Start with
the ground
you know,
the pale ground
beneath your feet,
your own
way to begin
the conversation.
from Start Close In by David Whyte

Early in 2014, Life Coach, friend and colleague Zoey Ryan, asked me to facilitate a workshop for frontline staff who were experiencing burnout and vicarious trauma from their work with women and children who were experiencing partner abuse.

I invited my friend and colleague, Carol Ranger, to co-facilitate the training with me and while planning we discovered the research showing the protective and health benefits of self-compassion practice for caregivers. We incorporated self-compassion skills into our training and were pleased when participants found it so helpful. This inspired us to study with Dr. Chris Germer and Dr. Kristen Neff and The Centre for Mindful Self-Compassion and to train as Mindful Self-Compassion teachers.  

We began to integrate the tools into our own ilifes and our own work in health care. Since 2014 we have taught Mindful Self-Compassion programs to hundreds of people in our own community and beyond, slowly building a local community of practitioners who connect and support their practice through our private facebook group.   Zoey Ryan now teaches MSC in Metro Vancouver, Carol Ranger incorporates the skills into her work as a dietitian at Tsow Tun LeLum Society and I have the privilege of co-teaching with Kristy Williams, MD, a trained MSC Teacher with a strong interest in trauma informed mindfulness.