The Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program was originally developed at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center in the late 1970s by Jon Kabat-Zinn, PhD. It is an eight-week, evidence-based, highly experiential course that is currently offered at more than 250 hospitals, universities, and clinical settings in the United States and around the world.
MBSR's primary aim is to develop skills that can be flexibly applied in everyday life to stress, pain, and illness. Through experiential learning and discussion during class, as well as through daily mindfulness practice at home, participants learn and refine a range of self-regulatory skills that involve finely tuned attention to thoughts, emotions, and physical sensations.
The MBSR Program Involves:
According to the American Academy of Family Physicians, up to two-thirds of all office visits to family doctors are for stress-related symptoms. Depression and anxiety symptoms are often associated with chronic illness and chronic pain and should be addressed as part of the overall management of health problems. MBSR may help reduce medical symptoms and psychological distress as well as the need for clinical services.
Mindfulness meditation has been researched in conjunction with:
MBSR courses are typically offered in the winter/early spring, summer, and fall.
Wednesday evenings (virtual):
January 4th, 2023 – February 22nd, 2023
6:00pm-8:30pm
Retreat Day: Sunday, February 12th, 2023
Teacher: Barbara Ivanko
Thursday evenings (in-person):
January 5th, 2023 – February 23rd, 2023
6:30pm-9:00pm
Retreat Day: Sunday, February 5th, 2023
Teacher: Kelly Beck
You may register at an orientation session. Payment is collected at orientation or prior to the first MBSR class.
Cost of MBSR course: $325
Attendance at an orientation session is required for MBSR course registration.
Orientations are free of charge and held either via Zoom or in person.
Orientation attendance can be applied to registration in any future MBSR course at the Center for Integrative Medicine.
Email to register for the Orientation session to learn more:
Please provide your name, phone number by emailing mindfulness@upmc.edu
Continuing education (CEU) credits (up to 20 Credits or 2.0 General CEUs) will be offered for nurses, psychologists, social workers, and licensed counselors through UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital. There is a small fee for CEU credits.
Orientation Sessions and MBSR Courses are led by Carol M. Greco, PhD, Barbara Ivanko, LCSW, and/or Kelly Beck, PhD.
Carol Greco, PhD, is a licensed psychologist and faculty member at the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Greco has practiced meditation for 26 years and is certified as an MBSR teacher by the UMass Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society and Brown University Center for Mindfulness. She has taught MBSR courses at the Center for Integrative Medicine at UPMC Shadyside since 2005. Dr. Greco is a member of the Mindfulness Teacher Training Alliance and the Global Mindfulness Collaborative, and is certified to provide the following professional training courses: MBSR Foundations, MBSR Teacher Advancement Intensive.
Barbara Ivanko has been a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) for more than 20 years, and has been teaching MBSR since 2012. She received her Master’s degree in Social Work from Stony Brook University in 1994 and has a post-graduate certificate in East/West Psychology.
Kelly Beck, PhD, has practiced meditation for 10 years and is a qualified MBSR teacher who has completed all teacher-trainings at the UMass Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society. She has taught MBSR courses at the Center for Integrative Medicine since 2017.
UPMC Center for Integrative Medicine
Shadyside Place
Suite 310
580 S. Aiken Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA 15232
For general information or to schedule an appointment, call 412-623-3023.