Build Connection and Increase Well-Being

• Developed by a team of contemplative scholars, clinical psychologists, and researchers at Stanford University's Center for Compassion & Altruism Research and Education, Compassion Cultivation Training is an 8-week educational program designed to help you improve your resilience, feel more connected with others, and ultimately provide a greater overall sense of well-being. Developing compassion skills can greatly reduce the distress people feel in difficult situations and be a profound personal resource at home, at work, and in the world. (Above photo: with CCT Instructor Colleagues, 2014)

• Compassion training extends beyond helping one feel more empathy and concern for others. It includes the development of:
• Strength to be present with one’s own suffering and the suffering of others
• Resilience to prevent emotional and physical fatigue and burnout
• Courage to take action when appropriate
• Published and emerging research indicates that the CCT course can support one’s goals for health, happiness, and well-being; increase self-compassion and self-care; reduce stress, anxiety, and depression; and enhance connection with others. These qualities support a wide range of goals – from improving personal and work relationships to making a positive difference in the world.

• CCT combines traditional contemplative practices with contemporary psychology and scientific research to foster new skills and greater capacity for compassion, empathy and kindness toward others; new capability to receive the same from others; and the strength to offer it with yourself.
• Each session combines traditional contemplative practices with contemporary psychology and scientific research on compassion. The course includes:
• a 2-hour class, once per week for 8 weeks - with lecture, discussion, and Mindfulness and guided meditations 
• in-class listening and communication exercises - with partners and small groups
• a guided daily meditation and breathing practice - downloadable, to be done at home 
• on-the-go skills to help you practice out in the world
• post-training monthly drop-in sessions for meditation and group discussion at Compassionate Tampa Bay, as well as an online meeting group 
• No previous meditation experience is required, although willingness to practice daily is a key component of the training.

CTB Director Brett Cobb is a Certified Teacher of Compassion Cultivation Training, a program of the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education, Stanford University.