Alice Shires is a clinical and research psychologist, Director of the UTS Psychology Clinic, and Senior Lecturer at the Graduate School of Health, University of Technology, Sydney (UTS). She is Chair of the Australasian Psychology Clinic Directors association (AAPTC) and is involved in research and development of teaching, supervision and training in clinical psychology. She has established the Mindfulness-integrated research clinic at UTS and research includes the efficacy of MiCBT in chronic pain, the process of supervision and assessment of competencies in clinical psychology, and the inclusion of mindfulness training in the clinical psychology training process.

Alice is a senior trainer of MiCBT, implements MiCBT with clients, teaches MiCBT to mental health professionals and supervises clinicians during the course of their MiCBT training. She has recently co-authored The Clinical Handbook of Mindfulness‐integrated Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (Wiley, 2018) with Bruno Cayoun and Sarah Francis.

Dr Bruno Cayoun is a clinical and research psychologist and principal developer of Mindfulness-integrated Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (MiCBT). He is the founder and Director of the MiCBT Institute, a leading provider of MiCBT training and professional development to mental health services and professional associations internationally since 2003.

Bruno keeps a private practice in Hobart, Australia, undertakes mindfulness research at the MiCBT Institute, and regularly cooperates on mindfulness-based research with various universities in Australia and abroad. He has practised mindfulness meditation in the Burmese Vipassana tradition of Ledi Sayadaw, U Ba Khin and S. N. Goenka and undergone intensive training in France, Nepal, India, and Australia since 1989.

Bruno is the author of three books, including Mindfulness-integrated CBT: Principles and Practice (Wiley, 2011), Mindfulness-integrated CBT for Well-Being and Personal Growth: Four Steps to Enhance Inner Calm, Self-Confidence and Relationships (Wiley, 2015) and co-author of The Clinical Handbook of Mindfulness‐integrated Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (Wiley, 2018). His mindfulness training audio instructions are used worldwide in various languages, and he is the principal developer of validated questionnaires, including the Short Progress Assessment , the Mindfulness-based Self Efficacy Scale, and co-developer of the Equanimity Scale 16.

Dr Sarah Francis is a registered psychologist trained and experienced in mindfulness theory and practice. Sarah has qualifications in both psychology and education holding degrees of PhD., M.Psych., M.A., B.Ed., as well as a Diploma in Psychodynamic Psychotherapy. Sarah has worked as a teacher, human resources manager, general manager of learning and development, business consultant and psychologist. She is the author of Workplace Communication: A Teacher’s Guide (Pitman, 1993) and co-author of The Clinical Handbook of Mindfulness‐integrated Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (Wiley, 2018).

Sarah’s mindfulness training includes training in Mindfulness integrated Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (MiCBT), Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). She has researched the measurement of mindfulness and completed her PhD researching the impact of mindfulness on well-being and the effectiveness of group-based MiCBT as a transdiagnostic intervention.

Sarah regularly conducts MiCBT training courses for depression, anxiety and stress and conducts mindfulness training for health professionals, post-graduate students and corporate groups. Sarah is the Melbourne MiCBT Interest Group’s convenor and works closely with Dr Bruno Cayoun and the researcher and trainer group at the MiCBT Institute. Having attended many courses and teachings on Buddhism over the past 25 years and undertaken meditation retreats in Australia and Nepal, she is well equipped to integrate key aspects of eastern and western psychology.

Sarah works in private practice in Melbourne.

Richard has 16 years, including 13 years of post-doctorate, experience as a psychologist. This includes 13 years’ of experience as an MiCBT practitioner. For the last seven years, Richard has primarily focused on Telehealth Psychology helping older adults, adults, and teenagers (16 years and older). Richard has a deep interest in complex cases including Complex Trauma, PTSD, OCD and Addictions.

Boyd is a registered psychologist who has worked with children and teenagers for over 26 years. He has worked in various contexts, including community mental health centres in Southern Africa, schools and private practice.

Boyd has over a decade of experience working with MiCBT and is a facilitator at Melbourne Insight Meditation.

Lucy is a registered psychologist with over 20 years of experience in the mental health field. She is a Certified Practitioner in Mindfulness-integrated Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and has received training in several areas, including ADHD coaching, management, human & community services, ASD assessment and treatment, training and assessment, investigation skills, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Schema Therapy, Family Constellations, EMDR Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, Sleep Medicine, and other areas such as OHS Legislation.

Lucy has vast work experience, including working for the NSW Department of Community Services as a Manager/ Psychologist within the Allegations of Child Abuse Centralised Unit, as a Trainer within the Training and Development Branch, as an Investigator within the Allegations of Employee Unit, as a Project Officer within the Operations Development Unit, as well as an OHS Officer. She has also worked for the Gold Coast Drug Council Rehabilitation Centre as a psychologist, manager and lecturer at Bond and Griffith University. She has also worked as a Counsellor at the Currumbin Private Clinic, managing eating disorders and drug and alcohol units. 

Lucy now runs a private practice in the Gold Coast area, Australia, where she focuses on treating clients with trauma, depression, anxiety, bipolar affective disorder, pain management, ADHD, and personality disturbances.

