Guiding and Teaching Mindfulness: Ethics, Skill, and Adaptations for Adults and Children

About this pathway

For professionals who guide, teach, recommend, or model mindfulness in their work — with adults or with children — this program addresses the art and ethics of sharing the practice skillfully and with integrity. James Baraz opens with the foundational qualities of an effective mindfulness guide: presence, patience, and ethical clarity. Donald Rothberg examines loving-kindness pedagogy across multiple methodological approaches. Susan Kaiser Greenland applies those pedagogical principles to children and adolescents, offering developmentally adapted frameworks refined over 25 years. The pathway closes with Rick Hanson's cultivation of joy and positive neuroplasticity — positioned not only as a personal practice but as an essential teaching resource: professionals who can model positive states are often more effective at guiding others.

The 4 sessions · 8 CE contact hours

Each session is a recorded video with an assessment. The filed learning objectives are listed under every module.

1. 

   01· 2 hrs· James Baraz, MA

   Teaching Mindfulness with Integrity: Presence, Attention, Ethics

   The single most important moment in practice; humility, embodied presence, and translating mindfulness for secular professional and clinical settings.

   Learning objectives

   • Describe the foundational elements of mindfulness instruction — including attention regulation, awareness of present-moment experience, and the skillful, self-compassionate response to mind-wandering — and how these principles can be communicated effectively in secular professional and clinical settings.
   • Explain how ethical integrity and the cultivation of positive mental qualities support psychological well-being and inform the responsible teaching and application of mindfulness in professional settings.
2. 

   02· 2 hrs· Donald Rothberg, PhD

   Teaching Loving-Kindness (Metta): Foundations & Methods

   Phrase-based and radiating approaches; the traditional sequence of beings; recognizing activation and modifying practice with skill.

   Learning objectives

   • Describe the traditional sequence used in loving-kindness practice and identify evidence-based components of structured loving-kindness interventions.
   • Explain and apply methods for integrating loving-kindness practice into daily life contexts, including professional and healthcare settings.
3. 

   03· 2 hrs· Susan Kaiser Greenland, JD

   Teaching Mindfulness to Children

   Activity-based framework (Attention, Balance, Compassion); developmental adaptations from preschool through adolescence; scope of practice for school-based work.

   Learning objectives

   • Describe an activity-based framework for teaching mindfulness to children, including core qualities (attention, balance, compassion) and associated life skills.
   • Identify developmentally appropriate adaptations of mindfulness practices for different age groups, including focused attention techniques for younger children and open awareness practices for older children.
4. 

   04· 2 hrs· Rick Hanson, PhD

   Joy & Happiness: Positive Neuroplasticity & Inner Resources

   The HEAL model (Have, Enrich, Absorb, Link); cultivating self-compassion, contentment, and felt sense of being cared about as durable inner resources.

   Learning objectives

   • Describe the two-stage neuroplasticity process for converting beneficial experiences into lasting psychological traits through sustained attention, somatic awareness, and reward value amplification.
   • Identify key psychological resources (such as self-compassion, feeling cared about, and contentment) that can support individual needs for safety, satisfaction, and connection.

Questions clinicians ask

The other pathways in this curriculum

• Pathway IThe Neuroscience of Mindfulness: Attention, Habit Change, and Anxiety9.5 CE contact hours · 5 sessionsRichard J. Davidson, PhD · Rick Hanson, PhD · Judson Brewer, MD, PhD$179
• Pathway IIIWorking with Shame and Grief: Self-Compassion and Emotional Resilience in Clinical Practice8.5 CE contact hours · 4 sessionsChristopher Germer, PhD · Francis Weller, MFT · Myra Walden, MA · Bob Wentworth, PhD · Fiona Brandon, MPS, MA, LMFT$169
• Pathway IVTrauma-Sensitive Mindfulness and Clinical Safety: Adverse Effects, Serious Illness, and Chronic Pain11.5 CE contact hours · 6 sessionsWilloughby Britton, PhD · David Treleaven, PhD · Susan Bauer-Wu, PhD, RN · Vidyamala Burch, OBE · Oren Jay Sofer$227

Taking all four? The complete bundle covers 37.5 CE contact hours and saves $227 versus enrolling separately.