COURSE TO BECOME A MINDFULNESS
CHILD TRAINER
in control of your fears and full of
confidence in yourself. Mindfulness Matters’
How do you teach a child to relax, to stop worrying, to trust in their own qualities and stay afloat in this demanding 21st century?
During the Course to become a Mindfulness Child Trainer at the AMT, you’ll not only learn to give an eight-week Mindfulness training to children aged 4 to 12. You’ll also teach it to yourself. Teaching how to play a piano can also only be taught by one who is an experienced piano player and practices daily. The Method Eline Snel has been developed with a great deal of compassion and dedication, and is known worldwide as the Mindfulness training for children and adolescents.
Content course to become a Mindfulness Child Trainer
The content is fully described in the training handbooks. The training course and the mindfulness training for children are teacher proof and evidence based. The content of the training course (and the child training) is experiential. They’re all about
- Becoming familiar with the structure, content and essence of the lessons and different ways of working
- Learning how to plan and give lessons from the training handbooks
- Practising the art of inquiry
- Practice with intake interviews and evaluations of the course
- Awareness of the importance of compassion
- Research and the effect of mindfulness on the developing brain
- Introducing the courses to the school, practice or institution in which you work.
Study load Mindfulness Child Trainer
The course to become a Mindfulness Children Trainer comprises a total of 99 hours:
- 45 hours of training at the Academy for Mindful Teaching, including pre-interview, supervision, and interim coaching
- 20 hours of mandatory literature study and preparation lessons
- 24 hours preparing and carrying out an eight-week pilot training course
- 10 hours writing a final report
After your certification, an annual Post-Academic Day of 6-8 hours is compulsory.
What should you expect from the AMT trainers?
You’ll receive a warm welcome and a strong sense of involvement. Our trainers have gained a wealth of experience from years of teaching the Method in mainstream and special education, mental health centres, hospitals, and in private practice. We’re here for you, and our goal is to guide you through the training process.
What do we expect of you?
In order to obtain the certificate, it’s important that you meet the following conditions:
- Practise Mindfulness during and outside lessons
- Attend every day of the training course (you can always join another group if you need to catch up on missed days)
- Attend a mandatory supervision interview to discuss your personal learning process. You should make an appointment with a supervisor yourself.
- Give a pilot training to your own target group, consisting of at least three children who are not family members
- Write a report on your experiences with the pilot (12 to 14 pages)
- After certification, use the frog quality mark on all your PR material and your website.
Conditions for participation in the course to become a Mindfulness Child Trainer
- Having finished an eight-week MBSR or MBCT training with a certified trainer. Alternatively, you can attend the eight-week Mindfulness in Education & Parenting course.
- Bachelor degree
- Work with children aged 4-12 in a school or other institution, after-school care, or your own practice
- Participating in a silent Mindfulness retreat of at least five consecutive days to deepen your own practice. This must be completed within two years after starting the course to become a Mindfulness Children Trainer
If you have any questions about these requirements, feel free to email amt@elinesnel.com. We’ll be happy to help.
What does it cost?
The cost of the course to become a Mindfulness Children Trainer is €1,575. This includes:
- Two copies of the trainer’s handbook, for the 4-8 and 8-12 age groups
- Material for pupils in both age groups as download material
- An extensive syllabus with information about the Method Eline Snel
- AMT PowerPoint presentation for parent and colleague information evenings
- Coffee, tea, and lunch/light meal
The supervision interview costs an additional €75.
Certification and the frog quality label
Certification as a Mindfulness Children Trainer in the Method Eline Snel requires 100% attendance, a completed pilot training, a supervision interview, and an approval and feedback report from your trainer. You’ll receive a certificate and be authorized to use the frog logo in your PR material, website, and correspondence.
You’ll also be added to the Find a trainer page on our website. To keep this active, you’ll need to attend an annual Post-Graduation Day.
After the training programme
We expect you to attend a 6-8 hours during post academic day annually. You can also attend the course to become a Mindfulness Adolescent Trainer and/or course to become a Mindfulness Trainer in Education. This course will enable you to offer teachers, parents, and other care professionals a specialised, fully fledged eight-week Mindfulness training.
“I’ve never attended a course and encountered such friendly, personal attention and so much experience and professionalism. And I’ve been to quite a few!
– Carla Smit