CONFERENCE

COMPASSION, MINDFULNESS AND BODY MEMORY IN HEALING

Body, Mind & Emotions Unity in Therapy

How to heal? What really works in therapy? Why compassion and body memory?

8 – 9 November 2024

Prague Congress Centre, Czech Republic

5 keynote speeches + panel discussion + 5 workshops

What is our conference about?

Unity of the body, mind and emotions - this will be the main theme of our conference. We will look at how our mental and very often also physical health is connected to childhood experiences, our state of mind, emotional states and traumatic memories imprinted in the implicit memory of the body. And how is this interconnectedness reflected in various psychotherapeutic approaches?

The topics above will be addressed by those most competent - psychologists and therapists with a rich life experience and practice, who have worked somatically for many years, practice compassion and mindfulness in relation to their clients and themselves, have experience with meditation, spirituality, lean on modern science, and for the purpose of their own healing journey, some of them tried psychedelics assisted therapy. They will shed light on what compassion, mindfulness and somatic-based work in psychotherapy really mean and what they look like in practice.

They will explain not only how most recent scientific findings and research are used in therapy, but also where therapy meets with spirituality, traditional wisdom of indigenous cultures or contemplative nature and practices of eastern philosophies. Because not just acceptance, safety and respect are our needs, but also spiritual transcendence and relating to something higher is one of them.

Who are our guest speakers?

Jan Benda (CZ)

Mindfulness Informed Integrative Psychotherapy, Pesso Boyden Psychomotoric Therapy
Jan is a psychologist, therapist, trainer, and a coach. He lived and worked in Florida and as a monk in the jungle of Sri Lanka. He is a great advocate of mindfulness and compassion, and an author of books on this topic. He also developed own original Mindfulness Informed Integrative Psychotherapy, which integrates compassionate approach, most recent neuroscience findings, traditional buddhist psychology and psychedelic research. His latest book, Mindfulness and the Self: Mindfulness-Informed Integrative Psychotherapy is about to be published in English at Routledge's soon. A German version is also being prepared. Jan sat with dying people and held their hand while listening to them, has witnessed the suffering of others and experienced his own, which gave him power, humility and wisdom.

Kevin Young (UK)

Compassionate Inquiry
Kevin is passionate about bringing healing, compassion and connection to humanity. He is a certified professional practitioner of Compassionate Inquiry (CI), the psychotherapeutic approach developed by Dr. Gabor Maté. He has been at the heart of the CI community since the beginning, and is now a sought-after CI Facilitator, Educator and Circle leader. Kevin currently has a private practice based in Saintfield near Belfast, and works with clients from all over the world. He is also a certified mindfulness and meditation practitioner. He uses Compassionate Inquiry and mindfulness to help individuals, organizations, and charities to better understand their mental, emotional and spiritual landscapes. He has held a keen interest in Buddhism for the past 20 years. He brings a playful and relaxed approach to his work whilst holding a compassionate, non-judgemental and safe space for clients to unveil the level of consciousness, mental climate, hidden assumptions, implicit memories and body states that form the real message that words both express and conceal.

Barbara Guevara (Portugal)

Internal Family Systems, Somatic Experiencing, Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, Systemic Family Constellations, Polyvagal Theory
Barbara is a Metta Therapist, a compassionate and mindful holistic therapeutic approach based on Buddhist psychology (Metta = kindness). In her work, she merges mindfulness-based practices, eastern and western ancient wisdom, and several trauma-informed approaches (e.g. Compassionate Inquiry, Internal Family Systems, Systemic Family Constellations, Polyvagal Theory, Somatic Experiencing, Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, MBCT, MSC and MBSR). Barbara has been a Buddhism and meditation teacher, as well as a senior Yoga teacher for more than 20 years. She develops Mindfulness-based and respiratory rehabilitation programs. Besides mentioned modalities, Barbara is also a Somatic Breathwork coach, Sound Massage Professional Practitioner, Craniosacral Therapist, and also integrates Psychedelic-Assisted Therapies. Married to an indigenous Colombian man, Barbara was a journalist until her late 30’s and she is still a tireless activist, speaking up for freedom and equality.

Kamila Němečková (CZ)

Psychospiritual therapy
Kamila is a culturologist and academia expert, who, as a therapist, developed her own Psychospiritual Therapy. She is a well respected expert in the field of non-religious spirituality and the new, postmaterialist paradigm. Psychospiritual therapy in her version compiles her lifelong interest in postmaterialist science related to spirituality, personal growth with the dynamics of the individuation process, psychology and psychotherapy. She blends them with experiential work in the inner world with the use of body intelligence and memory. In the recent Journal of Sociology's edition called The Depressive Society, published by Prague's Charles University, she has addressed this issue in great detail in an article called “The Diagnosis of our Time - the Trauma Caused by Repressed Spirituality”.

