Facilitator Trainings are conducted on a periodic basis for mental health professionals and institutions that would like to offer Mind Over Matter in their own communities.
Our next training will be offered virtually on February 10 – 12, 2025. Applications for this training are now open and due by December 15, 2024.
If you have further questions, please contact Michelle Ferretti at michelle.ferretti@inova.org or Kim Lowery Walker at kimberly.lowerywalker@inova.org.
We also conduct periodic facilitator trainings for Mind Over Matter in Spanish.
Why should my organization implement Mind Over Matter?
Where has Mind Over Matter been published or presented?
Who should attend the Facilitator Training?
What will the Facilitator Training cover?
When and where is the Facilitator Training?
How much does the Facilitator Training cost?
Do you offer CEUs for this training?
What support will I get to implement Mind Over Matter at my institution?
What if I have additional questions?
What is Mind Over Matter?
Mind Over Matter is a novel, psychoeducational, emotional skills-building program for anyone affected by cancer. Over five, 90-minute sessions, it is designed to teach coping skills to help manage the feelings and side effects associated with an experience of cancer, from diagnosis through survivorship.
This evidence-based program weaves together Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and the physiology of the stress and relaxation response. Each session offers a relaxation exercise, a new key cognitive concept, and associated activities for participants to practice applying the concept.
Mind Over Matter can be delivered in-person or via a telehealth platform.
Why should my organization implement Mind Over Matter?
Mind Over Matter may be effective for managing the physical and emotional side effects of cancer.
Up to half of patients affected by cancer will experience psychosocial distress, including anxiety and depression, with physical symptomatology being positively correlated with emotional symptoms. Emotional and physical symptoms are two common facets of psychosocial distress. For those managing cancer, unmet psychosocial needs can lead to lower quality of life, poorer adherence to medical treatments, and increased healthcare costs.
In a quality improvement project at Inova Life with Cancer in 2018-2020, Mind Over Matter was effective in decreasing anxiety, depression, and physical symptom severity and interference. This suggests MOM may be a valuable intervention for those managing the physical and emotional side effects of cancer. These findings may also imply that MOM may be a valuable resource for institutions trying to meet the needs identified by the distress screening process that is required for Commission on Cancer accreditation.
Our full article “Building coping skills to relieve distress and physical symptoms: Findings from a quality improvement project of a five-week group psychoeducational program for cancer patients“ was recently published in the Journal of Psychosocial Oncology. Please contact us if you have trouble accessing the article.
We note that this quality improvement project was conducted primarily with white, married women. We are currently conducting a study on the acceptability and feasibility of Mind Over Matter for Black and African American women.
Mind Over Matter may be cost-effective.
Healthcare institutions and payers often do not fund oncology psychosocial care, leading to psychosocial providers having limited resources to offer care despite current mandates for distress screening and monitoring. This disparity between needs and resources was magnified when examining cancer centers providing care to historically marginalized and underserved communities.
Group interventions designed to address both the impact of physical symptoms on everyday life and the psychosocial distress faced by cancer patients may be an effective way to deliver high-quality and cost-effective psychosocial care. In comparison to individual interventions, group interventions for people managing cancer help normalize experiences, may protect against social isolation, and offer an opportunity to support others and give back.
While the time needed to get a Mind Over Matter offering started at your organization will vary depending on the program infrastructure already in place, once it is an established program, facilitators typically spend one hour per week on preparation and follow up, in addition to the 90 minutes of training time.
Mind Over Matter can strengthen clinical knowledge and skills.
Attendees will strengthen their theoretical knowledge of CBT and ACT, learn evidence-based practical tools and exercises , and refine group facilitation skills. Many facilitators use the tools in individual clinical work, in addition to the group setting of the Mind Over Matter course.
Other organizations have had success in implementing Mind Over Matter.
Our first cohort of MOM facilitators, trained in February 2022, have done amazing work. One year after the first MOM Facilitator Training, 9 of the 13 organizations who participated in the facilitator training implemented MOM and many are on track for offering it up to 3 times a year. Read our abstract, “Disseminating a Group Coping Skills Program: Working with Community Partners toward Nationwide Implementation,” presented at the 2023 American Psychosocial Oncology Society conference here (search for “Mind Over Matter”).
Where has Mind Over Matter been published or presented?
Article: “Building coping skills to relieve distress and physical symptoms: Findings from a quality improvement project of a five-week group psychoeducational program for cancer patients“ , Journal of Psychosocial Oncology, 2023. Please contact us if you have trouble accessing the article.
Poster: “Feasibility and dissemination of a standardized psychosocial group coping skills program addressing emotional and physical symptoms,” Society for Integrative Oncology Annual Conference, 2023.
