UTSC Mindfulness Summit: Oct 13, 2017

Kirstin Bindseil, MSW, RSW has worked in the field of Addictions and Mental Health for over 15 years. She currently works as a Supervisor, Educator and Program Planner in Addictions. She has been engaged in various innovative projects related to Mindfulness Meditation and has led Mindfulness groups for Chronic Pain, Depression, Smoking and other Addictions. Kirstin has formal training in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), and has extensive experience providing mindfulness training to health care professionals who plan to add Mindfulness to their clinical practice.

Dr. Amanda A. Uliaszek, Ph.D., C.Psych., is an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Toronto and the director of the Personality, Psychopathology and Psychotherapy Lab which focuses on the development, assessment and treatment of personality disorders. Her recent work has focused on efficacy and mechanisms of change in dialectical behavior therapy skills group – most notably the skills of mindfulness, distress tolerance, and emotion regulation -  in targeting symptoms of borderline personality disorder in youth populations. She has specific clinical expertise in the treatment of depression, anxiety disorders, eating disorders, and borderline personality disorder (including suicidality and self-harm) in both adolescents and adults utilizing mindfulness-based interventions. Her work in personality disorders and dialectical behavior therapy has been presented at several international conferences and published in top-tier peer-reviewed journals. She frequently provides workshops and training events in the GTA on dialectical behavior therapy topics, including the use of dialectics, mindfulness, and how to target self-harm behavior.

Heidi Bornstein is a Hatha yoga and meditation teacher, who received intensive training at the International Meditation Institute while living in India. She is a certified instructor in Hatha Yoga, Yoga Science, and Yoga Ed for Elementary Schools, High Schools, and For Working with Those At-Risk. She trained as an MBSR teacher under the direction of Roy Hintsa, MBSR Toronto, and Dr. Diane Reibel, the Director of the Stress Reduction Program at Jefferson University’s Myrna Brind Center of Integrative Medicine. She participated in the 7-Day Professional Training in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction in Mind-Body Medicine under the direction of Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn and Dr. Saki Santorelli. Heidi trained in Mindfulness for Kids at Risk with Vinnie Ferraro, Street Yoga training for Kids at Risk as well as SMARTinEducation (Stress Reduction and Relaxation Training) with Linda Wallace. Heidi is the co-creator (with Heather Elson) of the Yoda-Yoga Program for kids, a program specifically designed for use in the 20 minute DPA (Daily Physical Activity) in elementary schools. Heidi is the co-creator and teacher for The Mindful Edge® – Stress Reduction and Life Strategies for Teens program in high schools. Heidi is on staff of Yoga Community Toronto, and is on the steering committee for Mindfulness Toronto. She has been teaching yoga and meditation in Toronto since 2002 and continues to support yoga, meditation, and mindfulness programs for children, youth, teens, and adults.

Mary Githumbi, HBSc in Neuroscience & Cognitive Science is a mindfulness teacher who has taken Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) with Dianna Last, Yoga for Trauma-informed Youth with New Leaf Foundation and Stress Management and Resiliency Techniques (UBC’s SMART) with Heidi Bornstein & Stephen Chadwick. She is trained in The Mindful Edge (TME) Program for Teens and is in training to receive UBC’s smartEducation Facilitator Certification with Mindfulness Everyday and MBSR-Teens Facilitator Certification with Gina Biegel. She incorporates the value of diversity and accessibility in her mindfulness teaching and personal mindful movement practice.