Marleen ter Avest (the Netherlands)

Mindfulness Based Compassionate Living (MBCL), Mindfulness Based Compassionate Therapy (MBCT)
Marleen is a mindfulness and compassion teacher, who earned her PhD at the Radboud University Medical Centre on the working mechanisms of MBCL and MBCT in recurrent depression. She is the owner of Note to Mind and Kind to Mind, through which she teaches mindfulness and compassion, gives coaching and guides silent day retreats for general audiences as well as for research and education. Marleen is connected to the MBCL teacher-trainer education led by Frits Koster and Erik van den Brink as educator and supervisor, and is additionally active as chair of the scientific committee of the Dutch Mindfulness Association.

Rhoda Schuling (the Netherlands)

Mindfulness Based Compassionate Living (MBCL), Mindfulness Based Compassionate Therapy (MBCT)
Rhoda works as senior researcher at the Hanze University, the Netherlands, in the field of Active Lifestyle and Mental Health. She has been a teacher of mindfulness and compassion since 2013, and has been connected to the MBCL teacher-trainer education led by Frits Koster and Erik van den Brink as an educator and a supervisor since 2021. She obtained her PhD at the Radboud University Medical Centre on the effectiveness of MBCL in recurrent depression.

Programme

Lectures

8. 11. 2024

 13:30 - 20:30

Prague Congress Centre
Forum Hall - 2nd floor

On Friday 8th November in the afternoon, each guest speaker will hold a lecture and the day will be concluded by a debate. There will be time and space for questions and answers, too. The conference is moderated by Tereza Winklerová.

The Conference will be simultaneously translated from EN to CZ and vice versa.

Time Schedule - Friday 8 November

12:00 pm - 1:30 pmOpen doors + Headphones pickup
1:30 pm - 1:45 pmOpening and introduction
1:45 pm - 2:30 pmIntroductory speech - Kamila Němečková
2:30 pm - 3:30 pmLecture - Barbara Guevara
3:30 pm - 4:00 pmBreak
4:00 pm - 5:00 pmLecture - Rhoda Shuling and Marleen ter Avest
5:00 pm - 6:00 pmLecture - Jan Benda
6:00 pm - 6:30 pmBreak
6:30 pm - 7:30 pmLecture - Kevin Young
7:30 pm - 8:30 pmPanel discussion
8:30 pm - 9:15 pmClosing, Photo opportunity, Book signing
Right to make changes is reserved

Workshops

9. 11. 2024

9:30 - 20:30

Prague Congress Centre
South Hall and Chamber Hall - 3rd floor

On Saturday 9th November, the guests will lead workshops, in which they will offer direct experience with compassion and somatic work. Exact timing and location of the workshops are yet to be confirmed, however, they will be arranged so that participants, if interested, can attend all five of them. Between each workshop, Tereza Winklerová will lead physical, somatic exercises focused on body connection and grounding.

The Workshops will be simultaneously translated from EN to CZ and vice versa.

Time Schedule - Saturday 9 November

South Hall - 3rd floor

8:00 - 9:30Open doors + Headphones pickup
9:30 - 11:00Workshop - Barbara Guevara
12:45 - 14:00Lunch
14:00 - 15:30Workshop - Jan Benda
17:30 - 20:00Workshop - Kevin Young
20:00 - 20:30Closing + Book signing
Right to make changes is reserved

Chamber Hall - 3rd floor

11:15 - 12:45Workshop - Rhoda Shuling a Marleen ter Avest
12:45 - 14:00Lunch
15:45 - 17:15Workshop - Kamila Němečková
Right to make changes is reserved

Tickets

Venue: Congress Centre, Prague, 5. května 1640/65, Praha 4

THE CONFERENCE
118 EUR
November 8, 2024
Congress Centre, Prague
Forum Hall - 2nd floor
WORKSHOP

Kevin Young

90 EUR
November 9, 2024
Congress Centre, Prague
timing and venue to be confirmed
WORKSHOP

Barbara Guevara

60 EUR
November 9, 2024
Congress Centre, Prague
timing and venue to be confirmed
WORKSHOP

Jan Benda

75 EUR
November 9, 2024
Congress Centre, Prague
timing and venue to be confirmed
WORKSHOP

Marleen ter Avest & Rhoda Schuling

48 EUR
November 9, 2024
Congress Centre, Prague
timing and venue to be confirmed
WORKSHOP

Kamila Němečková

48 EUR
November 9, 2024
Congress Centre, Prague
timing and venue to be confirmed

Main partners

Logo Nadace Plné vědomí
Logo Aktivace potenciálu

Partner mini

Medmama

Contact

E-mail
info@moudrost-soucitu.cz

Contact for media

Phone
+420 605 933 399
E-mail
tereza@femedia.cz

Production/Tickets

EVOLUTION HUB s.r.o.
Na louce 453/16, 111 01 Praha 10
IČ: 02664275
DIČ: CZ02664275

Kontaktní osoba: Sandra Dangová
sandra@evolution.cz
+420 731 344 235
www.evolutionhub.cz

Organiser/Conference program

Moudrost soucitu, z. s.
Škvorecká 2022, 250 82 Úvaly
IČ: 19113366

Kontaktní osoba: Markéta Černoušková
info@moudrost-soucitu.cz
+420 606 626 610
www.moudrost-soucitu.cz