Nils Altner, Ph.D., born 1968, works currently as a mind-body therapist at the Clinic for Natural and Integrative Medicine at the University of Essen, Germany. His work is in research and in teaching aspects of mindful pedagogy, personality development und health themes as taught at the University of Duisburg-Essen and at Harvard University. He is a graduate of the MBSR Professional Internship Program at the Center for Mindfulness, University of Massachusetts. He has intensive experience in Zen and Vipassana meditation, Hatha Yoga and Chi Kung. He is a co-author of Incorporating Qigong in Schools (in German) and author of Mindfulness and Health, (in German).

 
Cornelius von Collande, Dr.,born 1952, is a psychotherapist in private practice. In addition to formal academic studies in philosophy, psychology and education; he is currently completing a doctorate in psychology at the University of Oldenburg. He has over 20 years work experience on international projects and as a trainer for a large bank. He is a certified Gestalt therapist and holder of the European Certificate of Psychotherapy (EAP). He has been practicing Zen since 1982 and is a Zen teacher in the tradition of Benedictine monk Willigis Jäger and the Sanbo Kyodan Line (AT). He is a eHe isteacher of MBSR and MBCT, completing his training at the Institute for Mindfulness-Based Approaches. He has edited several books and articles, including “Mindfulness in Psychotherapy and Psychosomatic Medicine.” (In German)  He lives and works at the Centre for Spiritual Paths at House Benedict near Würzburg, Germany


Rebecca Crane, M.A. directed the Centre for Mindfulness Research and Practice, School of Psychology, Bangor University through its first six years and established its Master’s and Continuing Professional Development programme. She is now working as a Clinical Research Fellow on the Wellcome funded research on MBCT for depression and sucidality conducted in collaboration with Oxford University. Prior to this she worked for 15 years in the mental health field as an Occupational Therapist and is an MBACP accredited counsellor.  She has written Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy: The CBT Distinctive Features Series; Routledge, 2008.

 
Ulla Franken,  Dr. P.H. (Public Health)  born 1951,  Dipl. Pedagogue, nursing educator. She works as a mind-body therapist at the Clinic for Natural and Integrative Medicine at the University of Essen.  Since 2001 she has specialized in incorporating MBSR in the field of patient care in day clinics. She serves as a consultant to various educational institutions and businesses engaged in health and nursing sciences. She is a practitioner of Zen and Vipassana meditation and has studied Yoga and Tai Chi since 1994. She has completed the Professional Training Program and the Teacher Development Intensive with faculty of the Center for Mindfulness, University of Massachusetts. Her dissertation (in German) is entitled Emotional Competence – The Basics of Health and Healing. She is the author of numerous articles in the field of health care and related disciplines  

 
Paul R. Fulton, Ed.D is a clinical psychologist and founding member of the Institute of Meditation and Psychotherapy. Currently Director of Mental Health for Tufts Health Plan, a large managed-care organization in Massachusetts, USA. He is also a forensic psychologist. Dr. Fulton received his doctoral degree from Harvard University and his clinical training through Harvard Medical School at Cambridge Hospital. He was the clinical director of a large state psychiatric facility, and later the program director for a private psychiatric hospital. Dr. Fulton has been teaching about psychology and meditation for many years and is a co-editor of the book Mindfulness and Psychotherapy. Dr. Fulton is also on the board of directors of the Barre Centre for Buddhist Studies and maintains a private practice in Newton, Massachusetts, USA.

Thomas Heidenreich, Ph. D., born 1966, is Professor of the Psychology of Work and Nursing at the University of Esslingen, Germany. He is also a psychotherapist and supervisor. He received his diploma in psychology in 1994 from the University of Constance, Germany. From 1994-1997 he was employed by the Institute of Psychology of the University of Frankfurt; from 1997-2004 he worked at the Clinic for Psychology and Psychiatry at the University of Frankfurt, where he served for a time as head of its behavioral therapy centre.  He is the author of numerous scientific publications and co-author of the authoritative handbook Mindfulness and Acceptance in Psychotherapy (in German).

Frits Koster, born 1957, works as a mindfulness trainer in mental health settings. He has a degree in psychiatric nursing and is a teacher of MBSR. He also teaches at the Institute for Mindfulness in Rolde, Netherlands and in the postgraduate mindfulness program at the University College Artevelde in Gent, Belgium. He began practising insight meditation in 1979. He ordained as a Buddhist monk for six years, practising Vipassana meditation and studying Buddhist psychology in meditation centres and monasteries in Thailand and Burma. In 1988 he returned to the Netherlands, where he has been facilitating meditation activities ever since. He has written several books; two of which have been translated into English: Liberating Insight and Buddhist Meditation as Stress Management.

Karin Krudup, born 1958, is the Director of BellZett, an educational institute in Bielefeld, Germany. She has a degree in education and has taught extensively in school settings. She completed the MBSR teacher- training program at the Institute for Mindfulness-Based Approaches and further training with Jon Kabat- Zinn and Saki Santorelli of the Center for Mindfulness. She is an MBSR teacher in BellZett and a variety of other settings since 2002. She has extensive experience since 1990 in teaching in kindergartens, schools and university settings, as well as in the youth services, on the themes of gender, prevention of violence, and character development. She is a practitioner of Vipassana Meditation, Tai Chi and Chi Kung, and has been teaching Tai Chi since 1990 and Chi Kung since 2000.

