Letters of recommendation for certification

Oasis Institute OASIS training and certification
#1

Hello,

I’m in the process of assembling my materials for certification review. I was wondering about the requirement that 2 of the letters of recommendation should be from medical or behavioral health professionals. I have a few people I am thinking to ask for my second of these recommenders (one I already have is a therapist who is a meditation teacher colleague.)

The two I am trying to decide between:

One is an MBSR teacher/colleague who has seen me teach a little bit, but who I have only known for a couple of years. We have collaborated on some program planning together but have not co-taught.

The other is my therapist who I have been seeing for about ten years, who knows me extremely well and who I talk to a lot about my teaching, and would be able to speak to my practice, personal growth, and commitment, but he has never seen me teach.

(If it helps, my other two recommenders are very familiar with my MBSR teaching, who have seen me teach and who I have co-taught with.)

It might help to know the intention behind having recommenders who are medical or behavioral health professionals so I can pick someone who would support this intention.

Any feedback or advice would be appreciated. Thank you.

-Emily

#2

Emily, we are trying to understand you to some degree as a teacher, through the eyes of your colleagues and professional network. My recommendation to you is that you ask whichever of these folks has the best sense of your teaching. Many thanks for your careful consideration of this TCR portfolio requirement. All the best,
Margaret

#3

Hi, Margaret~

I have a similar question and wanted to clarify since some time has passed. I can no longer find the Recommendation Letter categories that Emily referred to. I can remember seeing them in the past. Are they no longer recommended? The only guidelines I can find are here:

https://www.umassmed.edu/cfm/training/MBSR-Teacher-Education/sr-405-teacher-certification/

Am I missing anything? Also, my understanding is that the recommenders provide their letters to me, which I then include in my materials. Is this correct?

Thanks!
Deanna

#4

Hi, Deanna,

I’ve reached out for some guidance on this myself, hope to be back to you within a day.

Cheers,
Margaret

#5

So, Deanna, I believe you heard directly from Oasis. To close the loop in this thread here, yes, the link you provided above does contain the complete information regarding letters of recommendation.