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About Us
MindfulPath aims to provide workshops and courses to support your personal journey in mindfulness and self-compassion to bring more balance and ease stress in your life.
We bring together a team of enthusiastic specifically trained teachers in Mindfulness and Self-Compassion by the Center for Mindful Self-Compassion.
The teachers in addition to extensive professional training, have each many years of personal practice in Meditation, Mindfulness and Self-Compassion. They are secular in their approach and bear witness to the balance, strength and resilience that those practices have to offer, especially, in times of crisis in their own life.
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Mindfulness and Self-Compassion allow us to grow by enriching our lives with self-kindness: promoting awareness and self-acceptance, regulating stress and emotion as well as extending our ability to savour more deeply the positive moments, to over shadow the difficult times and magnify the joy of living. Each day we can begin again, anew, revitalizing our body, mind and heart, to find renewed vitality and purpose.
Marie Bloomfield
Clinical Psychologist and Mindful Self-Compassion Teacher, Founder of MindfulPath
B.Sc(Psych.), M.Clin. Psych(UNSW), MAPS(Coll.Clin.Psych.)
Marie Bloomfield is a leader in teaching Mindfulness and Self-Compassion in Australia.
She is a warm, experienced, engaging group facilitator, clinical psychologist, and teacher. ​
Marie was one of the first psychologist in Australia (and the world) to attend the first Teacher Training in Mindful Self-Compassion presented by the designers of the program Kristin Neff and Christopher in 2014 in the US.
She is a senior certified teacher in Mindful Self-Compassion. She has also received extensive training in Compassion-Focused Therapy and Compassion Mind Training with Paul Gilbert and others.
Marie has conducted over fifty Mindfulness and Self-Compassion programs for the general public as well as presenting workshops and retreats for professionals in the last fourteen years.
When Marie started working as a psychologist in 1980, Cognitive Behaviour Therapy(CBT) was the new evidence-based approach. Over the following 35 years, the field of psychology has evolved considerably and she has kept up with the advances made in neuroscience.
Following her own personal meditation practice of 30 years, Marie began working with Mindfulness and Self-Compassion in her professional work in her private practice. She believed that this approach was key to promoting well-being and healing for herself and for others.
Marie designed and presented her own Mindfulness and Self-Compassion group training programs (based on Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction- MBSR and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy- MBCT) in Canberra in 2011. She was keen to join Kristin Neff and Chris Germer when they co-created their program in Mindful Self-Compassion in the US. So in June 2014, Marie attended the first public residential Mindful Self-Compassion Teacher Training program presented by Kristin Neff and Chris Germer in California. Marie is one of the first registered and certified Mindful Self-Compassion trained teacher in Australia.
Marie has worked as a Clinical Psychologist in a wide range of mental health settings in public, private and corporate sectors. In her clinical work, she uses Cognitive Behaviour Therapy as well as Mindfulness, Compassion and Positive Psychology. Marie is committed to pursuing the new applications of mindfulness, compassion, and neuroscience in her work as a clinical psychologist and teacher.
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Over time, her role has evolved in providing for the patients/clients/consumers to also support health professionals. As well as running a private practice, she is conducting training programs for various corporate, private businesses, public and health provider services.
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Marie is a registered psychologist and Medicare provider since 1990 and offers private counselling sessions as well as provides private coaching and supervision in mindfulness, self-compassion and Compassion-Focused Therapy. She is approved by AHPRA as a supervisor for psychologists and other healthcare professionals.
Professional Background
• Completing a B.SC and a Master in Clinical Psychology at the University of NSW-1980
• Registered with AHPRA as a Clinical Psychologist since 1990
• Medicare Provider as a Clinical Psychologist-1990
• Member of the College of Clinical Psychology- Australian Psychologist Association
• Registered and accreditated Trained Teacher in Mindful Self-Compassion (formal training and mentoring by Kristin Neff, Chris Germer, Michelle Becker and Steve Hickman)--2014-2016
• Event Coordinator for the Buddhism and Psychology Interest Group- the Australian Psychological Society(APS)
• Adjunct Professional Associate- Master in Clinical Psychology-University of Canberra
• Conducting a private practice for individuals referred by their psychiatrist or GP
• Conducting Programs to various corporate, private businesses as well as public and health services.
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My Personal Journey
My initial personal search for a happier way of living led me to study and become a Clinical Psychologist in the 1970’s. Initially, I was practising Cognitive Behaviour Therapy in my professional practice and also applied it to my personal life, to start changing my own mind and thinking for the better. It worked for a while, I became calmer, better able to manage stress and other difficult emotions. However, in the mid-1980s, my life took a turn for the worse (so I thought then!). First, I experienced a very painful divorce and then shortly after, my best friend at 30 years of age, was diagnosed with cancer of the ovaries and lost the battle 18 months later. Those major events led me to re-think psychology and started me on a new quest for greater wisdom. So in between, re-marrying and bringing up 1 stepson and 4 children of my own, I had the opportunity to study and practice "A Course in Miracles", Hinduism, and Buddhism which all included the practice of meditation.
