This is a 3-Part training program that leads towards becoming a peer coach for performance and resilience. Graduates of all three phases of this training program will be capable of championing mindfulness as a preventative approach to health and wellness and as a path toward performance optimization- at work, at home, and in the community.
Peer Coaches can integrate seamlessly into existing leadership and training constructs within a public safety agency- operations, training, administration, etc. Peer Coaches will be able to build mindfulness training models, collaborating with community, regional and national certified trainers to tailor resilience and performance training to meet the unique needs of their organization. Peer coaches will be equipped to integrate mindfulness training sessions into the regular rhythms of their organization, ensuring skillful instruction and resourcing others so peers can continue their own mindfulness practice.

Participants in this training program must complete the following to earn the designation of a Peer Resilience Coach:

1. Module I: 3-day intensive – mindfulness skill building
2. Module II: 12-week Distance Learning- study, mentorship and personal practice
3. Module III: 3-day intensive – mindfulness for performance, movement and mindful nutrition, and coaching skills
4. Practicum – local project of training/education

Peer Coaches will be required to complete ongoing professional education to maintain affiliation as a Peer Coach.

Lead Trainer

Richard Goerling has served in civilian law enforcement for over twenty years. He also served as a member of the U.S. Coast Guard, both active and reserve for 27 years, retiring at the rank of Commander in 2015. He’s had a front row seat to operational stress in both arenas and has spent the last decade as a student, and now trainer, of resiliency. Over the last decade, he has spearheaded the introduction of mindfulness training into policing in the United States and internationally as part of a larger cultural transformation toward a compassionate, skillful and resilient warrior ethos. He serves as an affiliate faculty at Pacific University’s Graduate School of Professional Psychology and participates in mindfulness research at this institution. Richard regularly trains and presents onresiliency for first responders, bringing practical mindfulness skill building to enhance personal, organizational and community resiliency.

Description and Objectives for Each Module

Module I: Retreat

This is a journey into the contemporary science of stress, trauma, resiliency and performance. Responding to the world around us requires a foundational sense of self and durable social and emotional skills. This course looks at skills training to cultivate an inner readiness, through awareness and compassion practices, that enhance capacity for sense-making, decision-making and leadership of self and others. The first module focuses on individual skills development (practice). The second module offers an opportunity for mentorship, learning and deepening of a practice. The third module offers advances mindfulness skills practice and coaching skills development.

Upon successful completion of this module, participants will be able to:

1. Apply a new understanding of the interpersonal neurobiology of stress, trauma and performance in organizational decision-making, and in how one encounter’s (“shows up” to) others from a formal leadership position.
2. Apply an understanding of current research on gratitude, self-compassion & mindfulness to one’s own personal and professional life through skills practices in awareness and compassion, both formal and informal.
3. Create a personal resilience roadmap, addressing desired areas of personal and professional fitness and performance.
4. Develop a sustainable, personal mindfulness practice that integrates into the rhythms of daily living at work and home.

Module II: Distance Learning

1. Sustain fundamental mindfulness skills that foster self-awareness and self-regulation.
2. Create and sustain, through awareness and compassion practices, a greater capacity for leadership of self and others.
3. Understand multi-disciplinary approach to coaching others, including habit formation and change management, motivation, and cultural/occupational factors.

Module III: Retreat

1. Develop and lead strategies toward individual, organizational and community resiliency.
2. Embody an authentic warrior ethos, grounded in the discipline of awareness, the practice of compassion and professional acumen.
3. Deepen personal practice of mindfulness through advanced skills training.
4. Develop and demonstrate mindfulness coaching skills.

Target Audience

This workshop is intended for first responders whose occupation routinely exposes them to chronic and acute trauma and human suffering. This includes but isn’t limited to police officers, firefighters, dispatchers, medics, federal law enforcement officers and members of the National Guard and Reserve.

Training

Program activities include meditation, experiential exercises, short didactic talks, group discussion, and home practices.  The goal is to provide a foundational knowledge of the science of stress and performance, together with the cultivation of sustainable skills in resiliency of body, mind and heart that attendees can incorporate into the rhythms of their lives at work and home. The program is grounded in a confluence of the contemporary science of resiliency and contemplative practice of mindfulness.

Participant Guidelines

This training program is a journey—an adventure in self-discovery, self-kindness and self-regulation. Mindfulness and compassion have the paradoxical effect of both soothing and comforting as well as opening us to emotional distress that we may have been unconsciously holding inside, often for many years. Therefore, difficult emotions may surface during the program as we grow in our capacity to embrace and heal them. The teachers are committed to providing an environment of respect that includes safety, support, privacy, individual responsibility, and a common commitment to developing compassion for oneself and others.

