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15-Hour In-Person Course
Monday - Friday: 9:00a.m. - 12:30p.m. EDT / 30-Minute Break Daily
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Course Description
Everyone wants to be free from unnecessary suffering. This was the Buddha’s only concern and every practice he taught served to encourage the liberation of a clear mind and a warm heart. The relief of emotional suffering is also the focus of contemporary psychotherapy and the wide range of techniques now available all serve this important goal. How are we, then, to understand these ancient mindfulness practices alongside the new and very potent methods for emotional and relational healing? Both approaches are profoundly transformative and when skillfully woven together they pave the way for increased vitality and a deeper sense of peace, freeing the burden of unnecessary suffering. Such an integrated approach shows us how to grow up and wake up to who and what we truly are. This week will be geared toward understanding the function of mindfulness as the core practice that links both paths to greater wellbeing. Each day we will explore these integrated teachings and actively engage in mindful practices to experientially taste their potential.
Throughout the week we will explore the foundational Buddhist teachings on mindfulness found in the Sattipathana Sutra. We will also be drawing heavily on two methods of contemporary psychotherapy — Hakomi and Internal Family Systems. These remarkably skillful approaches weave together applied mindfulness with an understanding of the multiplicity of mind in ways that reveal the Buddha’s teachings as practical tools for personal and relational transformation. We will examine the ways in which our everyday sense of “self” emerges and is sustained, how the contraction of conditioning leads to unnecessary suffering, how assisted self-discovery in mindfulness opens us beyond our habits toward greater possibilities for freedom, and how being led from the deepest source of wisdom and compassion supports practical human maturity. Along with reviewing the foundations of these two therapeutic models, our investigation will touch on perspectives from child development, attachment theory, interpersonal neurobiology, and contemplative psychology. Ultimately, we will investigate the ways that attention to relationality and mutual care opens the way to a life of freedom and joy.
Monday
The original Buddhist teachings on Mindfulness from the Buddha
Contemporary uses of mindfulness and their deviation from Buddhist practice
Mindfulness as an engaged practice in psychotherapy
Tuesday
Self-Study and No-Self: A seeming paradox
Loving Presence as the essential container for relational healing
Assisted self-study in the meditation hall and the consulting room
Wednesday
Multiplicity of mind and the construction of Self
The Buddha’s Four Noble Truths for the relief of suffering
Redefining symptoms and pathology
Thursday
Attachment in Psychotherapy and Buddhism: A tangled knot
Immediacy in the therapeutic relationship
Stepping beyond self-reflection and self-identification
Friday
Change in Psychotherapy and Three Views of Awakening
Growing Up and Waking Up: The Double Helix of Maturity
Clear Care
What Alumni are Saying...
"This was—again— the most amazing course I have ever taken. Flint is a brilliant, clear teacher. I cannot recommend this teacher and this course enough. - 2022 Participant
"This was by far one of the most valuable CE experiences I have had in 45 years of clinical practice." - 2022 Participant
"This is by far one of the most emotionally moving, inspirational, and valuable professional development experiences I have ever had. As a seasoned therapist that has worked with clients with severe trauma and has experienced vicarious trauma it was invaluable." - 2022 Participant
"Flint Sparks emanated what he taught. His kind, welcoming presence created a wonderful learning environment." - 2022 Participant
Learn more about the Cape Cod Institute from former participants
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