Mindfulness-Based Eating Awareness Training (MB-EAT), developed by Jean Kristeller, addresses mindless eating, stress-related eating, disordered eating patterns, and obesity through the application of mindfulness meditation. This workshop for health-care professionals provides intensive training in the application of MB-EAT in clinical settings.
Informed by Jon Kabat-Zinn’s Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) work, and the basic principles of food intake regulation, the MB-EAT program employs mindfulness meditation practice, experiential eating exercises, didactic instruction, and self-reflection to help participants cultivate mindful awareness of their eating behaviors.
Throughout this training, we use demonstration, role-play, simulated exercises, inquiry, and discussion to cover the themes, material, and exercises in the MB-EAT program. We also deepen our own mindfulness practice through daily sitting meditations, eating meditations, body awareness and movement meditations, and a half-day silent retreat.
For those with a professional background treating eating issues and a substantive background in meditation practice, this program provides the necessary skills for delivery of the MB-EAT program. For those with less experience in either of these areas, it provides an introduction to the issues and skills involved.
At the completion of this activity, the participants should be able to:
- Demonstrate an intellectual and experiential understanding of the MB-EAT principles and the role of mindfulness in problematic eating behaviors and weight loss concerns
- Review with the empirical evidence from research on meditation and eating regulation that supports the value of these targeted interventions.
- Employ the curriculum and core therapeutic tasks for each of the ten-week group sessions of MB-EAT
- Discuss common clinical and logistical issues that arise in leading MB-EAT programs
- Demonstrate and practice the clinical skills and perspectives involved in facilitating MB-EAT groups
- Develop and/or deepen their own mindfulness meditation practice through formal periods of practice and mindfulness as a mode of being in daily life and appreciate the necessity of personal practice for successful delivery of this treatment modality
CE and CME are available and included in the tuition. Attendance at this training authorizes you to teach MB-EAT if you have an appropriate background in mindfulness meditation and experience working with the targeted population. Participants will meet individually with faculty to determine eligibility. This workshop begins Sunday at 7:00 p.m.
Jean Kristeller, PhD, a clinical psychologist, has used meditation-based interventions for eating disorders and obesity for more than 20 years, and has received NIH funding for related research for the past five years. She has taught at Harvard University, University of Massachusetts Medical School, and Indiana State University, and cofounded The Center for Mindful Eating. tcme.org
Andrea Lieberstein, MPH, RD, is director of mind, body, spirit programs at Kaiser Permanente San Francisco. A health educator, MBSR instructor, stress management coach, trainer and nutritionist, her clients include individuals, corporations, medical centers, and schools. She is a contributing author to The Stress Reduction and Relaxation Training Workbook (3rd edition) and Some Leaders are Born Women. |