Poster: “Partnership to Adapt a Psychosocial Intervention for Hispanic/Latino Patients,” American Psychosocial Oncology Society Annual Conference, 2024.
Poster: “Engaging Black and African American Women in Oncology Supportive Care Interventions,” American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Quality Care Symposium, 2024.
Who should attend the Facilitator Training?
The Facilitator Training is open to licensed mental health providers (i.e., social workers, psychologists, counselors) who work with people impacted by cancer. Other staff members may attend the training only if they will be co-facilitating with a licensed mental health provider.
In our experience with past offerings of this training, organizations that can commit to the staff time and resources needed to implement the program have the highest likelihood of success. Organizations with little staffing flexibility or which are understaffed have struggled to implement Mind Over Matter. We strongly encourage organizations to have at least two staff members attend the training who can then co-facilitate the course.
For this offering of the training, we will be giving priority to organizations that primarily serve underserved communities and/or will focus on these communities in their implementation of Mind Over Matter.
Please note that there is a limit of four facilitators from the same organization.
Other eligibility criteria:
- Facilitator has the ability to speak, understand and read English proficiently in order to participate in training activities and assessments.
- Facilitator has a working access to internet, computer with a camera and microphone.
What will the Facilitator Training cover?
During the Facilitator Training, participants will walk through each of the five sessions and have the opportunity to experience the material and exercises as a participant. We will review the theoretical foundation of the course and give participants an opportunity to practice facilitating key concepts and exercises in small groups. In addition, participants will be given support on program logistics, such as marketing, attendance tracking, and program evaluation.
When and where is the Facilitator Training?
Our next training will be offered virtually on February 10 – 12, 2025. Applications for this training are now open and due by December 15, 2024.
In order to accommodate participants from multiple time zones, the hours for the training will be:
- February 10 – 11:00am – 5:00pm EST
- February 11 – 11:00am – 5:00pm EST
- February 12 – 11:00am – 3:00pm EST
How much does the Facilitator Training cost?
The Mind Over Matter facilitator training has two cost components, one for the program materials, and an additional cost for each facilitator attending the training.
- Mind Over Matter Materials: $500 (one-time fee per organization)
- Cost per facilitator: $100
Inova Life with Cancer is committed to increasing access to the Mind Over Matter program, particularly in communities that are impacted by structural inequalities in our healthcare systems. To this end, we are offering a 50% discount on all fees to organizations who primarily serve minoritized, underserved, and/or other groups impacted by structural inequalities in our healthcare systems.
Do you offer CEUs for this training?
This program is Approved by the National Association of Social Workers (Approval # 886912663-7440) for 13 continuing education contact hours.
What support will I get to implement Mind Over Matter at my institution?
Every participant in the Mind Over Matter facilitator training will be given access to the following program materials:
- 90+ page Intervention Manual in both printed and electronic format
- PowerPoint slides for each session with facilitator notes
- Participant handouts and worksheets
- Scripts for relaxation exercises
- Audio recordings of relaxation exercises
- Templates for attendance tracking, marketing, and participant evaluations
- Ongoing access to Mind Over Matter participant and facilitator websites
In addition, participants are invited to participate in quarterly Zoom calls with other Mind Over Matter facilitators. These quarterly calls are also recorded for later viewing. The Life with Cancer staff will remain available to the applicant for questions for one (1) year following the Facilitator Training.
How do I apply?
One application should be completed per organization (not for each individual facilitator).
To prepare for your application submission, please have the following information ready:
- Organization Information – contact details and information about the population your organization serves
- If you serve populations impacted by structural inequalities in our healthcare systems and would like to apply for the 50% discount on fees, you will be asked to provide additional information about your population.
- Signed Letter of Support from Management/Leadership
- Based on the feedback we received from the first cohort of Mind Over Matter facilitators, organizations that are able to provide adequate staff time and resources to getting a new program up and running are much more likely to be able to implement and sustain Mind Over Matter. Please provide a signed letter from your organization’s leadership or management that expresses support for the organization’s participation in this program and includes the following sentence, “I have read and agree to the Terms of Use of Inova Life with Cancer’s Mind Over Matter Facilitator Training Program.”
- Facilitator Information – contact details, demographics, and professional credentials of anyone who would like to be trained at your organization.
- Please note that there is a limit of four facilitators from the same organization.
- Agreement to Terms of Use
- The Terms of Use can be downloaded here for reference by your management/leadership.
You can download a PDF of the full application to review in advance here.
What if I have additional questions?
Please contact either of the two Mind Over Matter instructors with any questions about Mind Over Matter, the Facilitator Training, or the application process.
For additional information on the instructors, click on their names above to read their bios.
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