Mindful Self Compassion Course

Transform how you relate to yourself ​
​and how you show up in the world
through ​28 hours of live immersive online training

About Mindful Self-Compassion


We all make mistakes, have bad days, and have all manner of difficult experiences. There is simply no way to avoid them, no matter how hard we try.​
When facing those inevitable painful experiences most of us unleash our inner critic who believes that being hard on us will push us to be better.  Perhaps you are familiar with phrases like:​​
  • “Just buck up and keep going.”
  • “Others have it worse than you, so why are you complaining?”
  • "I can't believe I just said that. That was so stupid!"​

We can respond differently
​
Or perhaps you have a perfectionist part that wants so much to protect you from being laughed at that it tries to protect you by criticizing you in advance, which just leads to procrastination. Or perhaps you, like so many of us, have a people pleasing part that believes you are unworthy and makes you change from who you really are so that you will fit in, which just leads to increasing anxiety. 

​While the inner critic might mean well, most of us just end up feeling exhausted and never good enough.

​Research shows that while harsh self-criticism gets us out of the chair, it does not get us to the goal line.

We simply can’t criticize ourselves into being happier, healthier or more successful.


​Research shows that long term well being is actually created when we bring the same kindness to ourselves that we would extend to a friend who is struggling. Simply put, through staying warm hearted we can stay clear headed and make better choices.
 
Yet we resist in giving ourselves this kindness and compassion. Why?
 
Self-Compassion training explores why we do this and then develops our emotional resources to respond differently, to meet challenges from a position of strength and kindness​, which brings greater ease to our experience. To do this we first get to know how we respond when life is difficult and then practice a wide variety of techniques to help us become a more supportive companion to ourselves. ​

​For many of us the idea of self-compassion can bring up a whole host of cringing responses, doubts and arguments.
  • “Isn’t that being selfish, I have others to care for first”
  • “If I let go of my drive I will become lazy and never succeed”
  • “That is just for wimps, and I have to be strong”
  • ​“I have plenty of self-esteem, I don’t need self-compassion”

​These and other misgivings are valid concerns and we encourage you to bring your doubts to the Free Introduction session.

Take the test

Curious about your current level of self-compassion?

Kristen Neff’s 
​Self-Compassion Test.

​The simple fact is that when we criticize ourselves we’re tapping into the body’s threat-defense system, aka our stress system. The one that when left unchecked leads to burnout, depression, anxiety, and that keeps us mired in comparison and perfectionism, and leads to procrastination – all states that make it hard to be your best self!
 
The research shows that motivating ourselves in a kinder way leads to:
  • Greater creativity and creative risk taking
  • Less fear of failure and more persistence after failing
  • Less rumination
  • Less self indulgence
  • More resilience in tough situations like divorce or chronic disease
  • More engaged and supportive in romantic relationships

Mindful Self-Compassion teaches you how to:


  • Motivate yourself with kindness rather than criticism
  • Handle difficult emotions with greater ease
  • Respond to feelings of failure or inadequacy with self-kindness
  • Transform difficult relationships, old and new
  • Manage caregiver fatigue
  • Practice the art of savoring and self-appreciation
  • Understand the empirically-supported benefits of self-compassion
  • Demonstrate simple self-compassion practices to friends, clients, patients, or students
  • Practice self-compassion in daily life
​

Course Description

​The Mindful Self-Compassion course has been taught and researched for over twenty years. As of 2024 there are over seven thousand studies on self-compassion. The co-creator of the course, Kristin Neff, PhD, was one of the first to research self-compassion and created the Self-Compassion Scale that is still used today.
 
The course is 28 hours of live experiential training delivered online over nine weeks. The sessions are three hours long with the exception of the mini-retreat which is four hours.
 
The training introduces you to large buffet of self-compassion techniques so that you can find the ones that work best for your unique personality. In total it offers:
  • 20 informal practices
  • 14 exercises
  • 7 meditations
  • over 25 discussion topics
 
The training is highly experiential and it also includes conceptual learning. It is an interactive shared space of learning that utilizes breakout rooms and discussions so that we can experience not being alone in our struggles while still being able to choose your level of participation.​
​The course is suitable for everyone and is geared for the general public.

It also suitable for professionals such as mental health and healthcare providers, meditation and mindfulness instructors, yoga teachers, wellness coaches, and educators at all levels.

