Spirit Rock.***

Teachings are appropriate for health care professionals as well as the general public.

Learning Objectives for participating health care professionals-
At the end of the program you will be better able to:

• Describe at least two of the overlaps and differences between mindfulness-based treatment and Buddhist psychology;
• Describe the three clusters of meditative practice: attentional, constructive, deconstructive;
• List five types of emotion regulation;
• Describe the relevance of equanimity for emotional regulation;
• Describe how evolutionary biology informs contemporary understandings of emotion;
• Describe the parallels between Buddhist practice and exposure therapy;
• Explain the role of inflexible self-definition in the generation of difficult emotion;
• Explain the role of the brain’s default mode network and self-referential thought in emotional regulation;
• Describe Buddhist approaches to shame;
• Explain the differences between self-esteem and self-compassion;
• Describe how Buddhist practice is relevant for enhancing the therapeutic alliance;
• Describe three ways in which clinician mindfulness helps manage countertransference;
• Describe Buddhist approaches to anxiety;
• Utilize a mindfulness practice to improve emotional self-regulation while working with clients;
• Utilize equanimity and compassion practices for reducing stress and burnout;
• Utilize mindfulness practices to improve the ability to stay present in the moment, in ways that may improve patient care;
• Utilize body awareness practices to deepen your listening presence with clients.

Continuing Education content level: Introductory

Attendance requirement for CEC participants: Complete attendance at least 5 of the 6 days, live, on time, and in full.

CEC Schedule: (Times are listed in Pacific time.)
9:15am – 9:45am | Guided meditation Practice
10:30am – 12:00pm | Discourse
1:00pm – 1:30pm | Guided Meditation Practice
1:45pm – 3:00pm | Discourse & Consultation

***Please note:

• For full Provider information, and additional CEC information, including attendance requirements, cancellation, and grievance policies, please visit our Continuing Education Credit information page.
• For those with a different license than listed above, or with a license from a different board or association than listed on our CEC info page, please contact your licensing board or association directly to request pre-approval/acceptance of CE credits offered at Spirit Rock. Spirit Rock does not confirm the applicability of credit for those with licenses different than those listed.
• Spirit Rock is a provider approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing, Provider Number CEP16905 for 18 contact hours.
• Credit is awarded for instructional time only and does not include extended silent meditation, if offered.
• Potential Conflict of Interest Statement: This instructor may have authored publications relevant to the subjects covered in this course. The instructor might reference these publications during the course, and they may receive financial compensation if these publications are purchased.