Free Orientation Session for the Upcoming 8-Week Self-Compassion for Shame: Returning Home to Yourself

Join us for a Free Orientation Session. This is a sneak peek of the upcoming 8-week course that will be offered starting in April 2026. 

8-Week Self-Compassion for Shame: Returning Home to Yourself

Program Information

What would happen if, in moments of shame, you could care for yourself instead of going small, attacking yourself, or shutting down?

We are excited to invite you to Self-Compassion for Shame: Returning Home to Yourself, a groundbreaking 8-week program developed by Dr. Chris Germer, Natalie Bell, and the SC-Shame development team. In this course, we take a unique, non-pathological look at shame through the lens of mindful self-compassion—and learn why self-compassion is the antidote to shame.

Schedule

• Wednesdays, April 8 - June 3, 2026 (skip May 6), 5:00-7:30 pm PT
• Optional Practice Group Saturdays, April 11 - June 6, 2026 (skip May 9), 9:00-10:00 am PT

Register Here

Program Structure

• 8 weeks | 28 hours total (20 hours class time + 8 hours optional practice group)
• Weekly classes: 2.5 hours each
• Optional practice group: 1 hour weekly, facilitated by SC-Shame Teachers
• Class size: max 30 participants
• Online

Registration Fees

General Registration: $695

Early Bird Registration (pricing before March 18th): $595

Who this program is for:
This course is suitable for everyone who has completed the MSC prerequisite and suspects (or recognizes) that shame may be limiting their full potential—and wants new resources to open up new ways of living.

SC-Shame is a resource-building program (like MSC), not psychotherapy. Because we’ll be touching shame with self-compassion, challenging emotions may arise. Our teaching team is committed to co-creating a safe and rewarding learning environment together with participants.

“Self-Compassion allows us to see through shame—to see our inherent worth and value.”

What you’ll learn:
You’ll build practical resources to meet shame with greater acceptance and authenticity—so you can stay connected, think in a balanced way, and make wise, healthy choices. We’ll weave together talks, experiential exercises, meditation, and group discussion, alongside theory and research on shame and self-compassion.

“Shame makes us want to go small, go silent, or go away. Self-Compassion shows us how to be strong and have a voice.”

Special topics include:

• Mindfulness of Shame
• Origins of Shame
• Self-criticism
• Body shame
• Self-forgiveness
• Hidden Parts
• Social justice

Program Objectives

• Explain the theory and research on shame and self-compassion
• Describe how self-compassion is an antidote to shame (including the 3 paradoxes of shame)
• Identify personal childhood and cultural disconnections that lead to shame
• Use self-compassion practices to alleviate body shame
• Direct self-compassion toward hidden parts of yourself
• Reduce habitual self-criticism
• Apply new practices to relieve the burden of shame in daily life

Why this course:
Prior participants of the SC-Shame 8-week course reported:

• 96% would recommend the course
• 96% said their experience of shame changed as a result of the course
• 89% would consider taking the course again
• 85% had better mental and emotional wellbeing after the course

Testimonials:

"This course did not disappoint! I couldn't have asked for a better experience, it supported and deepened my own practice and I hope to bring my learning into my clinical practice."

"I learned that I can disempower shame, de-shame shame with my practices and by sharing in these groups. It opens the possibility of befriending shame and the wisdom it can reveal"

"I feel understanding and compassion towards myself instead - and even freedom, like permission to do things I couldn't do before, because I was too ashamed."

“Because of underlying shame I keep getting out of touch with my own values. I can help myself be aligned with them now as I practice self compassion. It brings me so much hope for the rest of my life.”

"I can identify shame more quickly and validate myself more quickly as well. As a result, I spend less time ruminating. I find it easier to offer myself compassion in certain areas of my life."

"The whole idea of shame becomes much lighter; I feel less burdened by shame, less fearful of shame; I feel I can see shame with a new kinder more patient lens."

Continuing Education Credits and the Certificate of Completion

Certificate of Completion: To be eligible for a Certificate of Completion, you must attend at least 6 of the 8 weekly sessions. After completing the end-of-program survey, please email us at mindfulness@health.ucsd.edu to request your certificate.

CE Certification: this certificate is an additional $50 fee for CE credits. You must attend ALL sessions and the All-Day Session in order to receive the CE Certificate.

Continuing education credits are awarded in the following categories: American Psychological Association (APA) and Board of Registered Nursing (BRN).

Psychologists: UC San Diego Center for Mindfulness is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. The UC San Diego Center for Mindfulness maintains responsibility for this program and its content. 20.0 CE credit.

California licensed MFTs, LPCCs, LEPs, LCSWs: This activity is an approved continuing education program by the American Psychological Association. Credit hours may be applied to your license renewal through the California Board of Behavioral Sciences. 20.0 CE credit.

Nurses: UC San Diego Center for Mindfulness is approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing to sponsor continuing education. Provider Number CEP16351. 24.0 contact hours.

Cancellation Policy

A refund of your registration payment (minus your $50 non-refundable/non-transferable deposit) will be made for participants who withdraw prior to the start of the 1st class by emailing mindfulness@health.ucsd.edu.  

If you decide to cancel after the 1st session and before the 2nd session starts, 50% of your registration payment will be refunded. No refunds will be made after the 2nd session starts.  

Please be aware that the registration fee, deposits, and funds are non-transferable to other programs.  

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. In regards to the In-Person Programs, the center is not responsible for any refunds for transportation, hotel accommodations, or any miscellaneous expenses.  

The refunds are processed in the same method as the payments were submitted (unless past 180 days). 

Instructor Bio: Natalie Bell

Natalie is the founder of Mindful Wellness, a training and coaching platform to help you build your own source of calm, clarity, and powerful resilience.  Her approach brings the benefits of mindfulness, meditation, and compassion training into the practical realm of our daily lives teaching you to discover calm and balance in a common sense, relatable manner.

Natalie is a senior certified teacher and the Director of  Program Development for the global Center for Mindful Self-Compassion overseeing programs on Mindfulness and Self-Compassion for the public, healthcare professionals, and Mindful Self-Compassion teachers. She is the co-author, with Dr. Kristin Neff and Dr. Chris Germer, of the “Self-Compassion Training for Healthcare Professionals” program, the only self-compassion training available for healthcare providers. Natalie also supported the development of the NEW Fierce Self-Compassion 8-wk course with Kristin Neff and the Self-Compassion for Shame 8-wk course with Chris Germer.  Natalie is also a faculty member of UCLA’s Mindful Awareness Research Center, MARC, as a certified mindfulness teacher.

As a leading teacher of mindfulness and self-compassion she works globally with individuals and companies. Natalie has been practicing mindfulness and meditation since 1985 and lived in an ashram for a year in 1989 dedicating herself to intensive practice of meditation and self-compassion. After studying neuropsychology she became a Physical Therapist, working for 17 years as a clinician, Director of Rehabilitation, and a clinical specialist for medical devices in rehabilitation.

Natalie has been featured in Today, Travel and Leisure, the LA Times, MSNBC Your Business, and Thrive Global for her passionate embodiment of presence and compassion. She has brought her work to Fortune 500 companies, CEOs and organizations like NBC Universal, the Milken Institute, Getty Foundation, Wharton, and many others. She believes our work is to learn how to become our own best ally so we can thrive is today’s over-busy world. Her programs and retreats allow you to experience deeper fulfillment and happiness, reconnect with your own joy, and feel more calm and connected.