Welcome
Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) is a behavioral medicine program devised by Jon Kabat-Zinn that uses the psychological concept of mindfulness to help people cope better and be more at ease in their life. It is thought to have potential for helping people cope with stress and chronic illness, and research has shown it having a useful effect. While MBSR has its roots in spiritual teachings, the program itself is secular.
About Joan Griffiths Vega
After her training in MBSR at the Professional Training workshop with Jon Kabat-Zinn, PhD., and Saki Santorelli, Ed.D, Director of the UMass Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society, Joan Griffiths Vega completed the 8-Day Practicum workshop at the Center for Mindfulness in Worcester, MA, and, most recently, the 10-day Teacher Development Intensive (TDI) training in 2010. She continues to deepen her teaching skills and personal practice with on-going private peer-to-peer supervision.
In 2008, Joan brought her adapted MBSR workshop for family caregivers to The Martha Stewart Center for Living at Mt. Sinai Hospital of New York. She co-taught the caregiver mindful stress reduction workshop with Patricia Bloom, MD. The workshop addresses the needs of a family caregiver who experiences significant stress while caring for a person with dementia or chronic disease. Understanding the dynamics of resiliency and signals of stress, and developing a mindful meditation practice helps the caregiver and contributes to a supportive and nourishing environment for the chronically ill loved one. This fall at The Martha Stewart Center, Joan will teach the original eight-week MBSR program as well as her caregiver workshops. She will also be teaching in several mindfulness-based research studies at Mt. Sinai Hospital.
As well as teaching at Mt. Sinai, Joan regularly offers the eight-week workshop in her home in Ditmas Park/Park Slope area of Brooklyn and is available to work privately with individuals experiencing cancer, chronic pain, and anxiety.
Additionally, at the Alzheimer’s Association, Joan regularly teaches an hour-long workshop “The Pillars of a Healthy Life,” an overview of informal ways to include mindful stress reduction practices into the daily life of a professional or family caregiver. After participating in the Alzheimer’s Association of NYC’s support group facilitator training in 2004, she started an adult children Alzheimer’s Support Group in Park Slope, Brooklyn.
To deepen her understanding of MBSR’s foundations, Joan continues her studies with Senior teachers of Insight Meditation and Buddhist scholars, and updates her workshop to include the research advances in neuroscience and mindfulness. In 2010 she completed a year of study at the New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care’s Foundations in Buddhist Contemplative Care program, and continues to take courses at the NYZCCC. This summer she became a certified chair yoga teacher.
Joan completed an MA at Columbia University in the School of Arts, and attended the MFA program at Pacific Graduate Institute, focusing on depth mythology studies. Her MBSR workshop is grounded in her love of storytelling and cross-cultural wisdom tales. Concerned with practical ways to reduce stress and pain, and ways to create a balanced life, Joan became a certified coach of Open Focus™ Attention, developed Les Fehmi, PhD, of Princeton, NJ.
Recently she began small private MBSR groups in her home as well as one-on-one sessions that focus on test anxiety, bereavement, pain management and life transitions.
Events
Upcoming Eight-Week Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Workshops
Saturday mornings, beginning March 22nd to May 17th, 2014, 10:30-1:00 pm Private location Park Slope/Ditmas Park Area
Wednesday afternoons, beginning April 2nd to May 21, 2014, 1:30-4:00 pm Mt. Sinai Hospital, The Martha Steward Center for Healthy Living