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Center for Mindful Self-Compassion

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San Diego, CA
Center for Mindful Self-Compassion

CMSC offers training in Mindful Self-Compassion based on research & established teaching methods. Founded in 2012 by Kristin Neff, PhD and Christopher K.

Germer, PhD, the center is a place where people can access self-compassion resources, discover MSC programs in their area, and explore MSC teacher training.

01/12/2026

We all need little resets—especially the ones that bring us back to ourselves.

Take a 60-second Self-Compassion Break today:
💛 Breath
💛 Acknowledge what you’re feeling
💛 Remember you’re not alone
💛 Offer yourself kindness

One minute. Big impact.

01/07/2026

Why take the The MSC Renewal Core Skills Workshop?
Because even the most well-intentioned self-compassion practices can fade when life gets full. The MSC Renewal Core Skills Workshop is a chance to pause, reconnect, and nourish what supports you most.

Join Aimee Eckhardt & David Fredrickson on January 23–24, 2026 for two restorative days, live online, dedicated to returning to the heart of Mindful Self-Compassion. This experiential workshop offers a gentle space to refresh your core skills, deepen your practice, and remember that you don’t have to do it all alone.

✨ Why it’s worth renewing now:
• Revisit and strengthen foundational MSC practices
• Reconnect with the qualities that sustain your wellbeing
• Get supportive guidance for applying self-compassion to daily challenges
• Rest, reflect, and cultivate clarity
• Experience community with others on a similar path
• Ideal for previous MSC participants, professionals, and teachers

If you’re feeling stretched, tired, or simply ready to come home to yourself, this workshop offers a grounding reset.

Save $100 when you register by January 12 with code RENEWAL100.

💙 Registration now open, link in bio or at centerformsc.org

01/04/2026

💞 Self-Compassion Phrase: "Anger is a feeling that arises sometimes. May I create the space to know what my anger is telling me."

Relationships lie at the heart of our emotional lives, and they can bring both joy and pain. The relational pain of disconnection, including feeling unseen, misunderstood, or betrayed, often triggers the challenging emotion of anger. Anger is a natural response of self-protection, and a rich source of information about ourselves and what we truly need and value.

In MSC, we begin exploring anger with mindfulness by noticing and validating the anger. A simple acknowledgment like, "Oh, I'm feeling angry right now," or "This is what anger feels like," can help release some of its negative energy. Then, when we have a little more breathing space, we can ask what the anger may be protecting us from. What underlying soft feelings may be too painful to touch yet: is there disappointment, sadness, or grief that needs attention? What unmet needs might we be yearning for others to fill, even when they are unable to do so?

Self-compassion helps us meet anger as a friend who reveals our deeper needs and supports our healing with less reactivity and more equanimity, so that it can serve us rather than hurt us.

If you would like to explore how self-compassion can help you better understand and respond to anger and other challenging emotions, join us for a Live Online MSC courses or Workshops. We'd love to support you and share our safe and nourishing community with you.

12/18/2025

🌟 Start the New Year with Renewal & Self-Compassion 🌿

Join us in January for the Renewal Core Skills workshop—an empowering space to deepen your Mindful Self-Compassion practice as you step into the year with clarity, courage, and care.

✨ This interactive workshop emphasizes the core capacities of mindful awareness, self-kindness, and a sense of shared humanity, inviting participants to revisit foundational practices with fresh perspective.

This adapted Core Skills workshop offers an immersive, retreat-like experience designed for participants who already have some familiarity with Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC), Live Online MSC (LOMSC), or other contemplative self-compassion practices.

📅 January 23rd & 24th, 2026
💻 Live Online
👉 Learn more & register link in bio or:
https://centerformsc.org/products/renewal-core-skills

Let’s begin the year with compassion— for ourselves, and for the world around us. 💗

12/15/2025

✨ A Looking Back at 2025 with Gratitude ✨

As we reflect on this past year at the Center for Mindful Self-Compassion, we’re filled with appreciation for our global community of teachers, participants, volunteers, and supporters.

This video offers a glimpse into the moments, practices, and connections that shaped 2025—and reminds us that none of it would be possible without you. Thank you for being part of our journey and for carrying self-compassion into the world. 💛

With gratitude,
The CMSC Team

12/09/2025

Ready to bring more compassion into your therapy practice?
Applications are open for the Self-Compassion in Psychotherapy (SCIP) training starting this January with CMSC.

In our recent info session, therapists shared how self-compassion has transformed their work—helping them meet their clients (and themselves) with more presence, warmth, and humanity. Many described SCIP as the program that finally integrates personal practice + clinical skill in a meaningful way.

If you're a therapist longing to deepen your own inner work and strengthen the compassion-based foundations of your clinical practice, this training is for you.

✨ Experiential learning
✨ Personal transformation
✨ Research-informed, clinically grounded
✨ A global community of practitioners

SCIP begins January 2026 — join us.
centerformsc.org/scip

12/05/2025

You’re Invited: Free Live Online CMSC Year-End Retreat
Saturday, December 13, 2025
✨ Renewal: Resting in Compassion, Joy & Community

As the year winds down, we invite you to pause, breathe, and be held in community. Join us for CMSC’s free, donation-supported Year-End Renewal Retreat—a space to rest, reflect, and nourish your heart.

🕊 Retreat Sessions (attend one or all):
• 8–11 am PT – Europe/Americas
• 4–7 pm PT – Australasia/Americas

Grounded in Mindful Self-Compassion, this retreat offers gentle guided meditations, reflective practices, and moments of shared humanity—all designed to help you reconnect with ease, joy, and what truly sustains you.

