Frequently Asked Questions

A platform that certifies mindfulness group leaders based on their measured impact on participants, not just training credentials completed. Leaders run pre/post surveys through the platform, and once enough participants show a strong enough effect, they become evidence-certified.

MBI stands for Mindfulness-Based Intervention - a structured, typically 8-week group program built around mindfulness practice. There isn't just one; over the years the field has developed several, each adapted for a different focus (stress and pain, relapse prevention, self-compassion, and so on) while sharing the same basic structure. MindfulCertify currently supports MBSR, MBCT, MBC, MBRP, MBCP, and MSC - see Programs for what each one is and where it came from.

No - it's meant to complement it, not compete with it. Training programs, mentorship, and process-competence assessments like the MBI:TAC all still matter. MindfulCertify adds the piece those don't measure: verified participant outcomes.

Not every outcome domain fits every modality equally well - depression and self-compassion are near-universal, but a program like MBRP is more centrally about relapse than, say, interoceptive awareness. Each program's admin sets which scales are core (required) versus optional for that specific modality, drawn from a shared pool of validated instruments. See For Leaders for the current pool.

Not for scales your programs share. If depression is core to both your MBSR and MBCT groups, participants from either count toward both certifications - the same instrument measuring the same construct doesn't stop being valid evidence just because it happened in a different room. Scales unique to one modality still only draw from that modality's cohorts.

When a cohort has a co-leader, both of you attest a role for that specific group: Primary (you were responsible for more than half of it), Supporting (less than half), or Co-Equal (roughly 50/50, both attest to it). This is about responsibility for the group's outcomes, not literal time spent - a light-touch mentor whose input still meaningfully shaped the group should attest Co-Equal, not Supporting.

Supporting-role data never counts toward your own certification (it still counts fully toward the Primary leader's). Co-Equal data counts, but is capped: at least half of your total participants toward certification have to come from cohorts where you were Primary or solo. Solo-led cohorts always count fully - no attestation needed when there's no co-leader.

Yes - from a cohort's page, use "Invite a co-leader" to send them an email with a link to register and join. You can edit the message before sending.

No. An admin/reviewer can grant a fast-track past the credentialing checklist directly - it's meant for exactly this case. That only shortcuts the paperwork stages, though; Evidence-Certified status still requires the same real outcome data as everyone else. If you already have a published, peer-reviewed study where you personally led the intervention groups, see the next question instead.

Evidence-Certified is computed live by MindfulCertify itself, from data collected through the platform. Research-Certified is a separate designation for a published, peer-reviewed study where you personally led or co-led the intervention groups (common for an MBI's own developer) - submitted from your pathway page, approved by a reviewer. You can hold both for the same modality, or either alone; one doesn't replace the other.

Nothing - certification just stays in "building evidence" until you do. There's no penalty or deadline; the numbers update automatically as more participants complete surveys.

No. Upload your existing certification from your pathway page (organization, credential title, and ideally supporting documentation) - once a reviewer approves it, you're marked Institution-Certified for that modality, and Steps 1-4 (prerequisites through Level 2 eligibility) are waived. You just need to keep your ongoing-practice attestations (Step 5 - current practice and two retreat days a year) up to date.

Pursuing Evidence-Certified status on top of that works exactly the same as for anyone else - lead cohorts and collect outcome data; it doesn't depend on Steps 1-4 either way. This is per modality, though: if you register for a second modality you don't already hold outside certification in, the usual prerequisites apply to that one.

Your answers are linked only to an anonymous participant code, never directly to your name, email, or phone number - those are stored in a separate table your group leader manages, not attached to your responses.

Yes, linked to your participant code - group leaders can see their own cohort's data, including individual responses, in order to run their groups and review their own outcomes. What they don't get from MindfulCertify is your name, email, or phone number attached to that data (for clinical participants enrolled by code, none of that is ever collected at all).

Community participants have an email or phone on file so their leader can reach them (MindfulCertify itself doesn't send that link automatically yet - sharing it is on the leader). Clinical participants are enrolled with a leader-assigned code only, with no contact information collected anywhere in the system, by design.

A few minutes, typically - the exact time depends on how many scales your program measures. Each survey link shows an estimate before you start.

Both are admin-configurable, but the defaults match CMC's published Level 2 pathway - a sample size and effect size intended to balance statistical reliability with being achievable for a working group leader. See The Case for Evidence for the research behind it.

A standardized measure of how big a change is - the average pre-to-post improvement divided by how much participants' scores typically vary. It lets programs compare effect sizes across different scales on the same scale, roughly: ~0.2 is a small effect, ~0.5 medium, ~0.8 large.