Dr. Beck-Coon is a board certified physician long interested in integrative health and well-being.
Her journey into teaching Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) has grown from the practice of meditation as a source of healing in her life (meditation practice since 1979; insight/mindfulness practice since 1992; interpersonal mindfulness practice since 2006; regular silent teacher-lead retreats of 5-28 days since 2004) and through continuing learning as a certified MBSR teacher, certified MBSR teacher trainer, Interpersonal Mindfulness teacher, and Mindfulness-based research intervention developer and teacher.
I am deeply grateful for my many teachers, past and present, who skillfully embody and open-heartedly teach this practice including, over the years, my numerous students who teach me in-kind.
Learning is continually on-going and includes MBSR teacher and MBSR teacher trainer certification. MBSR Teacher Certification was through the Center for Mindfulness in Healthcare, Medicine and Society at the University of Massachusetts School of Medicine (CFM) and included Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction in Mind-Body Medicine Professional Training with Jon Kabat-Zinn and Saki Santorelli, a two month internship practicum at the CFM, the Teacher Development Intensive (now expanded in our curriculum as the IPT), and supervision in teaching from then co-director of the CFM, Melissa Blacker. MBSR Teacher Trainer Certification is through the CFM and the Mindfulness Center at Brown University in the Brown School of Public Health.
Practicing Insight Dialogue and Interpersonal Mindfulness since 2006 with Gregory Kramer, the developer of Insight Dialogue and additional training in Interpersonal Mindfulness (IM) with Florence Meleo-Meyer and Phyllis Hicks, co-originators of IM, continues to be a gift of deepening relational mindfulness through practice and teaching.
As part of my heart-felt desire to have additional well-trained MBSR teachers in the world, I have the privilege of extraordinary global teacher trainer community through both the Mindfulness Teacher Training Alliance and Global Mindfulness Collaborative and continue to study and learn with these teacher trainers and colleagues through rigorous collaborative educational programs including trauma-sensitive mindfulness training.
I deeply value the vibrancy and many gifts of mutual learning with students, mentees, colleagues, and friends as together, one moment at a time, we weave mindfulness into the entire path of life with compassion, humor, care, and inclusivity.
Currently, along with teaching MBSR and MBSR Teacher Training, Dr. Beck-Coon is actively involved with colleagues at Indiana University in mindfulness research including Cancer-Related Fatigue, Mindfulness Practice to Support Advanced Care Planning, and Mindfulness practice for Fear of Cancer Recurrence. In addition, Dr. Beck-Coon developed and co-facilitates The Mindful Way to Stress Reduction and Personal Resiliency classes offered to Indiana University faculty and staff through the Healthy IU Workplace Wellness Program. Kathy facilitates Mindful Mondays "drop-in" mindfulness meditation practice for any who wish to practice in a group. Please contact us through the link above if you would like details. All are welcome.
Dr. Beck-Coon co-authored a chapter in Reflective Practiceon mindful learners and educators in nursing education. A link to the Mindfulness and Nursing Education module she developed for the National Quality Safety and Education in Nursing project may be found here [click on resources and then learning modules; it is Module 3 with an additional video discussion under module 3 resources]. Kathy is a member of the Association for Contemplative Mind in Higher Education, The Association for Behavioral Contextual Science, the Society of Behavioral Medicine and adheres to MBSR Standards of Practice and International Integrity Standards for Mindfulness-Based Programs (MBPs).
Kathy values open-hearted, meaningful moments of connection with the human family and the earth we all share. She considers teaching mindfulness a practice and continues to explore how mindfulness opens the door to increasing joy and reducing suffering for us all.