About us
Values
Governance
Fee Structure
Advisory Board
Teaching Team
Our values
Openground staff provide courses which are safe, engaging, and effective by embodying the following core values:
- respect for each individual's uniqueness
- provision of an empathic, responsive environment in which to learn
- integrity in terms of ethical and professional responsibilities
- rigour and depth of experience, training and supervision in the fields which contribute to excellence in mindfulness-based training
All Openground teachers engage regularly in professional development, silent retreats and ongoing personal practice.
Governance
Openground Training and Consulting operates as a partnership between Timothea Goddard and Peter Baillie. This partnership operates and is directly responsible for the MBSR courses in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane and the professional training programs.
Courses in Canberra, Perth, Hobart, Maitland, Southern Highlands and Alice Springs are operated by associates of Openground, and the respective teachers of those courses are responsible for all aspects of course delivery, advertising, fee structure and professional and clinical decision-making.
The teachers group of Openground functions as a source of ongoing peer supervision, consultation and support in the service of making the MBSR courses we offer accessible, sustainable and of a high quality for participants.
Fee structure
We understand that mindfulness meditation teachings are traditionally offered in a spiritual context on a donation basis. The MBSR program has sprung from this tradition, but is offered by professionals as part of their work. Hence fees are charged for the classes.
We have a commitment to making the MBSR program accessible to as many people as possible, even when people can’t afford the full fee. To this end, we offer strongly discounted places and payment plans. (Since its inception the Sydney - Melbourne - Brisbane arm of Openground has given away 35% of possible income as discounted places.)
In referring to our programs, feel free to refer people who require discounted places. And keep in mind, that in order to continue offering such strong discounts, we also need to have places filled by people who are able to pay the full fee.
Advisory Board
The Openground Advisory Board consists of a group of professionals drawn from the disciplines of medicine, psychology, education, psychotherapy, sociology, philosophy and spiritual practice. The members of the Board are knowledgeable and interested in exploring the relevance of mindfulness meditation practice to a range of arenas including physical and emotional health, education and the wider community. They bring a wealth of experience, training and life experience to assist the Openground group with advice and perspectives on professional, ethical, clinical, theoretical and practice issues.
The members of the Board are:
Geoff Dawson, BA, MAPS, Zen teacher.
Dr Gillian Deakin, MBBS, MPH, Dip. FP, FRACGP.
Dr Gemma Summers, PhD.
Dr Susan Murphy, PhD, Zen teacher.
Dr David Shapiro, PhD, MAPS.
Openground Teaching Team
The instructors of the MBSR courses are experienced in facilitating learning and change. They teach out their own mindfulness practice, which is supported by daily practice, regular retreats and other professional development.
Timothea Goddard - Director
(BA, Dip. Psychotherapy (ANZAP), Cert. IV in Workplace Training, Cat 2, Mem., A.A.S.P., A.N.Z.A.P., Member PACFA Register).
Timothea works as a psychotherapist, educator and workplace trainer for the past 20 years having trained in humanistic, body-oriented, and psychodynamic therapeutic orientations as well as MICBT and MBCT. Her interest in mindfulness has been deepened by being a long-time student in the practices of Aikido, yoga, and meditation. She is an accredited MBSR teacher with the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Healthcare and Society, University of Massachusetts Medical School, USA, and maintains strong professional links there.
Sue Hays
MSc, MClinPsych, MAPS, M. Australian Pain Society, M. Australian Society for Traumatic Stress Studies
Sue Hays is a Clinical Psychologist in private practice who has worked in a variety of mental health and rehabilitation settings over the past twenty years. She has taught MBSR classes since 2004 as well as two Practicum programs for health professionals. She has completed the TDI at the CFM, UMass, USA and practices in the insight tradition.
Nique Murch
B.A. Dip.,Adult Education, Feldenkrais Practitioner, Dip. Mime Mask and Movement
Nique has taught movement, improvisation and critical literacies to adults for the last twenty years. She practices in the Tibetan and Insight traditions and has experienced first hand how effective a neurophenomenological approach can be in the management of chronic pain. Nique currently teaches at Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Studies and has taught MBSR for the past five years.