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Over the years, I became kinder to myself and discovered that many of my existing practices were part of the concept of self-compassion. Exploring the writing of Paul Gilbert, Kristen Neff and Chris Germer consolidated my existing practices. This came at a time in my life when I needed some extra emotional coping skills to deal with very painful personal situations and a severe health issue. I have experienced how personally strengthening and uplifting those mindfulness and self-compassion practices can be, allowing me to handle stressful events with more resilience, easing the difficult moments that life inevitably brings. I know that even if my life is not perfect, I can still embrace it, with an attitude of gratitude and be present to appreciate the good times.
Living mindfully, meditating and practising self-compassion has greatly empowered me, adding a new level of awareness, vitality and joy. My life is still challenging and there are still difficult moments of stress, anxiety and pain but I can relate to those times, differently, adding more understanding and compassion, to lighten up the load. I know for myself that mindfulness and self-compassion are powerful tools that can change a life and I would like to share their benefits, so others can also transform their life for the better.
As a consequence of Mindful Self-Compassion, my life has become more vibrant and fulfilling. I feel so fortunate to live at a time when mindfulness and self-compassion can offer tools that provide inner strengths, to cultivate the mind and open the heart so that we can respond more skillfully to our struggles, to promote inner peace and joy as well as being able to engage with others more deeply. I feel very privileged to be able to teach the various practical gifts of mindfulness and self-compassion. It is very satisfying to witness the participants over the course of the program to be transformed; to see them become more accepting and compassionate to themselves and others; to see them becoming calmer, happier; and to see them thrive with their newly acquired skills in mindfulness and self-compassion.
May you be kind to yourself!
May you be well!
May you flourish!
Marie
Marianna Lolas
Clinical Psychologist
Grad.Dip. Psych., M.Clin. Psych., MAPS, FCCLP.
Marianna is a Clinical Psychologist who has been working in private practice for 8 years. Helping others has always been Marianna’s passion and has motivated a diverse and rewarding career across many different fields and industries. Before clinical psychology, Marianna worked in large corporate companies, specialising in understanding consumer behaviour, advising strategy, research and training teams. She also worked as a Clinical Hypnotherapist.
Marianna holds a Master in Applied Science - Food Science and Nutrition, an Advanced Diploma in Hypnosis and has spent time studying meditation. Marianna’s psychological experience covers both the private and public sectors, with adults, teens and children, across a few therapeutic disciplines including Mindful Self Compassion / Compassion-based therapies.
Marianna enjoys positively impacting and empowering others through a holistic approach, compassion and scientific knowledge.
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When Marie started working as a psychologist in 1980, Cognitive Behaviour Therapy(CBT) was the new evidence-based approach. Over the following 35 years, the field of psychology has evolved considerably and she has kept up with the advances made in neuroscience.
Personal Journey
A couple of decades ago, after a few life challenges, I turned to meditation and hypnosis to help me cope with what felt like treading water. Seeing and feeling how these techniques were making a real difference in my life and the way I saw the world, sparked my curiosity about the science that sat behind how it worked. To satiate this desire to know more and be able to share the experience with others, I studied clinical hypnosis, and meditation and chose to continue my psychology studies. Then in about 2012/2013, I came across Paul Gilbert’s Compassionate Mind, it made sense and struck a chord with me, the way he spoke of evolutionary psychology, the mingling of science and ancient practices and how they are so intertwined. This led me to explore compassion-focused therapy and mindful self-compassion further.
It wasn’t until 2020 when Covid turned life upside down for everyone, that I needed further support at home and work. My self-care practices and the awareness meditation brings weren’t enough to get through the stress and unchartered nature of what was happening, so I went in search of more. This was when I realised that self-compassion was the missing piece for me – the concept of treating myself like I would treat a good friend resonated. I picked up all my psychology books on compassion and started to re-read, as well as honing in on Mindful Self-Compassion(MSC) through professional development. Very slowly, I began to find calmness and contentment. The defining moment for me was doing a week of mindful self-compassion / a silent retreat at the beautiful Wilson’s Prom National Park – not only did my practice improve but I realised I wanted to share my discoveries, which led me to take the path to become a qualified MSC teacher.
My wish is to continue to grow in contentment and calm, and to share this beautiful way of finding inner peace with friends, family and clients.