Mindfulness Mentor Training

A mindfulness mentor provides personalized, client-centered guidance in one-on-one or small-group settings. Rather than following a structured teaching model, mentors focus on deep listening, presence, and relational support, helping individuals integrate mindfulness into their personal and professional lives. A mentor’s role is to meet people where they are, offering tailored support for navigating life’s challenges with awareness and resilience.

A mindfulness teacher, on the other hand, is trained to lead structured meditation sessions, teach mindfulness principles, and guide groups in formal practice. Teachers focus on delivering instruction, often in a classroom, retreat, or organizational setting, helping students understand and apply mindfulness techniques.

While both roles cultivate mindfulness in others, a teacher leads and instructs, whereas a mentor supports and guides through deep personal connection and responsiveness to individual needs.

"Mentoring happens in small groups or one on one and involves building relationships and supporting people in their practice over time. The relationship and personal connection is key. The mentor actually gets to know the students and their life circumstances and can offer practices and teaching in response. So many of the skills we teach in this training are group facilitation skills, community-building skills, skills for meeting conflicts and difficult interpersonal situations. Mentoring is not about a download of teachings and techniques. Not so much the sage on the stage, but the guide on the side." - Anne Cushman

This training is designed for those who:—Have an established mindfulness or meditation practice.—Want to support others in their journey but need structure & skills.—Feel called to deepen their understanding of mindful mentoring.—Are seeking expert guidance, real-world application, and community.

The Mindfulness Mentor Training is a 16-week program designed for professionals who want to integrate mindfulness into their work through one-on-one or small-group guidance. Unlike traditional mindfulness teaching, mentoring focuses on deep, personalized connections—cultivating presence, active listening, and responsiveness to each client’s unique life circumstances.This program is ideal for coaches, therapists, social workers, meditation and yoga teachers, educators, activists, and other professionals in client-centered roles. You’ll learn to navigate sensitive topics, create a conscious relational field, and provide transformative, personalized support—empowering others to integrate mindfulness into their lives in meaningful ways.

We see this training as ongoing education for MMTCP graduates. MMTCP taught you how to teach and facilitate meditation. This Mindfulness Mentor Training will teach you how to mentor people in relation to the personal circumstances of their lives.

The important understanding here is that mentoring is different from teaching, particularly in the level of intimacy and relationship established with people.

‍"Mentoring involves facilitating people and groups in deepening their personal practice in relation to what's happening in their specific lives, rather than offering people a whole set of teachings, instructions, and practices that are part of a path of meditation." - Tara Brach

Required Books
These books are central to the curriculum and will be referenced throughout the program - but are not included in the training material.

—Radical Acceptance: Embracing Your Life With the Heart of a Buddha – Tara Brach
—The Wise Heart: A Guide to the Universal Teachings of Buddhist Psychology – Jack Kornfield
— Mindful of Race  – Ruth King
— Awakening Together – Larry Yang
—The Art of Communicating – Thich Nhat Hanh
— How Can I Help? – Ram Dass & Paul Gorman
— A Clinician's Guide to Teaching Mindfulness – Christiane Wolf & J. Greg Serpa
— Say What You Mean: A Mindful Approach to Nonviolent Communication – Oren Jay Sofer
— A Path with Heart – Jack Kornfield

‍Supplemental Readings (Recommended for further exploration)
For those looking to deepen their practice, we suggest the following additional books:

— You Belong – Sebene Selassie
— After the Ecstasy, the Laundry - Jack Kornfield
—Trusting the Gold - Tara Brach

‍How to get Your Books
‍Students are responsible for obtaining their books before the course begins. They can be obtained through local libraries, audiobook platforms, bookstores, online retailers, or second-hand bookshops. We recognize that acquiring all the required reading materials for the Mindfulness Mentor Training program can be a financial consideration. To support you in accessing these resources affordably, we recommend local public libraries, the Libby app, or audiobook platforms like Spotify.

The minimum requirement to qualify for your certificate of completion is:

— Attend all live sessions. If you are unable to attend a live session, you may watch the recording but we strongly encourage you to attend all live sessions to get the full value of the experience.
— Attend one Peer Group Session per module and attend 80% of all Peer Group Sessions.
— Complete all self-guided content, reading and video material, and exercises within the designated time to prepare for each live session.

‍On average, course participants should expect to have 4-5 hours of training material weekly. This includes all video and reading material, live sessions, and peer group meetings.

Yes! You can earn up to 11.25 Continued Education credits as a psychologist or California-licensed MFT, LCSW, LEP, LPCC, nurse, or chiropractor. Please see this page for details.

If you hold a different license than those listed above, or a license from a different board or association, please contact your licensing board or association directly to request pre-approval/acceptance of CE credits offered by co-sponsor Mindful CECs.

While there is no formal ongoing support after completing the training, we encourage Mindfulness Mentor Training graduates to continue their growth by joining our Mentorship Groups. These small, guided groups provide an opportunity to refine your mentorship skills, stay connected with like-minded peers, and deepen your personal practice. Engaging in a Mentorship Group allows you to apply what you've learned in a supportive, real-world setting while receiving continued insight from experienced teachers.