It is recommended, but not required, that participants read the following two books before the training retreat:

Self-Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself by Kristin Neff
The Mindful Path to Self-Compassion by Christopher Germer

Disclosure

It is the policy of the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine to ensure balance, independence, objectivity and scientific rigor. All persons involved in the selection, development and presentation of content are required to disclose any real or apparent conflicts of interest. All conflicts of interest will be resolved prior to an educational activity being delivered to learners through one of the following mechanisms: 1) altering the financial relationship with the commercial interest, 2) altering the individual’s control over CME content about the products or services of the commercial interest, and/or 3) validating the activity content through independent peer review. All persons are also required to disclose any discussions of off label/unapproved uses of drugs or devices. Persons who refuse or fail to disclose will be disqualified from participating in the CME activity.

Tentative Schedule

First Day
Registration: 2:00–5:00 pm
Dinner: 5:30–6:30 pm
First Session: 6:45–8:45 pm

Third Day
Session Ends: 1:00 pm

Recommended Reading

• Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain and Illness; By Jon Kabat Zinn
• Fully Present: The Science, Art, and Practice of Mindfulness; By Susan Smalley and Diana Winston

Frequently Asked Questions

I am flying in for the training. What are my options and what do you recommend?
See our LOCATIONS page for details about travel to the retreat centers and preferred airports. The UCSD Center for Mindfulness will set up a Ride Share Bulletin Board in coordinating shuttle rides for those arriving by air at local airports.

What time should I plan to arrive? When do we finish?
We will begin checking people into the retreat at 1 pm on the first day of the training. However, it may be possible for you to arrive before 1pm and have access to your room. We ask that you plan on arriving no later than 5pm so that we can begin with the full group in attendance at dinnertime. We plan to end the retreat by 1:00 pm on the last day so please plan your travel accordingly, using the time guidelines above. Sometimes situations arise in which people have to leave the retreat earlier than noon on the last day but we strongly urge you to avoid this if at all possible.

Is there wireless service/cellular phone use?
Please do not expect to get consistent, reliable wireless internet service while at the retreat center. It is most advisable to leave your computer at home because of the retreat nature of the training, however we recognize that sometimes computer use is a necessity. Most cellular phones will work in this location. Again, however given the nature of the training there will be limited opportunities to use them, so informing those who may need to contact you of these limitations ahead of time will be helpful.

Is it possible to stay extra nights at the facility or arrive a day or two early?
The retreat center is often booked both right before and right after our training, so arriving early or staying an extra night or two after the retreat is over is not likely to be a possibility. You can of course arrange to stay at lodging near the retreat center if you would like to extend your stay.

What do I need to bring?
If it is at all possible, please bring a meditation cushion (zafu) and a yoga mat. We will have a few cushions but not enough to go around, so if you have one and can squeeze it into your luggage or bring it as a carry-on please consider doing so. It is always advisable to check the weather forecast prior to traveling, to help guide you in proper clothing choices.

The relatively remote location makes security a minor concern, but we do want people to know that with shared sleeping quarters and very limited availability of keys to lock rooms, we highly recommend leaving valuable items at home to reduce the possibility of anything being lost or stolen. Certainly some of us will have vehicles where such items can be secured if this is necessary.

What should I expect regarding the format of the training?
This training is taught in a retreat format, which means there is a great deal of mindfulness practice embedded in the training, and we want to reiterate that now so you are not surprised when you get here. The venue very much facilitates this format; we will will meet, eat and be housed in a relatively secluded area. There are no other large groups planned in the center that week so it should be relatively quiet and secluded. The rooms are clean and comfortable, but not by any means luxurious. and as you probably noted on the website, you will have a roommate. In most cases several of you will share a dorm-style bathroom nearby.

What should I read prior to arriving?
Check the “Schedule and Required Reading” page of the specific training you are registered to attend.

What if I require some special accommodations or have dietary restrictions?
While you are asked to note specific food restrictions on your registration application, if there are any additional food or medical concerns we should be aware of please let us know of these in advance so we may assist you.

Registration Fees

Pricing is variable. Please check your specific event of interest (sidebar) to view its fees.

Partial Payments

Partial payments are acceptable; however a non-refundable minimum deposit of $300 USD is due upon registration.

Please be aware that the early-bird rate is available for all participants who register and pay their balance in full by the early-bird deadline (see registration information above). All early-bird rate participants who have a remaining balance on or after the early-bird deadline will have their fees automatically adjusted to the General Session Rate.

All remaining balances must be paid in full 30 days prior to the start of the training or your registration will be cancelled for non-payment and you will not be permitted to attend.

Cancellation Policy

A refund (minus your $300 non-refundable and non-transferable deposit) will be made for cancellations submitted in writing 30 days prior to the training. No refunds will be allowed after that date.

In the unlikely event that the course is cancelled, 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

Required Application Form

Upon submission of your registration, you will be provided with a link to complete an online Peer Coach Training Application. On the application form, you’ll be asked to write description of your mindfulness training history and personal practice, your background, motivation and intention for the training and submit your CV/Resume and a letter of support from a public safety agency, preferably their employer or partner agency.

Your application for this training will not be taken under consideration until the application form has been submitted. Should your qualifications not be accepted for admittance, a full refund will be granted.