Christopher Menard, PsyD | USA
Dr. Christopher Menard, PsyD is a psychologist who provides mindfulness training to groups, couples, and individuals via Zoom and in in-person in Nashville, TN. He has been teaching mindfulness since 2011. He completed Interpersonal Mindfulness Teacher Training in the Netherlands with Phyllis Hicks in 2017. In addition, he has taught Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), Mindfulness Based Relapse Prevention (MBRP), Insight Meditation, & Finding Peace in a Frantic World. He also led Mindfulness Training for numerous community groups in Illinois including, Champaign-Urbana K – 12 school teachers, University High Laboratory High School students, Champaign County Jail inmates, Danville prison inmates, and Rosecrance addiction recovery clients.
In addition to working with individual, couples, and leading group based interventions, Dr. Menard taught for many years at University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign campuses Psychology Department). He trained and supervised Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy practicum instructors through the two-semester Psych-546 course for 10-years. Additionally, Dr. Menard taught the undergraduate two-semester Psychology-340/341 Service Learning Mindfulness class and has been among the University of Illinois Teachers Ranked as Excellent by Their Students.
Dr. Menard co-authored two research articles on mindfulness. One study in which Dr. Menard was a collaborator demonstrated the benefits (reduced distress) of mindfulness for individuals experiencing tinnitus; the second study demonstrated the benefits (reduced stress, reduced craving, reduced substance use) of mindfulness for individuals recovering from addiction.
In addition to the mental health applications of mindfulness based interventions mentioned above, Dr. Menard has also studied Buddhist Vipassana meditation, and was a member of the Prairie Sangha from 2012 - 2023. He led beginner Vipassana meditation sessions for many years on Monday nights for the Prairie Sangha at the Urbana Quaker Meetinghouse. In addition, he has attended many Vipassana retreats including retreats with Ajahn Passano and Ajahn Viradhammo from the Thai Forest tradition, Santikaro from the Ajahn Buddhadasa tradition, as well as Gregory Kramer and Phyllis Hicks from the Insight Dialogue tradition.