Linda Lehrhaupt, Ph.D., born 1949 in New York, is the Founder and Director of the Institute for Mindfulness-Based Approaches based in Germany. She has been teaching in adult education since 1971 and MBSR since 1993. She has degrees in Education and Performance Studies, where she specialized in religious ritual and traditions. Dr. Lehrhaupt is also a faculty member of the Institute for Mindfulness in Rolde, Holland and a supervisor for teachers of mindfulness-based approaches. She trained at the Center for Mindfulness and the Stress Reduction Clinic of the University of Massachusetts, Worcester.  Dr. Lehrhaupt has been practicing Zen meditation since 1979. She is an Assistant Teacher with the Open Mind Zen Center of Melbourne, Florida, under the direction of Al Fusho Rapaport, Sensei. She has also studied with Genpo Merzel Roshi and Nico Tydeman Sensei. She has been practicing Tai Chi and Chi Kung since 1978, and for twenty years directed teacher-training programs in both arts. She is the author of Tai Chi as a Path of Wisdom (Shambhala Publications, 2001) and Co-Author of Reducing Stress through Mindfulness (in German, 2010).

Jörg Meibert,  born 1963, Dipl. Social Pedagogy, naturopath, body-centered psychotherapist,  MBSR teacher. Works currently as a mind-body therapist at the Clinic for Natural and Integrative Medicine at the University of Essen. Extensive experience in the teaching of MBSR in hospital and day-clinic settings with psychosomatic patients, especially pain patients.   From 1990 –2004 he worked in his own private practice as a body-oriented psychotherapist and leader of meditation groups. He has completed MBSR trainings with Jon Kabat-Zinn und Saki Santorelli. His mindfulness practice began in 1993, and he has completed a three-year study in Buddhist philosophy and psychology with Tarab Tulku und Lene Handberg. He has been studying Chi Kung for several years.

Petra Meibert, born 1959, Assistant Director of the Institute for Mindfulness-Based Approaches, is a psychologist and naturopath. She received her Diplom in Psychology from the University of Bochum, where she wrote her thesis on mindfulness. She is a supervisor for teachers of mindfulness-based approaches. She has been working since 1990 as a psychologist in private practice and also in body-centered psychotherapy. She started her own practice in mindfulness and meditative bodywork in 1988.
Her extensive teaching experience includes teaching weekly courses as well as multiday seminars in MBSR and MBCT. She also lectures, consults and teaches workshops on the promotion of mental health. She is the author of the MBSR chapter in Mindfulness and Acceptance in Psychotherapy (in German) and various articles on MBSR and MBCT in academic journals.
 
Katharina Meinhard, born 1961, physiotherapist. Director of a Yoga teacher-training program certified by the German Association of Yoga Teachers. She is the Co-Director of the Yoga School of Dresden and has been teaching Yoga since 1992 and MBSR teacher since 2003. She is a graduate of the training program at the Institute for Mindfulness-Based Approaches. She began practicing Zen meditation in1990. Since 1989 she has worked extensively in health maintenance and rehabilitation programs, with a strong emphasis on mindfulness-based bodywork in clinical settings.

Johannes Michalak, Ph.D., born 1967, clinical psychologist, psychological psychotherapist, supervisor. He was awarded a post-doctorate degree (Habilitation) in 2006.  Since 1995 he has been working in the Dept. of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy at the Ruhr University in Bochum. In 2006 he completed a guest lectureship at the Institute for Psychology at the University of Heidelberg. From 1988 to 1994, he studied psychology at the University of Bochum.  He completed his training in cognitive behavioral therapy  from 1995-1998. He has been practicing Zen and Chi Kung for many years. He is the author of numerous scientific publications and co-author of the authoritative handbook Mindfulness and Acceptance in Psychotherapy (in German).
 
Johan Tinge, born 1956, Diplom in Social Pedagogy, health psychologist and Gestalt therapist. He is the founder and director of the Institute for Mindfulness in Rolde, Netherlands, which offers MBSR and MBCT teacher-training programs.  He has been practicing Vipassana meditation since 1981 and is a Vipassana teacher since 1988. He maintains a private psychotherapy practice. He is a graduate of the Professional Training Program and the Professional Internship Program of the Stress Reduction Clinic of the University of Massachusetts in Worcester, USA.

Mark G. Williams, Ph.D.  is Professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Oxford and Wellcome Trust Principal Research Fellow. From 1983 to 1991 he was Research Scientist at the Medical Research Council’s Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit in Cambridge. From 1991 to 2002 he was Professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Wales, Bangor, where he founded the University’s Institute of Medical and Social Care Research (IMSCaR) and the Center for Mindfulness Research and Practice. His research in clinical and experimental psychology focuses on understanding the psychological processes that underlie depression and suicidal behaviour and the development of new psychological treatments. He received the Shapiro Award from the British Psychological Society, and has been elected Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences.

© IMA - Dr. Linda Lehrhaupt 2010