About This Course
Are you a social or environmental advocate or a leader working for positive change? The Inner Change Works (ICW) six-week programme is designed to empower individuals like you with the psychological resilience and compassionate responsiveness needed to thrive in global challenges.
Whether it's burnout, anxiety or compassion fatigue, this innovative programme offers mindfulness and compassion-based tools to help you reconnect with your purpose while nurturing your well-being, promoting skilful communication and wise action, and instigating sustainable behaviour change. ICW is more than a training – it’s a transformative journey to build resilience, cultivate active hope, and deepen ethical awareness for sustainable advocacy. This project is funded by the ÌìÌì³Ô¹Ï Staff Enterprise Development Fund.
Join a growing community of changemakers who are enhancing their capacity to respond effectively, lead ethically, and contribute meaningfully to social and ecological well-being. Together, we can build a future where advocacy flourishes alongside mental health and sustainability.
Ready to make an impact while caring for yourself? Explore the ICW programme today and take the first step toward a more resilient and compassionate path to change.
Who is this course for?
This short course is aimed at individuals and organisations involved in community engagement, social justice, and sustainability in both local and global contexts.
Why study this course?
The Inner Change Works (ICW) six-week programme addresses the pressing need for psychological resilience and compassionate responsiveness among individuals engaged in social change and environmental sustainability work.
This initiative acknowledges the mental health challenges that often accompany exposure to global issues, such as eco-anxiety, burnout, and compassion fatigue. By integrating mindfulness and compassion-based approaches, the ICW programme supports the cultivation of resilience, active hope, and ethical awareness, all of which are crucial for sustainable engagement in social and environmental efforts.
The ICW programme is an innovative, resilience-oriented approach to mindfulness and compassion-based training that addresses the mental health needs and ethical challenges of contemporary social and environmental advocates. By cultivating psychological resilience, ethical awareness, and compassionate action, the programme empowers individuals to engage more sustainably in advocacy and to contribute meaningfully to collective well-being.
Such training not only benefits individual practitioners but also promotes broader social and ecological flourishing, making it a valuable contribution to the field of mindfulness-based interventions.
Course Format
The standard short course runs over six weeks, with weekly online sessions lasting 2.5 hours. Sessions combine experiential practice, reflection, group dialogue, and guided learning.
Organisational Delivery
In addition to the six-week format, the Inner Change Works programme can be tailored for organisations seeking to support their teams. We offer customised delivery options, including focused 2–3 day workshops or other formats aligned with organisational needs.
These bespoke offerings provide the same course content in a condensed, impactful format, ideal for staff development, leadership training, or team well-being initiatives.
Interested in a tailored version for your organisation? Get in touch to explore how ICW can be delivered in your context.
Tutors
Dr. Sophie Sansom
Sophie is co-director of the Centre for Mindfulness Research and Practice at ÌìÌì³Ô¹Ï. As a senior lecturer Sophie teaches on the master's program and is passionate about social and environmental initiatives having recently co-developed the Inner Change Works (ICW) programme. Founder of SiTT (Support for Integrity in Teaching and Training) Sophie has established frameworks for community development and professional standards in the field. Having collaboratively developed a pioneering approach for the recognition of new MBP curricula Sophie chairs the International Panel of Acknowledgement (IPA) hosted by the European Association of Mindfulness-based Approaches (EAMBA). Leading on the scholarship and development of the Mindfulness-based Interventions -Teaching Assessment Criteria Sophie’s academic work explores ways of supporting pedagogical innovation and accessibility while upholding quality and integrity; a key focus in her role as Chair of the British Association of Mindfulness-based Approaches (BAMBA).
Dr. Bridgette O’Neill
Bridgette O'Neill DClinPsych is a senior lecturer with the Centre for Mindfulness Research and Practice at ÌìÌì³Ô¹Ï. Bridgette has taught mindfulness-based approaches in NHS mental health services for staff and clients since 2002. She teaches and trains internationally in Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction, Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy and Mindfulness Based Compassionate Living. Her research and scholarship interests include the potential of mindfulness and compassion based approaches in 'bigger than self' concerns and pro-social behaviour and the role of retreat in mindfulness-based teaching.
Course Content
What will you study on this course?
Mindfulness
- Compassion
- Empowered responsive action techniques
What do learners say about the course?
"There is a strong growing feeling of belonging to a wide web of fellow seekers for change. "
"I feel that I have been expanded, broadened, enriched, inspired and more able to connect into the depth of my being to share, act, articulate towards change in a way I didn't before."
"I feel empowered and positive and have a sense that the small things I do can make a difference."
Application
Register for the Next Course
The next course will begin in October 2025 and will run on the following Tuesdays from 9:30am-12:00pm.
7, 14, 21 October
4, 11, 18 November
Cost: £260&²Ô²ú²õ±è;&²Ô²ú²õ±è;
Can’t Make These Dates?
Register your interest to be the first to hear about future course dates.