Mindful Self-Compassion
+
Psilocybin
MINDFUL SELF-COMPASSION (MSC)
Oct 4th, 2026 - Nov 22nd, 2026 (online MSC) + December 5th (Psilocybin journey, Portland OR)
Over 8 weeks, participants will engage in activities including meditation, short talks, experiential exercises, and group discussion. This is not a silent retreat. The goal is to provide a safe and supportive environment for exploring how we typically respond when difficult emotions arise and to provide tools for becoming warm and supportive companions to ourselves. The emphasis of the program is on enhancing emotional resources and personal capacities.
For more information on self-compassion and the founders of this program, please visit Dr. Kristin Neff’s website Self-Compassion.org, and Dr. Chris Germer's website ChrisGermer.com.
The MSC program is a journey—an adventure in self-discovery and self-kindness. Compassion has the paradoxical effect of both soothing and comforting as well as opening us to emotional distress that we may have been unconsciously holding inside, often for many years. Therefore, some difficult emotions are likely to surface during the program as we grow in our capacity to embrace and heal them. The teachers are committed to providing an environment of safety, support, privacy, individual responsibility, and a common commitment to developing compassion for oneself and others.
​
OPTIONAL PSILOCYBIN JOURNEY
Oct 4th, 2026 - Nov 22nd, 2026 (online MSC) + December 5th (Psilocybin journey, Portland OR)
This program will also include an optional group psilocybin journey on December 5th, 2026 in Portland OR (at additional cost). The psilocybin experiences are thought to catalyze and solidify the change created by the compassion through enhanced neuroplasticity. Psilocybin can also induce a great sense of connection, which pairs well with compassion.
about the workshop series
​
Participants will engage in activities including meditation, short talks, experiential exercises, and group discussion. This is not a silent retreat. The goal is to provide a safe and supportive environment for exploring how we typically respond when difficult emotions arise and to provide tools for becoming warm and supportive companions to ourselves. The emphasis of the program is on enhancing emotional resources and personal capacities.
For more information on self-compassion and the founders of this program, please visit Dr. Kristin Neff’s website Self-Compassion.org, and Dr. Chris Germer's website ChrisGermer.com.
The MSC program is a journey—an adventure in self-discovery and self-kindness. Compassion has the paradoxical effect of both soothing and comforting as well as opening us to emotional distress that we may have been unconsciously holding inside, often for many years. Therefore, some difficult emotions are likely to surface during the program as we grow in our capacity to embrace and heal them. The teachers are committed to providing an environment of safety, support, privacy, individual responsibility, and a common commitment to developing compassion for oneself and others.
At the completion of this course, participants should be able to:
-
Describe the theory and research supporting mindful self-compassion
-
Motivate themselves with encouragement rather than self-criticism
-
Relate to difficult emotions with greater moment-to-moment acceptance
-
Respond to feelings of failure or inadequacy with self-kindness
-
Begin to transform difficult relationships, old and new, through self-validation
-
Practice the art of savoring and self-appreciation
-
Integrate core mindfulness and self-compassion exercises into daily life
RECOMMENDED READING:
-
The Mindful Self-Compassion Workbook: A Proven Way to Accept Yourself, Build Inner Strength, and Thrive by Kristin Neff and Christopher Germer
-
Self-Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself by Kristin NeffThe Mindful Path to Self-Compassion by Chris Germer
If you want to dive in deeper into the research https://self-compassion.org/the-research/ is an excellent resource.
details
​
WHO IS THIS SERIES FOR?
-
This workshop series is appropriate for either the general public, or professionals looking to integrate MSC into their work. Participating in an MSC program satisfies a prerequisite for becoming an MSC program teacher. Meditation experience is not necessary to participate in this 8-week course. All are welcome!
-
We do need a minimum number of participants. The series will be cancelled if minimum is not reach and deposits and payments will be refunded.
​
WHEN and WHERE?
-
The virtual series will run from OCTOBER 4TH 2026- NOVEMBER 22ND 2026, Sundays from 3-6pm (pacific time zone) on Zoom.
-
Optional psilocybin sessions will be held in person in Portland OR and will take place at end of the series.
-
Schedule specifics are listed below.
There is Oregon Health Authority required preparation to participate in psilocybin experiences, including informed consent paperwork. If you are interested in these experiences, you will receive further details.
SCHEDULE
- 10/04/26 Online MSC 1 3:00pm - 6:00pm (pacific)
- 10/04/26 (virtual) optional information meeting on psilocybin journeys 6:05pm (pacific)
- 10/11/26 Online MSC 2 3:00pm - 6:00pm (pacific)
- 10/18/26 Online MSC 3 3:00pm - 6:00pm (pacific)
- 10/25/26 Online MSC 4 3:00pm - 6:00pm (pacific)
- 11/01/26 Online MSC 5 3:00pm - 6:00pm (pacific)
- 11/08/26 Online MSC 6 3:00pm - 6:00pm (pacific)
- 11/15/26 Online MSC 7 3:00pm - 6:00pm (pacific)
- 11/22/26 Online MSC 8 3:00pm - 6:00pm (pacific)
- 12/05/2026 Psilocybin Group Journey - IN PERSON IN PORTLAND OREGON (prepare to be in Portland at least 12/4-12/7)
cost
​
8 Week (virtual) Mindful Self Compassion - $595
​
Group Psilocybin Journey - $800 (+ cost of psilocybin, approx $200)
Instructors
Mike Averill, LCSW
Mike Averill is a psychotherapist based Portland, OR trained in EMDR, IFS, Pain Reprocessing Therapy, and is a teacher of the Mindful Self-Compassion program. Mike also is a licensed psilocybin facilitator and is the founder of PNW Integrative Center, a community space offering psilocybin therapy and mindfulness classes and programs.
Mike lives with his wife, daughter, and dogs and can often be found trying to convince them to spend time outside with him in Oregon's beautiful nature.
Daria Crymes
Daria Crymes is a teacher of Mindful Self Compassion, who incorporates her experience as a former Rolfer and massage therapist to assist you into present moment awareness. In 2016 Daria was a participant in her first MSC class. She immediately understood holding oneself in compassion as an antidote to deep, frequently unknown, shame and self-criticism in individuals, and as a catalyst for collective change. Daria is interested in working with the human experience and ways of being in the mind, body and heart. She sees Mindful Self-Compassion and embodiment as complimentary personal and relational practices– ways of coming home to oneself while staying responsive to the world.
Deeply rooted in the Pacific Northwest, she continues to draw inspiration from its landscapes, seasons, and embodied ways of moving through the world.
Daria’s personal experience with psychedelics has been an unfolding path of wonder, of discovery and of broad and deep healing.
Missy McMurray
Missy was thrust into meditation in 2009 when chronic pain gifted her the opportunity to look more deeply at life in an existential way. What felt like a betrayal of the body ultimately led to the discovery that our bodies are not in the way, they are the way. With a particular interest in rebalancing the feminine and masculine energies, her work draws on ancient wisdom traditions, consciousness, movement, sound and other embodiment practices. She believes this path can be gentle and that play is essential.
Missy completed her mindfulness meditation certification with Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach, her coaching certification with Claire Zammit, and is a licensed psilocybin facilitator in Oregon. Drawing on multiple tools, Missy’s greatest message is that there is nothing to fix. When we return to our inherent wholeness we are free to change, connected to the wisdom of the body and the strength of the heart.
