*If you are interested in this program, please email us at mindfulness@health.ucsd.edu to be added to the interest list. We will contact you once this program is scheduled.
Course Description
As important as our relationships are, they are not always easy! Compassion for Couples (CfC) is a program designed to help us meet ourselves and our partner with greater awareness and compassion. CfC builds on the skills developed in the Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) program and moves deeper into compassion between partners. Utilizing the skills of mindfulness and compassion, this program teaches how to build a strong and healthy foundation for relationships, and provides skills to help navigate the difficulties that arise within us and between us. While prior experience with MSC is helpful, it is not required.
Partners attend together and will learn to:
- Be more present with each other
- Identify shared values
- Build a base of warmth, security and connection.
- Communicate with kindness and compassion
- Comfort yourself and your partner
- Skillfully relate to your partner in times of difficulty
- Gain a greater understanding of yourself, your partner, and shared relational patterns
NOTE: Because this program builds on a foundation of self-compassion, it is helpful if both partners to familiarize themselves with Mindful Self-Compassion in advance. Here is a link to the 8-week MSC course description webpage and 5-day MSC Intensive webpage. Helpful texts include Chris Germer’s The Mindful Path to Self-Compassion and Kristin Neff’s Self-Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself and/or the Mindful Self-Compassion Workbook by Neff & Germer.
Please note that neither partner is required to read the recommended books or partake in an MSC course.
We recommend that if your schedule will not allow you to attend the first session, or prevents from attending any two sessions of the course, that you consider waiting until the next offering of the program.
The 6-week format - consists of 6 weekly, 2.5 -hour sessions. This class is often most easily integrated into our lives and offers an extended opportunity to deepen and solidify our practice.
The Weekend Intensive - consists of 5 session beginning Friday evening and ending Sunday afternoon. This class allows couples to take a deeper dive into the practices of compassion for couples as each session builds on the prior session, often allowing partners to open more fully to themselves and their relationship without the added stressors of day to day life. Please plan to attend the entire workshop.
Note: A Mindful Self-Compassion Intensive will be offered by the instructors immediately prior to the Compassion for Couples intensive in June 2024. While MSC experience is not necessary for the CFC program, they do go nicely together and we welcome the attendance of one or both partners in the MSC intensive should you be so inclined. Learn about the Mindful Self-Compassion Intensive.
Cancellation Policy
For 6-week course:
A refund (minus your $50 non-refundable deposit) will be made for participants who withdraw prior to the 1st class by emailing mindfulness@health.ucsd.edu. There will be no refunds after the 1st class starts. Registration, deposits, and funds are non-transferable.
In the unlikely event that the course is canceled, UC San Diego Center for Mindfulness is responsible only for a full refund of the registration fee and not for transportation, hotel accommodations or any miscellaneous expenses.
The refunds are processed in the same method as the payments were submitted.
For Weekend Intensive course:
A refund (minus your $50 non-refundable deposit) will be made for cancellations submitted by emailing mindfulness@health.ucsd.edu on or before 30 days prior to the start of the course. There will be no refunds after this date. Registration, deposits, and funds are non-transferable.
In the unlikely event that the course is canceled, UC San Diego Center for Mindfulness is responsible only for a full refund of the registration fee and not for transportation, hotel accommodations or any miscellaneous expenses.
The refunds are processed in the same method as the payments were submitted.