If you are familiar with the concepts of self-compassion but have not yet taken an experiential training in which you immerse yourself in the practice alongside others, this training can be quite transformative.
  
While it utilizes some meditations as a learning technique it is not meditation training. Instead it uses techniques that can be used in everyday life when we most need them.

​While it makes use of mindfulness it is not mindfulness training. In fact, no previous experience with mindfulness or meditation is required to attend the course.

If you have tried and disliked mindfulness or meditation you may find a new experience once Self-Compassion with its warmth and kindness is added in.​

​While the course can be therapeutic, it is not therapy. Thus participants are responsible for their personal safety and wellbeing and agree to practice self-care throughout the program. Also, because the course does engage emotional content it is not appropriate for people currently facing a major loss or trauma.

Free Intro Session
Discover if Mindful Self-Compassion training is right for you.

Join us for a 90 minute introduction to Mindful Self-Compassion free of charge. In this session you'll get a good taste of how the full course flows and a better idea of what Mindful Self Compassion is all about.

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​
to hear about future Intro sessions.

Course Details

  • The course is 9 weeks with 3 hour long sessions (one is 4 hours long)
  • The course is entirely live online via Zoom
    • It is interactive and includes breakout room discussions thus you will need to keep your video on at all times.
  • As a companion for the course The Mindful Self-Compassion Workbook (Neff & Germer, 2018) is highly recommended.
  • To receive a certificate of completion you may only miss two sessions.
    • Course completion meets the pre-requisite to attend weekly online support groups for continuing practice via the Center for Mindful Self Compassion
    • The course meets a pre-requisite to enter MSC teacher training via the Center for Mindful Self Compassion.  
  • For those familiar with MSC, this is the “8 Week Mindful Self Compassion course" that includes an additional week for retreat.
  • Participants are responsible for their personal safety and wellbeing and agree to practice self-care throughout the program.
  • We do not currently offer CEU’s or CE’s for this training

Instructors

Ali Franklor
Ali is a certified coach specializing in transformational life and creativity coaching. She brings decades of meditation practice, solopreneurship, Buddhist study, creativity, and self development experience. ​She is also a recovering perfectionist who dabbles in most artforms.
Michelle Krasny
Michelle is a Vermont-based Career Coach with a background in neuroscience and behavior. Since 2016 she has helped clients find fulfilling careers using a blend of Mindful Self Compassion, IFS, and professional coaching techniques. ​She lives with her partner and 2 dogs and in her free-time is a massive fiber nerd.

Course Dates

​The course is generally offered 12-3pm ET via Zoom

Week 1     12-3pm ET - Discovering Mindful Self-Compassion
Week 2     12-3pm ET - Practicing Mindfulness
Week 3     12-3pm ET - Practicing Kindness
Week 4     12-3pm ET - Discovering Your Compassionate Voice
Week 5     12-3pm ET - Living Deeply
Week 6     12-4pm ET - Retreat
Week 7     12-3pm ET - Meeting Difficult Emotions
Week 8     12-3pm ET - Exploring Challenging Relationships
Week 9     12-3pm ET - Embracing Life

* the sixth session will be one hour longer, ending at 4pm ET

Prior to the start of the course, attendance at an Intro to Mindful Self-Compassion session is required. See above for dates.

Upcoming Course Dates?

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Fee

$695 - 495 sliding scale. 
We are grateful for those who can afford the full course fee as it subsidizes those with fewer resources. 

If this cost is prohibitive we have a limited number of scholarships available. Please contact us for details. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Why such a long course and meeting time?
This course is a fully immersive experience so that you have time to shift into embodying the practices so that it becomes habit. We want there to be enough time so that the instinct to use this new super power comes on automatically when you need it.

The meeting time is longer than other courses because most of us have a hard time shifting down into the settled place that supports learning at this level. So it gives the time that most of us need to really shift into this new way of being. In a way you might find that each meeting is like a mini-retreat from daily life.
​
When we start something new or when we initiate a change there are always parts of us who protest or perhaps even sabotage our efforts. This course gives us plenty of time for those parts to show up, tell their story, and experience the loving acceptance of self compassion. In other words to be given what they need so that they might join our inner team of supporters.
What will we be doing in the course?
This course will introduce you to 20 informal practices, 14 exercises, 7 meditations, and over 25 discussion topics to help you find the best support for your self-compassion practice. Each of us needs different approaches at different times, so we offer this variety so that you can find what best supports you now and in the future.