Eva Papadopoulo
Cert.Couns., Grad Dip. Psychotherapy, Mem., A.A.S.P.
Member PACFA Register.
Eva works in private practice having trained in body-oriented, contemporary psychodynamic, developmental and relational orientations. Eva has also had extensive experience in teaching meditation as pain-management with cancer
HIV and AIDS and has worked in many organizations offering stress and anger management. Her interest in an integrated body-mind approach both personally and professionally has been deepened through many years of training in various meditations, yoga, Ortho-Bionomy, Body Mind Centering (BMC) and dance and theatre improvisation
Cecile Barral
B.A., Dip. Psychotherapy, Post Grad. Dip. Adult Ed., Mem, AASP, ANZAP
Nique Murch
B.A. Dip.,Adult Education, Feldenkrais Practitioner, Dip. Mime Mask and Movement.
Nique has taught movement, improvisation and critical literacies to adults for the last twenty years. She practices in the Tibetan and Insight traditions and has experienced first hand how effective a neurophenomenological approach can be in the management of chronic pain. Nique currently teaches at Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Studies and has taught MBSR for the past five years.
Lee Goddard-Williams
B.Psych.M.Psych (Clinical), Registered Clinical Psychologist, MAPS, Member Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy Association of Australasia (PPAA)
B.Psych.M.Psych (Clinical), Registered Clinical Psychologist, MAPS, Member Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy Association of Australasia (PPAA)
Lee is a clinical psychologist and psychotherapist who has been in private practice since 1988 having worked in child, adolescent and adult mental health and community development settings. She has completed the Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy training, MBSR Practicum training and recently attended a 5 day retreat in the USA with Saki Santorelli and Florence Meleo-Meyer from at the CFM, UMass. Lee has a particular interest in the psychological effects on emotion (particularly anxiety and depression) of loss and trauma in child and adulthood.
Elizabeth Granger
BEc, LLB, Dip. Som. Psych.
Libba is a psychotherapist in private practice and is also a qualified MBSR teacher. She previously worked as a litigation lawyer and now provides mindfulness based stress management training to the corporate environment as well as to the general public. Libba has had a long term interest in yoga and is passionate about mindfulness and its contribution to effecting real change and increasing human potential.
Karen Wright
B.A (Applied Psych), B.Sc (Psych Hons), D.Psych (Health) – completing.
Karen is an experienced counsellor, health educator and advocate who has worked for many years in public hospitals, community mental health services, health promotion agencies and NGO's. She is also an experienced MBSR practitioner and teacher who has employed the applications of mindfulness in diverse areas such as mental health, chronic illness, addiction and trauma. Karen is currently working for a community agency supporting people who have a terminal illness and their families, and has a private counselling practice.
Pam Daley
Pam is an experienced Registered Nurse with a strong interest in Mind-Body Medicine. Pam came to MBSR five years ago when looking for a way to co-exist more peacefully with her own chronic neck pain. She has completed training in MBSR and MBCT (Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy), and has completed the Mindfulness Based Stress Management Program with Department of General Practice, Monash University. Pam currently works in a community health setting with people living with addictions, and their families; she is exploring the application of mindfulness-based work in this field.
Bjorn Mella
MA, B.App.Sc.(Acup). Dip.Rem.Mass
Bjorn Mella completed an internship in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) under Jon Kabat-Zinn at the University of Massachusetts Medical Centre (USA) in 1998. Bjorn has since completed further training with Jon Kabat-Zinn and other teachers and has been teaching with Openground in Australia since 2006. Bjorn has an established mindfulness practice cultivated over many years.
Bjorn is also an Acupuncturist and Manager of the Maitland Wellness Centre, which is run on Mindfulness-based principals.
Pamela Lovell
BSc, MSc, MA Counselling
Pamela is an Organisational Development Consultant with 20 years of experience working with leaders, managers and staff to effectively handle change and improve communication and behaviours for a better workplace. Pamela’s interest in teaching MBSR came through her work with organisations where work/life balance seemed elusive and many people were finding the stress of everyday life overwhelming. Since 2007 Pamela has taught MBSR privately and in organisation settings. Pamela has 13 years of experience with mindfulness and has studied this work for 20 years.
