Course summary

The information provided on this page was correct at the time of publication (November 2023). For complete and up-to-date information about this course, please visit the relevant University of Oxford course page via www.graduate.ox.ac.uk/ucas. This two-year part-time course offers experienced professionals from a range of backgrounds a unique opportunity to develop in-depth specialist knowledge and skills in mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) curricula. The course is best suited to applicants with professional experience in mental or physical healthcare, education or skills training, stress reduction, or other contexts that involve working with individuals and groups in supportive ways. The course offers an opportunity for in-depth learning and aims to foster a community of mindfulness practitioners and teachers with the expertise to deliver high-quality MBCT in a variety of settings, including healthcare, education, workplaces, criminal justice, government, and others, and who will contribute to the development and dissemination of MBCT. The course combines in-person learning in Oxford with online learning. In addition to the taught component, students will need to set aside six to seven hours per week for private study, personal practice related to MBCT, and completion of written assignments. Much of the teaching is interactive and experiential, and weaves together personal practice, skills training, theory, research and applications of MBCT. Students are supported in developing for themselves the understanding and skills they will be teaching to others. The course addresses the theoretical foundations of MBCT, including relevant aspects of psychological science, as well as aspects of Buddhist psychology and philosophy on which MBCT draws. It also provides opportunities for students to develop the practical skills they need to translate knowledge and understanding into competent MBCT teaching; that is, students are expected to develop for themselves the understanding and skills they will be teaching to others. Students will design and deliver a course of MBCT to an appropriate client group in their own place of work, with supervision from course tutors. The course covers four main topic areas:

• Theory and research, including psychological science related to health, wellbeing, and underlying psychological processes; relevant aspects of Buddhist psychology and philosophy and their contribution to MBCT, and empirical research on the effects of mindfulness practice, mechanisms of change, and application in a variety of contexts and populations;

• Experiential understanding of mindfulness developed through guided and independent personal practice and reflection on experiences of personal practice in light of theory, research, and underlying psychological processes;

• Teaching skills and professional competencies for delivering MBCT curricula skilfully and ethically in a range of contexts; students will deliver two courses of an MBCT curriculum to an appropriate client group in their own place of work, with supervision from course tutors.

• Communication skills for writing and speaking about mindfulness and MBCT.