It is an interactive shared space of learning that utilizes breakout rooms and discussions so that we can experience not being alone in our struggles while still being able to choose your level of participation.​
​
In the course we examine the science and physiology of compassion, techniques to minimize overwhelm, experiences of encountering difficult emotions, and many practices around receiving caring attention. It looks at the inner critic as well as who we want to be. It explores how to hold ourselves kindly when our relationships become difficult and when we experience care-giving fatigue. It also fills us up with appreciating our good qualities and savoring our experiences. 
Do I have to spend time practicing?
Can’t I just read articles or watch a video to learn this? Do I actually need to do the exercises?

Research shows that there is a direct correlation between the amount of time spent practicing Self-Compassion and the benefits received from the practice. It also shows that those benefits are received regardless of if the practice has been formal (dedicated time and attention) or informal (used on the fly in daily life).

As part of being humans, it turns out that when we are learning something new we have to spend considerable time actually doing it. It is just the way that we humans build new neural pathways. 

Just like when you start going to gym you have to put in a lot of effort at the beginning to lose the weight or gain the muscle. But after a period of dedicated effort you can then move into a maintenance phase that requires a lot less time and effort because you are no longer changing or building but simply maintaining. 

You will find that this is the same case here.
​
The main difference between the gym and MSC is that with practice you may just find that these tools and techniques bring relief and enjoyment!
Do I need to buy the Workbook?
The workbook offers a very different engagement with the practice of self-compassion than attending a live course, but it does cover the bulk of the course content and exercises so we highly recommend it as a companion to the course.

One of the three components of MSC is common humanity, the feeling that you are not alone and that there are others who have experiences very similar to your own. The power of feeling common humanity cannot be understated, and it can only really be felt in live group engagement. 

The Mindful Self-Compassion Workbook (Neff & Germer, 2018)
Is there any research?
As of the end of 2024 there are over seven thousand studies on Self-Compassion.

Kristin Neff, PhD offers a host of research on her site. Both her own research and a list of research by others.
​
The Center for Mindful Self Compassion maintains an ongoing list of research. See their site for links about research into:
  • Self-Compassion for Healthcare focusing on addressing Physician Burnout
  • The MSC adaption for Teens
  • The effectiveness of Self-Compassion as applied to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB)
  • Self-Compassion as an Antidote To Shame 
Who developed MSC training?
The Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) curriculum was developed by Kristin Neff, PhD and Christopher Germer, PhD. The curriculum is managed by the Center for Mindful Self Compassion

Kristin Neff, PhD was one of the first researchers of Self-Compassion over 20 years ago. She developed the Self-Compassion Scale that is still in use today. (Take the test yourself at Self-Compassion Test.). Her seminal articles were first published in 2003.

Christopher Germer, PhD is clinical psychologist and lecturer on psychiatry (part-time) at Harvard Medical School. He has co-edited two influential volumes — Mindfulness and Psychotherapy, and Wisdom and Compassion in Psychotherapy — and he is a founding faculty member of both the Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy and the Center for Mindfulness and Compassion, Cambridge Health Alliance, Harvard Medical School.
Both Neff and Germer have a number of powerful books about self-compassion.
Are there books on Self-Compassion?

For teens
  • The Self-Compassionate Teen: Mindfulness and Compassion Skills to Conquer Your Critical Inner Voice Karen Bluth (Author)  Kristin Neff (Foreword by), 2020

For helping professionals
Will Mindful Self-Compassion Assist my child?
Yes. There are two adaptations of this material for young people.

The MSC Teens Course is an eight week research backed course for ages 12-17. And there are a number of books written for teens (see above).

The Embracing Your Life is an adaptation of the course for ages 18-35. 
Is there more to learn after this course?
Yes, your journey with Mindful Self-Compassion can continue.

There are a number of courses and opportunities offered by the Center for Mindful Self-Compassion including:
  • Fierce Self-Compassion
  • Self-Compassion for Shame
  • Circles of Practice – ongoing weekly gatherings
  • Various workshops and retreats for program graduates
Each of which serve to deepen and enrich your practice.