Certification Process

Our credit-based certification process is comprehensive, in-depth, challenging, totally unique and highly personalized. There are two required components to certification -- the Residential Certification Program (offered every July) and the Working with your Attention distance learning program (conducted every April). The remaining credits can be accrued through a combination of distance learning programs and/or an on-site Naikan Retreat.

In order to receive credit for participating in our distance learning programs, you will need to submit your program journal, along with a 1-2 page essay. Once those materials have been reviewed and accepted, you will receive credit for the program. (Submissions need to be submitted electronically, unless special arrangements have been made). If you have taken our programs in the past, and are unsure about your credit status, please contact us. Credit for our Residential Certification Program will be awarded once the program has been completed, including an independent project within 60 days of the program's completion. Those who participate in a Naikan Retreat will receive credit at the completion of the retreat. If you are interested in earning CEU's for your professional development, please contact us.

As a non-profit organization, we are deeply committed to sharing our programs and resources in the most effective and affordable manner possible. Our mission is to create personal, family, and community change through the skillful use of attention, the cultivation of gratitude, the awareness of interdependence, the ability to put oneself in another's shoes, and purposeful action in the face of obstacles. Building on methods of Japanese psychology, we offer an integration of the spiritual, the psychological and the practical.

Core Requirements - 112 Credits

(Total Credits Required for Certification = 162)

Residential Certification Program (including an Independent Project) - 96 Credits
Working with Your Attention - Distance Learning Program (April of each year) - 16 Credits

Other Programs Providing Credit for Certification

Naikan Retreat - 52 Credits
Living on Purpose Distance Learning Program - 16 Credits
Renewing Your Relationship Distance Learning Program - 16 Credits
Self-Reflection (Naikan) Distance Learning Program - 16 Credits
Taking Action Distance Learning Program - 16 Credits
Full Day Workshops (various topics) - 8 Credits
Half Day Workshops, Internships, Special Projects, Individual Study - Credits to be arranged
Complete required reading list - view here

The Curriculum Covers Topics Such as...

An introduction to Japanese psychology based on Morita Therapy & Naikan
Questioning assumptions about mental health
Studying the connection between suffering and self-preoccupation
Awakening the senses and living with presence
The mechanics and use of attention
Cultivating gratitude and appreciation
The body's influence on the mind
Finding purpose
Coexisting with unpleasant feelings and thoughts
Developing greater self-discipline
Changing habits
Resolving conflicts
Softening our hearts
Developing a practice of self-reflection
Living fully with illness
Developing a realistic view of our lives
Clarifying the nature of feelings
Reflecting on significant relationships
Role plays, case studies and teaching methods for helping others
Applications such as parenting, relationships, weight loss & addictions
Evenings of music, humor and good company

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Other Programs...

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