This online training begins the week of September 7, 2026 and runs for 16-weeks until December 21, 2026.

Live sessions begin September 7, 2026. While we strongly encourage you to attend all live sessions, we understand that life happens. You can watch the live sessions on your own time and still qualify to graduate.

SCHEDULE IS SUBJECT TO CHANGES

‍Welcome Session with Sharon Shelton
Sep 9 at 9 AM Pacific Time (90 min)

Module 1: Introduction to Mentoring
Sep 16 at 9 AM Pacific Time (90 min)

Module 2: Group Structure & Process with La Sarmiento
Sep 30 at 9 AM Pacific Time (90 min)

Module 3: Themes and Content with Jack Kornfield
Oct 14 at 9 AM Pacific Time (90 min)

Module 4: Skillful Responses & Individual Challenges with Tara Brach
Oct 28 at 9 AM Pacific Time (90 min)

Module 5: Working with Group Challenges & Controversial Issues with Jack Kornfield
Nov 11 at 9 AM Pacific Time (90 min)

Module 6: Navigating Life with Mindfulness and Heart with La Sarmiento
Nov 25 at 9 AM Pacific Time (90 min)

Module 7: Mentoring as Vocation with Sharon Shelton
Dec 7 at 9 AM Pacific Time (90 min)
‍
Module 8: Applied Learning Integration with Sharon Shelton
Dec 21 at 9 AM Pacific Time (90 min)

You’ll have regular live sessions with your teachers and fellow trainees. Some of the course work is also done on your own to allow for greater flexibility and accessibility. Self-guided content includes pre-recorded videos, audios and written/reading material.If any of these media are not accessible to you, please let us know when you apply. We are dedicated to a diverse and equitable educational experience and we're happy to work with you to best meet your needs.

The full price is $1,899.

We are deeply committed to equity and accessibility. To support this commitment, we offer scholarships as part of our application process. If the cost of the program presents a financial barrier, we encourage you to apply for a scholarship to ensure that financial constraints do not hinder your participation.

We offer tiered pricing so that the cost of this training reflects what each participant can genuinely contribute, rather than a single fixed price that excludes anyone for whom that price is out of reach.

Participants who pay full tuition are sustaining the training and making it possible for others to attend at reduced rates. Participants who pay at a reduced tier are being supported by those at higher tiers. Everyone in the cohort is part of the same arrangement — there's no distinction in what you receive, only in what you contribute.

The scholarships available are:

• $1,140 — 40% reduction
• $760 — 60% reduction
• $380 — 80% reduction
• Full scholarship — Limited availability for those for whom any payment would prevent participation

The deeper tiers are limited in number to keep the structure sustainable. They tend to fill quickly. If a tier is full when you apply, we'll let you know and offer the next available option.

We trust participants to choose the tier that genuinely reflects their financial situation. A useful question when deciding: What can I contribute that feels like a real commitment without creating hardship?

To request a reduced tier, complete the scholarship section of the application.

Refunds are available within the application and registration period, up to the point at which registration officially closes. To request a refund during this window, contact us at hello@banyantogether.com and we'll process a full refund.

Once registration closes — typically 2 weeks before the training begins — refunds are no longer available. By this point we've finalized cohort size, are matching peer practice groups, and committed resources to the cohort you're enrolled in. Closing the refund window at this point lets us hold the training as a real commitment for everyone involved.

For genuinely exceptional circumstances after registration closes (significant illness, family emergency, or similar), please reach out and we'll work with you individually.

For more details about cancellations, transfers, or refunds, please see our Refund Policy.

You should hear from us no later than two weeks after applying.

We will host a free live webinar to give prospective participants a direct sense of the training, the teachers, and the work. It's the best way to decide whether the program is a fit for you.

The webinar covers the central distinction at the heart of this training — the difference between teaching mindfulness and mentoring someone in it — and includes time for live Q&A with Sharon Shelton.

Upcoming session: June 1 at 9AM Pacific / 12PM Eastern

[Register for the webinar]

Can't attend live? Register anyway and we'll send you the recording. Many past participants have told us the webinar was what clarified for them that this training was the right next step.

If you'd prefer to read rather than attend a live session, you can also request our two-resource sneak preview — sample materials drawn directly from the training.

‍

Each cohort of the Mindfulness Mentor Training is limited to approximately 300 participants. We cap the size deliberately. The peer practice partnership — where you meet weekly with the same partner across all 16 weeks — is at the heart of how this training works, and the cohort needs to be small enough for that to be a real, sustained experience rather than a logistical exercise.

Within the cohort, you'll be matched with a peer practice group of 5-8 people for the duration of the training, and you'll also participate in smaller peer groups for module work. So while the full cohort offers the breadth of a global learning community, your day-to-day experience is anchored in close, ongoing relationships with a smaller group of fellow trainees.

Cohorts typically include therapists, coaches, social workers, meditation and yoga teachers, educators, chaplains, and other helping professionals from across North America, Europe, and beyond.