Secular Mindfulness · Los Angeles, California, United States
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Training in Mindfulness Facilitation is run by UCLA Mindful Awareness Research Center. It trains practitioners to teach inside secular mindfulness, the lineage that runs from Jon Kabat-Zinn's MBSR program at UMass through MBCT and the wider evidence-based field. The program is delivered in a residential, in-person format, runs over a multi-month arc, and covers the contact hours typical for this format. The teaching grounds itself in the eight-week MBSR/MBCT scaffolding (body scan, sitting practice, mindful movement, inquiry, working with difficulty, communication), plus the research base behind each module. Trainees do not just learn the content. They sit through it, teach it back to peers, and have their delivery reviewed against the standards the field uses to assess teachers. The training carries IMTA Accredited accreditation, which signals a published competency framework, supervised teaching, and an external review process. Tuition sits at USD 7,500-10,000 (TMF pathway), putting it inside the normal price band for programs of this scope. Programs in this lane vary on rigor, lineage, and the population they prepare you to serve. This one identifies clearly with Secular Mindfulness and trains for that lane rather than blending traditions loosely. OMP lists Training in Mindfulness Facilitation because it represents a path inside Secular Mindfulness that a serious applicant can investigate. The page below pulls together what the program actually asks of you, how it teaches, who it suits, and where it sits next to its siblings. The residential, in-person form is the older shape of this work. It puts the trainee inside the practice for stretches at a time, with the teacher in the same room. Most lineage paths still default to this because the teaching skills the program is trying to grow are read in person, not on a screen. Anyone weighing this program against another in the same lane should compare them on three things: the lineage or accreditation behind the certificate, the supervised teaching hours built into the schedule, and what the program does (or does not do) in silence.
Curriculum for Training in Mindfulness Facilitation centers on the eight-week MBSR/MBCT scaffolding (body scan, sitting practice, mindful movement, inquiry, working with difficulty, communication), plus the research base behind each module. Across the full program, trainees move from foundational practice into supervised facilitation. Reading lists usually include the canonical texts of the tradition and the research literature where one exists. Written assignments check that trainees can articulate the practice clearly to a beginner without losing the ethical and contextual grounding the tradition assumes. By the second half of the program, the work shifts from learning the content to teaching it back, with peers and senior teachers reviewing inquiry skills, pacing, and the handling of difficult emotion in a group.
Delivery uses a residential, in-person format. The structural backbone is small cohorts, supervised teach-backs, written reflections, an in-silence retreat segment, and one-to-one mentorship. Cohort size is kept small enough that every trainee gets observed teaching feedback rather than a generic pass. Most programs in this lane build in a silent practice segment because facilitating from notes alone tends to fail under pressure in a real group.
graduates can teach an eight-week mindfulness course in clinical, workplace, education, or community settings. The credential (IMTA Accredited) is recognized by employers and referral networks inside this field. Graduates commonly go on to run weekly groups, eight-week courses, retreats, or one-to-one mentorship, depending on the lineage's scope of practice.
A consistent personal meditation practice, prior course experience as a participant, and (in many cases) a relevant professional background. Specific entry requirements vary; the program publishes them.
Sits inside the secular mindfulness ecosystem alongside the UMass CFM Teacher Education Program, Brown Mindfulness Center pathways, Bangor's CMRP MBCT route, and IMTA-accredited routes. Programs differ on accreditation body, price, length, and whether they teach the full MBSR protocol or a derived curriculum.
| Location | Los Angeles, California, United States |
| Country | United States |
| Tradition | Secular Mindfulness |
| Format | In-person |
| Estimated cost | USD 7,500–10,000 (TMF pathway) |
| Accreditation | IMTA Accredited |