Daniel Huard is a trained Clinical Psychologist, a member of the “Ordre des psychologues du Québec” since 1990 and of the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario, Canada, since 2015. 

Daniel worked for five years in the field of addictions, providing psychotherapy to individuals, couples, and groups. He had a part-time private practice for 12 years before joining the Canadian Federal Government full-time as a Counsellor and the Manager of an Employee Assistance Program. He provided support and supervision to counsellors and helped the organization with its human systems.

An avid meditator for a decade now, he has successfully completed the Core MiCBT Training in June of 2023. A mindfulness and meditation enthusiast, he has the desire to help support people to grow and optimize their living experience.

Daniel has a passion for watching big birds soaring and gliding by taking energy from wind currents in the atmosphere, his ultimate analogy for navigating the sensate world of the humankind…, and “Remembering to Observe” (a practical meaning of Sati).

Dr Andrea Grabovac, MD, FRCPC, is Co-Director of the North American Chapter of the MiCBT Institute. She is  a Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the University of British Columbia. Since 2005, she has been delivering mindfulness-based interventions in oncology, sexual medicine and psychiatric settings. Her academic interests include developing competencies for clinician training in mindfulness, as well as the integration of underpinning Buddhist psychological frameworks into mindfulness-based clinical interventions.

Dr Banafsheh Farzinrad, PhD is a psychotherapist, researcher, university lecturer and trainer in third-wave cognitive behavioural therapies (MiCBT, MBCT, ACT, DBT, CBT and EST). She is the Co-Director of the Persian Chapter of the MiCBT Institute.

Dr. Farzinrad received her PhD in clinical psychology from the Medical Science University of Tehran. She worked as an assistant professor at the psychiatric department of the Medical Science University of Yazd and is currently providing clinical services for personality disorders, anxiety, depression, and relationship difficulties in counselling and psychotherapy centres of different universities and hospitals in Iran. Her research includes a large randomized controlled trial on the differential effects of MiCBT, DBT, ACT and CBT in borderline personality with and without a history of domestic violence.

Dr Farzinrad was formally trained in MiCBT by Dr Bruno Cayoun and supervised by him to train psychologists in conducting MiCBT research in Iran. She translated and published the psychometric properties of the Persian version of the Equanimity Scale 16 (ES-16) in the Rooyesh-e-Ravanshenasi Journal.

Ms. Sandamita Choudhury is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist (RCI), and Founder Director of Spreeha Wellbeing Centre which is a health and wellness clinic situated in North East India. She belongs to the land of “Blue Hills and Red River”, Assam, the gateway of Northeast India. Academically, she holds M.Phil and M.Sc degree in Clinical Psychology. She completed her MiCBT practitioner level in the year 2021 under Dr. Bruno Cayoun.

Her motto is “Invest in mental health, it serves the best interest”.

She focuses on addressing the mental health needs of people at large through a combination of evidence-based psychological practices, mindfulness and spiritual practices. She has a diverse professional experience of over 10 years catering her services to special needs children, defence personnel, addiction recovery, individuals with psychiatric issues, and helping youth and adults deal with minor and major issues related to transitional phases. She has been actively participating in holding community programs for older adults to remove stigma related to mental health, and normalize seeking help to further improve their health and wellbeing.

Lorraine Klassen, M.Ed., CCC, a clinical counsellor in British Columbia since 1994, has provided counselling and a variety of training services in health care EAP, community agency settings and private practice. Since 2014, she has made MiCBT her focus in private practice.

Nicole has over 12 years of experience working with individuals with chronic stress, anxiety, perfectionism, and burnout. She was first introduced to Insight meditation 9 years ago and since then has completed extensive training in this field.  Specifically, she has received her certification in Mindfulness-integrated CBT (MiCBT Institute, AU), and qualification in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) (U. of Massachusetts Medical School), Mindfulness-Based Eating Awareness Training (MB-EAT) (Center for Mindful Eating, NH) and Mindful Self Compassion (MSC) Training (U. of San Diego Medical School).  These trainings have been highly instrumental in her own development and in her efforts in working alongside individuals as they embark on their journey of self-discovery, personal growth and healing.

Mr. Taylor is a Registered Marriage and Family Therapist and a Certified Relational Life Therapist in Alberta, Canada. He is a long-term meditator, initially practicing Transcendental Meditation for over 20 years, and then Vipassana Meditation as used in MiCBT for the past 7 years. He has been using MiCBT with hundreds of couples since 2016.

Fateh Sohrabi is a clinical psychologist with a master’s degree in psychology and has an interest in health psychology. Fateh has worked as a student counsellor at various universities and a clinician with crisis intervention in severe and chronic mental health disorders in a psychiatric setting.

His research has involved evaluating the effect of MiCBT on depression, blood sugar levels, and treatment adherence in diabetic patients. During his master’s degree, he began using mindfulness and was initially trained in MBCT and later in MiCBT under the supervision of Dr. Bruno Cayoun. Since 2012, he has been using MiCBT and translated the main MiCBT resources into Persian, including the self-help book for clients and the Clinical Handbook of MiCBT for therapists, both of which have been published in Iran. He also translated and recorded all MiCBT audio instructions for mindfulness meditation in Persian.

