Mindfulness in Group Psychotherapy
followed by our
Annual Community Meeting
Saturday, October 3, 2026
9:00 AM to 10:30 AM: Mindfulness in Group Psychotherapy
10:45 AM to 12:00 PM: Annual Community Meeting
Cost: Free
Location:
In-person and On-Line:
Pilgrim United Church of Christ,
3011 Academy Road Durham, NC 27707
AND
via Zoom Link
(The Zoom link will be provided in your registration confirmation email.)
Description of Presentation
Mindfulness in Group Therapy:
Being Present to Ourselves, Our Patients, and the Group
What might become possible when we bring a more spacious, compassionate awareness to the experience of leading a therapy group?
Group psychotherapy asks us to listen on many levels at once—to the individual patient, to the relationships unfolding among members, to the group-as-a-whole, and to our own inner responses as therapists. Mindfulness can help us meet this complexity with greater presence, curiosity, and care.
This experiential workshop brings together mindfulness meditation and the wisdom of group psychotherapy. Through guided practice, clinical reflection, and conversation, we will explore mindfulness from three perspectives: the patient, the group, and the therapist.
Participants are invited to discover how mindful presence can help us listen more deeply, recognize reactivity, tolerate uncertainty, and respond more creatively to what is emerging in the room—while cultivating greater compassion for our patients, our groups, and ourselves.
The CGPS Annual Community Meeting
Thank you for being part of CGPS, and helping this organization bring the transformative power of group therapy to the Carolinas.
The future of CGPS is shaped by the members who step forward to lead. At our Community Meeting, members will select a Nominating/Election Committee to organize the election of four Officers and up to five Directors for the coming year.
This is a wonderful opportunity to become more involved in CGPS, bring your ideas and energy to the organization, and help shape what comes next.
Please consider stepping into a leadership role
or encouraging a colleague to do so.
Agenda:
- Welcome and Introductions
- Approval of the Minutes of the Previous Community Meeting
- Reports: President; Membership; Finances
- Selection of Nominating/Election Committee
- New Business
Our Presenter
Ron Vereen, MD, CGP
Ron Vereen, MD, CGP, is a psychiatrist and psychotherapist, recently
retired from his private practice in Durham, N.C. He continues to serve as
Clinical Faculty in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
at Duke Medical Center, leading experiential process groups for Duke
Psychiatry Residents. He has been practicing mindfulness meditation
since 1992 and became an instructor in the Duke Mindfulness-Based
Stress Reduction Program in 1999, where he continues teaching
mindfulness to others, focusing on its benefits for health and well-being.
From a spiritual perspective, Ron has studied mindfulness meditation with
various senior Buddhist Vipassana teachers and was recommended for
and graduated from the Community Dharma Leader Program at the Spirit
Rock Meditation Center. Taking his study of Buddhist practice further, he
completed the Integrated Study and Practice Program of the Barre Center
for Buddhist Studies. He is also a founding member of the Triangle Insight
Meditation Community in Durham in 2009, where he continues to teach.
One of his interests includes exploring the interface between Western and
Buddhist psychology. He has been grateful to be with his loving husband,
Rickey, over the past 49 years, and sharing their lives with two wonderful
cats, Tori and Tiny.
Schedule
| 9:00 AM |
Welcome and Introduction |
| 9:05 AM |
Mindfulness in Group Psychotherapy |
| 9:50 AM |
Brief Break |
| 10:00 AM |
Mindfulness in Group Psychotherapy (continued) |
| 10:30 AM |
End of Presentation;
Break before Annual Community meeting
|
| 10:45 AM |
Annual Community Meeting |
| Agenda |
Welcome and Introductions |
|
Reports: President; Membership; Finances |
| |
Approval of the Minutes of Previous Community Meeting |
|
Selection of Nominating/Election Committee |
|
New Business |
| 12:00 PM |
End of Annual Community Meeting, if not sooner. |
Continuing Education hours are not available
This brief event is NOT eligible for continuing education credits or hours. If you would like a longer program with Dr. Vereen with CE Hours, let us know and we can schedule a two-day workshop with experiential process groups and up to 12 hours of Continuing Education credit.Learning Objectives
-
Describe the core principles of mindfulness and their relevance to group psychotherapy, including present-moment awareness, nonjudgmental attention, acceptance, compassion, and the capacity to remain with difficult emotional experience.
-
Identify and apply mindfulness-informed interventions to group process, including helping members recognize emotional reactivity, interpersonal patterns, avoidance, and habitual responses while cultivating greater awareness, affect tolerance, and relational responsiveness.
-
Use mindfulness to strengthen the therapist’s therapeutic presence, including increased awareness of countertransference, emotional resonance, group-as-a-whole dynamics, and the capacity to respond thoughtfully rather than react automatically.
Registration
Registration is FREE to all Licensed Therapists at:
Event Details and Registration.
Note: only those with active CGPS memberships can vote in the Community Meeting. To restore, update or obtain CGPS membership, use this link:
Membership: Renew or Join!
