Certificate to Teach Mindfulness-Based College for Young Adults (MB College)

Learn to Teach Mindfulness

About Mindfulness-Based College for Young Adults

Evidence suggests that at this time in history, many young adults are experiencing high levels of stress, depressive symptoms, loneliness, body mass index, and sedentary activities. Young adulthood is also a remarkable time in life for opportunity, as neural pathways in the brain mature, and young adults build the foundation for their life’s directions, such as career, relationships, and health-promoting behaviors. Evidence suggests that mindfulness programs such as MB-College for Young Adults support health and well-being in ways adapted to young adults, who are destined to be the future of our societies.

About Teaching Mindfulness-Based College for Young Adults

This Certificate and pathway to teach Mindfulness-Based College for Young Adults is both a didactic and experiential training that fosters learning by doing, as well as learning by listening, reading and discussion.  While the program focuses on learning to teach mindfulness-based tools for college students and young adults, as a teacher-in-training, you will also develop and refine competencies that are aligned with those defined in the Mindfulness-Based Interventions Teacher Assessment Criteria (MBI:TAC), a researched and internationally recognized model for teachers of mindfulness-based programs.  This teacher training pathway also includes a review of the current research on mindfulness tools for young adults and the current state of societal influences on young adults.

Prerequisites

  • Completion of at least Level 1 MBSR or MBCT teacher training at a recognized training program, such as Brown, UMass, UCSD, Bangor, or GMC.
  • Documented experience and skill in working effectively and respectfully with young adults. 

Program Costs

Teacher Training for MB College for Young Adults Fee: $2,295
Certification Review Fee: $1,195
TOTAL: $3,490

MB College for Young Adults Teacher Training Curriculum and Certification Outline

Steps for Training to Teach Program
  1. Review videos or live MB-College class
  2. Complete self-reflections during observations that are submitted to teacher trainer for feedback. 
  3. Complete readings and submit self-reflection exercises.
    • Readings with completion of reading assignments
      • Required Reading
        • MB-College Curriculum
        • Arnett, J.J. Emerging Adulthood: The Winding Road from the Late Teens Through the Twenties. 2014. 
        • Loucks, E.B. The Mindful College Student: How to Succeed, Boost Well-Being, and Build the Life You Want at University and Beyond. 2022. 
        • Dawson AF, Brown WW, Anderson J, et al. Mindfulness-Based Interventions for University Students: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomised Controlled Trials. Applied psychology Health and well-being. Nov 19 2019;doi:10.1111/aphw.12188
        • Loucks EB, Nardi WR, Gutman R, et al. Mindfulness-Based College: A Stage 1 Randomized Controlled Trial for University Student Well-Being. Psychosom Med. Jul-Aug 01 2021;83(6):602-614. doi:10.1097/PSY.0000000000000860
        • Nardi WR, Elshabassi N, Spas J, Zima A, Saadeh F, Loucks EB. Students experiences of an 8-week mindfulness-based intervention at a college of opportunity: a qualitative investigation of the mindfulness-based college program. BMC Public Health. Dec 13 2022;22(1):2331. doi:10.1186/s12889-022-14775-5
      • Recommended (not required)
        • Treleaven DA. Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness: Practices for Safe and Transformative Healing. W. W. Norton & Company; 2018.
        • Proulx J, Croff R, Oken B, et al. Considerations for Research and Development of Culturally Relevant Mindfulness Interventions in American Minority Communities. Mindfulness (N Y). Apr 2018;9(2):361-370. doi:10.1007/s12671-017-0785-z
        • Tenfelde SM, Hatchett L, Saban KL. “Maybe black girls do yoga”: A focus group study with predominantly low-income African-American women. Complement Ther Med. Oct 2018;40:230-235. doi:10.1016/j.ctim.2017.11.017
        • Nagy GA, Cuervo C, Ramos Rodriguez EY, et al. Building a More Diverse and Inclusive Science: Mindfulness-Based Approaches for Latinx Individuals. Mindfulness (N Y). 2022;13(4):942-954. doi:10.1007/s12671-022-01846-2
  4. Participate in two half-day retreats where the MBC elements are explored and practiced with peer and teacher feedback.
  5. Complete Adaptation Module
    • Consider if MBC will be adapted to the populations and contexts that you serve, or if it will remain the same as the standard MBC. If you plant to adapt now or in the future, how would you do so? Resources are provided in the readings below about if, why, how and when to adapt MBC. 
    • Complete readings and self-reflection exercises
      • Loucks EB, Crane RS, Sanghvi MA, et al. Mindfulness-Based Programs: Why, When, and How to Adapt? Glob Adv Health Med. 2022;11:21649561211068805. doi:10.1177/21649561211068805
      • Crane RS, Brewer J, Feldman C, et al. What defines mindfulness-based programs? The warp and the weft. Psychol Med. Apr 2017;47(6):990-999. doi:10.1017/S0033291716003317
      •  Sanghvi M, Bell R, Bristow J, Stanway J-P. Fieldbook for Mindfulness Innovators. In: Sheffield, United Kingdom: The Mindfulness Initiative. www.themindfulnessinitiative.org; 2019.
    • In a small group, prepare a 10 minute group presentation on if, how, why and when to adapt MBC to a particular population or context. 
    • Participate in a 2 h live digital class module where the group explores how they plan to teach MBC, if they plan to adapt it, then use adaptation framework to do so, including the small group presentations. Finish with wrapping up the MBC teacher training program, and answer any remaining questions. 
Steps for Certification
  1. Teach MBC until confident that you are ready to apply for certification
  2. Film MBC, time stamp where MBC-specific elements take place, and submit for review where a teacher trainer assesses adherence to MBC curriculum, alongside qualitative feedback consistent with MBI-TAC domains. Must have ≥90% adherence and be skilled in MBI-TAC domains to become certified.  
  3. Submit film(s) for certification review.
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