Led by CMSC Co-Founder Chris Germer and MSC Teachers from around the world, this retreat is our heartfelt thank-you to the global community that makes this work possible. Your presence supports CMSC’s year-end fundraiser—and your well-being.

💛 Free to attend (Donations Welcome)
💛 Open to everyone
💛 Replay available for 7 days (register even if you can’t join live)

Let’s close the year together—with compassion, community, and renewal.

👉 RSVP now and gift yourself a moment of rest.
centerformsc.org/renewal
or
link in bio

12/03/2025

🌿 Upcoming Workshop: Creating Cultures of Belonging
A Self-Compassionate Approach to Neuroinclusive Workplaces
with Janine Johnston
📆 Saturday, December 6 • 9–11 am PST

How do we build workplaces where everyone feels seen, supported, and able to thrive? This workshop explores how Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) can transform organizational culture by fostering true inclusion for neurodivergent team members—leaders, staff, and clients alike.

Grounded in the three pillars of MSC—mindfulness, common humanity, and kindness (including fierce compassion)—you’ll learn how to recognize and honor neurological differences with clarity, confidence, and care.

⭐ In this interactive session, you’ll explore:
• Core concepts of neurodivergence & Mindful Self-Compassion
• How MSC reduces masking, stress & burnout while supporting resilience
• Common triggers & patterns that challenge neurodivergent people at work
• Practical tools to set boundaries, meet needs & build psychological safety

Through short teachings, guided practices, and reflective inquiry, we’ll move beyond “inclusion as a checkbox” toward workplaces rooted in courage, creativity, and compassion.

✨ Perfect for leaders, teams, HR professionals, and anyone eager to nurture a more humane, neuroinclusive workplace.

👉 Join us and help create cultures where belonging isn’t just talked about—it's lived.

link in bio

12/02/2025

💟 When life feels like a lot, especially this time of year, self-compassion can help us soften the pressure and find our way back to steadiness. Here are five gentle reminders for easing overwhelm:

1️⃣ Pause on purpose.
A single slow breath can interrupt urgency and help your nervous system settle. Shoulders down, soften your face, and let yourself land for a moment.

2️⃣ Notice your zone.
The MSC Course teaches that we move through three natural learning zones: Safety, Challenge, and Overwhelm. If you’ve slipped into the “too much” zone, ask, “What do I need to feel safe right now?” and take a brief reset before moving forward.

3️⃣ Listen to your body.
Your body often knows you’re overwhelmed before your mind does. A hand on your heart, relaxed shoulders, or one steady breath can bring you back into warmth and regulation.

4️⃣ Remember you’re not alone.
So many people are feeling the same mix of stress, tenderness, and fatigue. Let common humanity soften the sense of “just me.”

5️⃣ Let in small joys.
Joy can’t be forced, but it appears when we allow it. Notice one thing that feels steady or supportive—a warm cup, a kind word, your breath.

A little self-kindness goes a long way. 💛

11/26/2025

💞 Self-Compassion Phrase: "I am willing to trust the wise, compassionate friend within me and allow it to support me."

You have the ability to connect with a wise and compassionate friend within you. Your Compassionate Friend can show up in many ways—as a spiritual figure, an ancestor, a person from your past or present you respect and trust, or an inner presence of wisdom, love, and understanding.

When you allow yourself to open to this connection, this Compassionate Friend can be a source of unshakeable support, offering comfort, validation, and the courage to face emotional struggles and difficult relationships. Whether your Compassionate Friend offers soothing tenderness or the encouragement to take action, their presence is a reminder that you are never alone on your journey.

Your Compassionate Friend is on call 24/7, ready and waiting for you to reach out and connect.

11/18/2025

✨ Curious about bringing more self-compassion into your clinical work?
Join us for a free information session on the Self-Compassion in Psychotherapy (SCIP) program!

Whether you're a seasoned therapist or just beginning your clinical journey, this session offers a welcoming space to explore how self-compassion practices can deepen therapeutic presence, reduce burnout, and support meaningful transformation for both you and your clients.

🧠 What you’ll learn:
· What SCIP is and how it integrates compassion-based approaches into psychotherapy
· How self-compassion supports clinician well-being
· Whether the full program is the right fit for your professional path

📅 Free Info Session
🔗 Sign up here or link in bio: centerformsc.org/products/scip-introduction-session-free

Give yourself (and your clients) the gift of compassion. We’d love to have you there. 💛

11/17/2025

🌿 Meet Laura Stein, Supporting the Growth of New MSC Teachers 🌿

Laura has been with CMSC since 2016, initially working part-time doing data entry and has managed to work her way to Education Manager. Her degree in History has fostered a feeling of care and desire of international connectivity that has fueled her passion in the work of spreading compassion and self-compassion to all corners of the world, and she is grateful for the work she is able to do to assist with this through CMSC’s mission.

In her free time, Laura loves to cook and experiment with recipes, lose herself in a spooky novel or movie, or immerse herself in the digital world of a video game. She treasures the time spent with her friends and family, and loves to pamper her two precious cats, Dimitri and Soup.

Address

San Diego, CA

Opening Hours

Monday	8am - 5pm
Tuesday	8am - 5pm
Wednesday	8am - 5pm
Thursday	8am - 5pm
Friday	8am - 5pm
Saturday	9am - 7pm
Sunday	9am - 12pm

Website

http://www.centerformsc.org/

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