Financial Support

Our mission is to make all of our programs accessible. Every fee-based offering has a limited number of pay-what-you-can spots available to support self-identified people of color, members of marginalized groups (queer people, transgender people, and  people with disabilities) and those in financial need (those for whom the cost to attend is not financially possible). 

These spots are offered on a first come, first served basis. Please pay at the highest level you can afford. In order for this support to be available, we rely on those who can afford to pay the full price to do so.

Find out if spots are available by clicking REGISTER NOW on the event you are interested in.

Safety 

We work to protect the safety of all students. We reserve the right to remove any student from any class, sitting group, retreat, or any event if the student is disruptive to the safe learning environment we maintain for all.

Cancellation & Refunds

We reserve the right to cancel a class or special event due to low enrollment or other circumstances which would make the event non-viable. If InsightLA cancels an event you’ve registered for, you will be offered a full refund. If an event has to be postponed for any reason, you will have the option to either receive a full refund or transfer your registration to the same event at the new, future date. If you cancel, we apply a 5% credit processing fee and the refunded amounts are listed below:

MBSR, MSC, & MBHC, Mindfulness for Beginners & Special Events

7 days – 95% Refund
<7 days – No Refunds – Credit given if requested or donation to InsightLA

Fee-Based Non-Residential Retreats (note: Donations are non-refundable)

>7 days – 95% Refund
<7 days – No Refunds – Credit given if requested or donation to InsightLA

Residential Retreats

> 8 weeks – amount paid less $100
4-8 weeks – amount paid less $175
2-4 weeks – amount paid less $300
< 2 weeks – No refund

Residential Retreats with Financial Support:

> 8 weeks – amount paid less $75
4-8 weeks – amount paid less $100
2-4 weeks – amount paid less $200
< 2 weeks – No refund

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction & Mindful Self-Compassion (Series)

Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC)

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James Rosser, LCSW Teacher

Christiane Wolf, MD, PhD Teacher

Refund and Event Policies

Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) is an eight-week program that promotes cultivating self-compassion in a community. It is in-person at our Olympic location.

The MSC program, a powerful tool for emotional resilience, is the brainchild of renowned psychologists Kristen Neff, PhD (www.Self-Compassion.org) & Chris Germer, PhD (www.MindfulSelfCompassion.org). It combines the skills of mindfulness and self-compassion, offering a well-researched and proven approach to cultivating emotional well-being. 

Mindfulness is the first step in emotional healing—the ability to turn toward and acknowledge difficult thoughts and feelings (such as anger, confusion, sadness, and inadequacy) with an approach of openness and curiosity. 

Self-compassion involves responding to difficult thoughts and feelings with kindness, sympathy, and understanding so that we can soothe and comfort ourselves when we’re hurting. 

Research has shown that self-compassion dramatically boosts emotional well-being and happiness and reduces anxiety and depression.  All that’s required is a shift in the direction of your attention–recognizing that as a human being, you, too, are a worthy recipient of compassion.

The Mindful Self-Compassion sessions will deepen our capacity to meet our individual and collective experiences with awareness, compassion, and resilience and strengthen our sense of common humanity. The 8-week format consists of eight weekly, 2.5-hour sessions in a classroom/discussion group format, plus a 4-hour retreat. This class format promotes integration into our lives and offers an extended opportunity to deepen and solidify our practice.

In this dynamic group-learning environment, we will immerse ourselves in meditation practice, thought-provoking reflective exercises, and lively interactive discussions in both large and small groups. We will explore our daily life experiences and practices, creating a safe refuge where participants can delve deep, share authentically, listen intently, and compassionately receive each other and our whole selves. This unique community-based approach to practicing compassion can powerfully insulate us from a sense of separation and help heal grief and trauma. 

Throughout this course, participants will learn to:

  • Describe the theory and research supporting mindful self-compassion
  • Motivate themselves with encouragement rather than self-criticism
  • Relate to difficult emotions with greater moment-to-moment acceptance
  • Respond to feelings of failure or inadequacy with self-kindness
  • Begin to transform complicated relationships, old and new, through self-validation
  • Practice the art of savoring and self-appreciation
  • Integrate core mindfulness and self-compassion exercises into daily life
  • Teach simple self-compassion practices to patients, students, or clients

Schedule (Tuesdays 6:30 pm – 9:00 pm PT):
August 13
August 20
August 27
September 3
September 10
Sunday, September 15 – Half-day retreat from 1pm to 5pm PT
September 17
September 24
October 1

Continuing Education hours:

Psychologists: Continuing Education Credit for this program is provided by UC San Diego Center for Mindfulness. The 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. This course offers 24.0 hours of credit.

California licensed MFTs, LPCCs, LEPs, LCSWs: Continuing Education Credit for this program is provided by UC San Diego Center for Mindfulness. The UC San Diego Center for Mindfulness is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. 24.0 contact hours may be applied to your license renewal through the California Board of Behavioral Sciences. For those licensed outside California, please check with your local licensing board to determine if APA accreditation meets their requirements.

Nurses: UC San Diego Center for Mindfulness is approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing, Provider Number CEP16351, for 28.75 contact hours.

 

James Rosser, LCSW Teacher

James has meditated for over 30 years, beginning in 1987 with James Baraz. He graduated from InsightLA’s Facilitator Training Program, InsightLA’s Dedicated to the Dharma Program, and  Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach’s Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification Program (MMTCP Inaugural Class). James is also a  Trained Teacher for the Center for Mindful Self-Compassion. He is a... Read more

Christiane Wolf, MD, PhD Teacher

Berlin to Los Angeles to InsightLA I started my professional life as a Gynecologist at the University Hospital in Berlin, Germany. I had fallen in love with the universality of the Buddhist teachings as a searching teenager and it surely helped me stay sane through medical school and residency. In 2003 my husband, baby daughter... Read more

Pricing Options
Class Fee $600
Class Fee with CEs $685
Need Financial Support?

Financial Support

Our mission is to make all of our programs accessible. Every fee-based offering has a limited number of pay-what-you-can spots available to support members of marginalized groups (people of color, queer people, people with disabilities) and those in financial need (those for whom the cost to attend is not financially possible).

These spots are offered on a first come, first served basis. Please pay at the highest level you can afford. In order for this support to be available, we rely on those who can afford to pay the full price to do so.

Register Now

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