Mr Sohrabi is currently doing research as part of his PhD in clinical psychology at Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran. The research examines the differential efficacy of the desensitization model of MiCBT and the standard behavioral model on anxiety symptoms. His main interest is in evaluating the transdiagnostic methods and structures of psychotherapy comprised in MiCBT in different populations. He is co-director of the Persian Chapter of the MiCBT Institute and is currently undergoing his MiCBT trainer training under the supervision of Dr Cayoun.

Dr Alia Offman is a registered psychologist in Ontario, Canada providing counselling and professional training services using MiCBT. She obtained her doctorate in research psychology at Carleton University, a Master’s in Education at the University of Ottawa, and post-doctorate training as a counselling psychologist. She is currently working through Self-Balance Psychological Services to provide MiCBT therapy and training.

She has been a Contract Instructor at Carleton University for over ten years teaching in the psychology department. She has supervised their fourth year Honours Projects course, taught a fourth-year seminar course in The Psychology of Human Sexuality and undergraduate courses in The Psychology of Women, Statistics and Social Psychology. She has also taught in the education department at the University of Ottawa as a sessional lecturer. She is currently developing a fourth-year course in Mindfulness and Well-being.

Alia is a published researcher with the majority of her work focused on adult populations, studying such diverse areas as workplace productivity, the impact of discrimination on health, communication in relationships and the effects of relationship violence on self-esteem. She was an Associate Researcher at Carleton University and a Research Associate with the Ottawa Health Research Institute.

Working within her individuals has always been important to Alia. She has completed 3 levels of training in the Mindful School Program and will be a volunteer teacher in her individual’s school, offering mindfulness training to grade school students. For many years she volunteered with Planned Parenthood Ottawa, and she was recognized for her work in the field of human sexuality. She was awarded the Norman Barwin Scholarship from the Planned Parenthood Federation of Canada.

She continues to study and train in mindfulness approaches and is working under the supervision of Dr Bruno Cayoun in expanding MiCBT in Canada.

Dr. Masoud Fazilat-Pour is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Education & Psychology at Shiraz University and earned his PhD in Psychology from Cardiff University in the United Kingdom.

His research interests are multifaceted and include Attention, Depressed Mood, and Mindfulness-integrated Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (MiCBT). Dr. Fazilat-Pour has applied the MiCBT approach to various psychological conditions, including Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Multiple Sclerosis (MS), and Vitiligo.

Recently, he has been exploring the impact of MiCBT on positive emotions as defined in Seligman’s PERMA model, specifically examining Alpha synchrony in locations associated with these emotions. Additionally, he has conducted research on the influence of MiCBT on self-esteem.

His work continues to provide valuable insights into the application and benefits of MiCBT in diverse contexts.

Mr Briseño has a Bachelor in Psychology and obtained his Master’s degree in Behavioral Sciences (M.Sc.) with an orientation in Neuroscience from the University of Guadalajara. His area of interest was the negative effects of psychosocial stress on emotional regulation, evaluated by brain electrical activity. This in turn led him to become interested in the therapeutic effects of Mindfulness.

Mr Briseño began his training in mindfulness skills with different Buddhist traditions, leading him to participate in multiple meditation retreats and in different local and international certifications in Mindfulness-based Programs (MBP). Mr Briseño became interested in specializing in mindfulness in clinical settings and has been training with Dr Bruno Cayoun in MiCBT since 2019.

Currently, he has a private practice in Guadalajara, Mexico, at the Applied Neuropsychology and Neuroscience Institute. He conducts clinical research in MiCBT at the University of Guadalajara and other universities around the world. He is co-director of the Latin American Chapter of the MiCBT Institute and will be a trainer of the Spanish-speaking courses and events. He continues to translate and disseminate MiCBT in Spanish.

After graduating from university, Makiko worked as an English language teacher and then at the British Consulate General (Consular Department, Commercial Department). Makiko became interested in psychology and entered graduate school (clinical psychology major). She gained clinical experience in individual and group therapy for school children, developmental assessments in infant health checkups, and mother-child counselling. She also researched the dynamics of families with drug dependence problems such as alcohol. After graduating, Makiko worked as a counsellor at the Osaka Prefectural Mental Health Comprehensive Center, implementing and analysing counselling and psychological tests. She also worked as a counsellor at a public educational counselling centre, and a school counsellor at public elementary, junior high, and high schools; Makiko is also active as a lecturer in mental health seminars at government offices and a psychology lecturer at vocational schools and culture schools.

Makiko’s first encounter with MiCBT was in 2015 when she participated in a two-day introductory workshop on MiCBT in Osaka, facilitated by Ms Mikako Naito, who had travelled from Australia. In 2020, Makiko completed the applied course with Dr Cayoun and has since attended many MiCBT masterclasses and courses. Makiko is also part of the translation team for “Mindfulness-integrated CBT for Well-Being and Personal Growth” into Japanese, which will be published soon.