Frequently Asked Questions and Resources
Q:I like what you are doing, and I’d like to start a program in the place where I live. What guidance and or resources can you give me?
MBA: That’s fantastic! We’re really happy about your interest in seeing this work spread. You can look at our Curriculum page to get an overview of our curriculum, and see what we think is important. You can look at our partnerships page to see if there’s an organization doing similar work in your area that you might work with. You can look at our research page to find scholarly articles that can serve as an evidence-base for the effectiveness of these types of interventions. You can sign up for our mailing list, and we’ll keep you informed about trainings that we’re offering to help people develop in their facilitation of this work. MBA’s curriculum is proprietary, so we don’t share it with people who we haven’t trained.
Q:Can I partner with MBA to create a program in the place that I live?
MBA: Because our training process is extensive, and because we want to have direct supervision over the courses that we offer, and the instructors who teach them, we don’t partner with folks at a distance.
Q:I want to learn how to facilitate this kind of work with youth. What kind of training do you recommend?
MBA: MBA offers intensive training retreats that are open to the public about once a year. If you are interested in coming to train with us, email Oren Sofer, our Operations Coordinator at oren AT mbaproject.org. We also work closely with a Bay-area organization called Challenge Day, which offers community trainings through their Next Steps for Being the Change Program. These are excellent ways to develop your facilitation skills. You can link to that program here. If you are on the West Coast of the United States, Michael Meade and the Mosaic Multicultural Foundation also offer one-day and extended workshops on mentoring, myth, and storytelling. We think they’re great. You can link to them here.
Q: What are some good books to read about mindfulness and working with at-risk youth?
MBA: Bo Lozoff’s classic: We’re All Doing Time. Jon Kabat-Zinn’s Full Catastrophe Living. More to come on this topic…
