Wednesday Evening Online Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction and Cognitive Therapy with Rachel Ardagh

This eight-week online Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction course, with elements of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy, is led by Rachel Ardagh, a mindfulness teacher and registered occupational therapist. It meets on Wednesday evenings and is for anyone who meets stress at work or at home and wants to respond to it with more understanding and ease. People with a meditation background and complete beginners are equally welcome.

What to Expect

The course explores what we mean by stress and how it shows up in our personal lives and at work. A central question runs through it: can mindfulness help us respond to what happens in a way that feels authentic? Stress cannot be avoided, but how we view and meet it can make things worse or help us not only tolerate discomfort but live a fuller life.

MBSR was developed by Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn at the University of Massachusetts Medical Centre in 1979. In this course it is taught through live online sessions from 6:30 to 9:00 pm Irish time, once a week for eight weeks. Each session is experiential, with sitting meditation, body awareness and gentle mindful movement. A retreat day is also planned, with its date still to be confirmed.

Most of the work happens between classes. Participants are asked to practise at home for about 45 minutes a day, supported by a weekly email that summarises the content and practice instructions, along with meditation recordings and a programme handbook.

The aims include relating differently to worry and anxiety, becoming familiar with the workings of the mind, easing self-judgement, managing interpersonal conflict more effectively, and keeping mindfulness going as a form of self-care. After the course, weekly guided practice sessions are open to everyone on a drop-in basis, which many find helpful for sustaining the practice.

About Rachel Ardagh

Rachel Ardagh holds an MSc in Mindfulness Based Interventions and a BSc (Hons) in Occupational Therapy, and is a CORU registered occupational therapist. She began her mindfulness teacher training in 2017 at Bangor University and completed her Masters at UCD in 2020, where she received the Mindfulness Award for best performance from the UCD School of Psychology. She has also trained in Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy and Trauma Sensitive Mindfulness.

Rachel is part of the tutor team for trainee mindfulness teachers at The Mindfulness and Compassion Centre and is a registered member of the Mindfulness Teachers Association of Ireland. In 2020 she founded Insight Out Mindfulness and Therapy, offering mindfulness courses, retreats and one-to-one sessions. She is also a senior mental health occupational therapist who spent seven years as a senior clinician at the National Centre for Youth Mental Health. Past participants describe her as warm, open and kind, and appreciate being able to reach out to her between sessions.

Before You Go

Each participant has an individual orientation call with the teacher before the course begins. It is a chance to ask questions and to check that this is the right time for such an intensive, experiential programme, which can at times be challenging. You can decide on the call whether to go ahead.

The course is not suitable for anyone in the middle of an acute crisis. It is taught in English, and you will need a regular time and space for daily practice at home.

Included are the programme handbook, weekly emails, meditation recordings, the orientation call and access to the drop-in practice after the course. Participants who attend the programme fully receive a Certificate of Completion in the Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Programme from The Mindfulness Centre.