Mindfulness Temelli Şefkatli Yaşam (MBCL) Eğitmenliği Programı

What is Mindfulness-Based Compassionate Living (MBCL)?

MBCL is an 8-week mindfulness-based program designed to support the development and cultivation of self-compassion to enhance physical, emotional, and relational health and well-being. It is suitable as a follow-up course for other mindfulness-based programs, such as MBSR (Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction), MBCT (Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy), or their equivalents.

MBCL was developed by Erik van den Brink and Frits Koster based on scientific insights and decades of experience:

• Erik van den Brink brought his expertise as a psychiatrist, psychotherapist, and long-term meditation practitioner.

• Frits Koster contributed his experience as a Vipassana teacher, MBSR/MBCT instructor, Buddhist psychology expert, and mindfulness trainer for mental health professionals.

MBCL integrates scientific insights, reflective practices, and teachings from various compassion-based training methods. Initially developed for mental health settings to support individuals who had benefited from MBSR/MBCT but needed further support—particularly those struggling with self-criticism and receiving or offering compassion—MBCL addresses unhealthy emotional patterns and reactions that contribute to suffering.

MBCL is not targeted toward specific diagnostic groups. It is designed to help individuals facing various challenges, including:
✅ Depression
✅ Anxiety
✅ Burnout
✅ Chronic pain or fatigue
✅ Emotional and relational difficulties

MBCL has also proven beneficial for professional caregivers vulnerable to burnout and, in recent years, has gained popularity among people from all backgrounds seeking to deepen mindfulness with "heartfulness" in a demanding world.

👉 For more information about MBCL and its founders, visit the official website: www.mbcl-international.net

Prerequisites for MBCL Teacher Training

Completion of the Mindfulness-Based Compassionate Living (MBCL) Foundation Program is required to qualify for MBCL Teacher Training.

✅ To become an MBCL instructor, you must be a certified MBSR or MBCT instructor.
✅ However, non-instructors can benefit from the program to enhance their therapeutic skills and deepen compassion-focused interventions in individual or group settings.

Learning Objectives of MBCL Teacher Training Program

🔎 Deepen your experience of the core MBCL exercises beyond the foundation level.
🔎 Gain a comprehensive understanding of the eight MBCL sessions.
🔎 Develop a foundational understanding of the scientific basis and theoretical background of compassion training in Western and Buddhist psychology.
🔎 Review and develop the key attitudes required for working with compassion-based methods.
🔎 Understand who can benefit from compassion training.
🔎 Deepen your mindfulness practice and clarify its connection with compassion training.
🔎 Gain a deeper understanding of the MBCL structure and content.
🔎 Learn how to teach the MBCL curriculum and guide MBCL exercises.
🔎 Learn how to lead inquiry sessions following the exercises.
🔎 Develop the skills to present the theoretical background of compassion training.
🔎 Deepen your personal experience with compassion-based exercises.

MBCL Teacher Training Program Content

✔️ Recognizing and accepting suffering.
✔️ Understanding how our brain evolved to support survival and how compassion is essential for well-being and survival (not a luxury).
✔️ Three key emotional regulation and motivation systems:

• Threat

• Drive

• Soothing
  ✔️ How mental imagery and patterns can destabilize these systems and how compassionate imagery can restore balance.
  ✔️ Psychological expressions of the fight, flight, and freeze responses:

• Self-hatred

• Isolation

• Over-identification
  ✔️ The antidotes to these responses:

• Self-kindness

• Common humanity

• Mindfulness
  ✔️ A fourth response to stress: "Tend and Befriend."
  ✔️ Compassionate engagement with resistance, desire, and internal patterns:

• Shame

• Self-blame

• Inner critic

• Inner helper
  ✔️ Developing a compassion-based mode of care:

• Sensitivity to needs

• Sympathy

• Empathy

• Tolerance to distress

• Awareness of judgment
  ✔️ The balanced application of the four heart qualities:

• Compassion

• Loving-kindness

• Joy

• Equanimity
  ✔️ Compassion in action and practical ethics.
  ✔️ Detailed guidance on the structure of the eight MBCL sessions from a teaching perspective.
  ✔️ Review and practice of the structure and content of compassion-focused exercises.
  ✔️ Leading MBCL exercises and inquiry sessions.

Advanced Knowledge for MBCL Teachers

MBCL teachers will gain deeper insights into:
🔸 Evolutionary perspectives on compassion
🔸 High and low roads to compassion
🔸 Brain plasticity
🔸 The physiology of breathing
🔸 Individual differences in response to compassion
🔸 Different attachment styles
🔸 Indications and contraindications for MBCL in various psychological issues
🔸 MBCL in different contexts and settings
🔸 Differences and similarities between psychotherapy and MBCL

Participation Requirements for MBCL Teacher Training

The MBCL Teacher Training Program is currently offered in various countries across Europe as an advanced training for professionals familiar with mindfulness-based practices.

To apply, participants must have completed the following:
✅ MBSR (Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction)
✅ MBCL Foundation Program
✅ MBSR Teacher Training

Not an MBSR Teacher But Want to Join?

You can still participate in the training to deepen your practice, even if you don't intend to become a certified instructor.

• This program is open to mental health professionals and others who meet the basic requirements.

• However, participants who are not certified MBSR teachers will not receive an MBCL instructor certificate but will be awarded a certificate of attendance.

Recommendations

📶 Participants should be familiar with the Zoom platform and willing to engage in sharing and discussions in both large and small groups.
💻 A stable internet connection and a suitable device (desktop or laptop) with a working camera and sound system are required.
📵 The use of smartphones is not recommended.
🎥 Participants are expected to keep their cameras on during the sessions.
⏳ Participants should set aside at least 12 hours before and between modules for individual and group preparation, including reading and personal practice.

Training Handbook

Erik van den Brink, Frits Koster & Zümra Atalay (2021):
"Compassion Is Not for the Weak – A Practical Guide to Mindfulness-Based Compassionate Living"
📖 Istanbul: Inkılap Publishing

Supervision & Certification

✅ Participants who complete the teacher training program will receive a certificate of attendance.
✅ To become a certified MBCL instructor, participants must lead at least one MBCL course within three years of completing the training under the guidance of an MBCL supervisor (at least three supervision sessions are required).
✅ Supervision is not included in the program fee.
✅ Upon completion, participants will receive a certified instructor certificate and be listed on the www.mbcl-international.net website.

Supervisors:

• Erik van den Brink

• Frits Koster

• Zümra Atalay

• Dr. Rhoda Schuling

Upcoming MBCL Teacher Trainings

Orientation Session:

📅 Monday, September 14, 2026 (19:30–21:00)

Module 1:

📅 September 25–27, 2026 (09:00–12:30 / Break / 14:00–17:30)

Module 2:

📅 October 16–18, 2026 (09:00–12:30 / Break / 14:00–17:30)

✅ The training will be led by expert instructors and supported by simultaneous Turkish translation.

Fees

Contact us for details about fees.

Location

The training will be held online via Zoom.