Do No Harm
A two-day training for mindfulness and Dharma teachers in inclusive, trauma-aware teaching — covering unconscious bias, accessibility, the window of tolerance, and how to hold safe, permissive spaces for students of every background.
Time & Location
14 Aug 2027, 10:00 am AEST
2 days online with Kate & Suzie
About the course
Opportunity to:
Get insight into your own blind spots — uncover unconscious biases you didn't know you carried into the room, through guided reflection and small-group activities
Practical tools for inclusive design — leave with your own accessibility plan, diversity welcome and Acknowledgement of Country ready to use in your programs
Language that welcomes, not excludes — learn to adapt instruction and communication for students of diverse racial, cultural, gender, sexual, physical and neurological backgrounds
A working understanding of trauma and the window of tolerance — recognise regulation and dysregulation in yourself and your students, and know what's actually happening in the room
Permissive, trauma-aware teaching skills — practise offering choice, flexible anchors of attention, and language that restores agency rather than compliance
Confidence to respond when things go wrong — know how to recognise adverse effects, when to refer on, and when to simply be with someone in distress
Real case studies, not just theory — learn from documented adverse effects research and lived teaching experience, including what happens even with experienced meditators
Screening and disclosure tools — practical approaches to pre- and post-program screening, honest risk disclaimers, and tracking student experience
A supportive peer community — two days of shared reflection and dyad practice with fellow teachers navigating the same challenges
A clear next step — leave with concrete commitments for what you'll change in your very next class, workshop or retreat
Who is this course for?
Meditation, mindfulness teachers
Dharma teachers,
Retreat facilitators and managers
Yoga teachers who incorporate meditation into their classes
Allied health and mental health professionals who use mindfulness in their work and want to teach it more inclusively and safely.
Our approach
This training will be delivered in person over two full days, combining short talks with experiential and reflective learning. There will be guided meditation, small-group discussion, case studies, role-play and dyad practice exercises. Rather than a lecture format, the emphasis is on direct experience — trying out inclusive and trauma-aware teaching skills with peers, then reflecting together on what worked and what was challenging.
Course details & cost
Schedule: 2 day | 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM AEST
Dates: Starts Saturday, August 2027
Format: Live Online Sessions
Full Rate: $250 AUD
Concession Rate: $210 AUD
Overview of day 2
Session 1: Trauma, Regulation and the Window of Tolerance
Trauma-sensitive guided meditation, modelling what trauma-aware teaching sounds like in practice
Understanding stress, PTS, PTSD and CPTSD, and the window of tolerance
Recognising hyper- and hypo-arousal, and body-based signs of overwhelm, in yourself and your students
Session 2: Teaching Considerations for Trauma-Aware Practice
Instructional vs. permissive language, and offering choice and agency back to students
Flexible anchors of attention, adapting practices, and setting up the room and orienting guidelines
Paired practice: guiding and receiving a short meditation using permissive language, with reflection on what shifts
Session 3: When Things Go Wrong — Adverse Effects Awareness
Understanding adverse effects in meditation, including research findings and real case studies
Recognising when to refer on versus when to simply be with someone in distress
Why people under-report problems, and how compliance and authority get in the way of disclosure
Session 4: Practical Safeguards and Closing
Pre- and post-program screening, honest risk disclaimers, and tracking participant experience
Reflection: what will you change in your next class, workshop or retreat?
Closing guided meditation and farewell
About Kate Duncan
Insight Dharma Teacher
Kate Duncan has been practising and studying Buddhist meditation since 2007, beginning at Spirit Rock Meditation Centre before her return to Australia. Kate’s Dharma is deeply influenced by her love of yoga philosophy and her years as a Paramedic. Kate’s work has a focus on trauma awareness, safety and kindness. She co-wrote and facilitates the transformative Mindfulness-based Trauma Recovery program for Frontline Workers with Lisa Brown and co-founded Sky Sangha- a weekly online gathering that shares wisdom for modern times. Kate facilitates Insight Retreats in the Adelaide area and offers various mindfulness and yoga programs online and around the country. https://www.KateDuncanYoga.com
About Suzie Brown
Insight Dharma Teacher
Suzie has been practicing in the Insight tradition for over 20 years and teaching for over a decade. She completed Dharma Teacher Training in Australia with the Insight Meditation Institute and also with US Insight teacher, James Baraz (co-founder of Spirit Rock). She also previously trained as a Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) teacher.
Suzie co-founded Melbourne Insight Meditation (MIM) in 2009 where she led sitting groups for over a decade. She now also teaches with Sydney Insight Meditators and offers retreats around Australia and online. Suzie has been a mentor in Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach's Mindfulness Mentor Teacher Training Program (MMTCP) - she now teaches weekly in their online meditation platform, Banyan.
Suzie has also worked as a climate and environmental activist for two decades, founding the group, Parents for Climate - she regularly teaches Eco-Dharma and mindful approaches to dealing with climate anxiety and grief.