I am a certified psychologist in mindfulness and compassion (CCT, MSC, MBEB, SCHC, SC for Shame, etc.) and for the past decade, I have been offering programs internationally as a facilitator and teacher trainer.

I dedicate my life to sharing compassion-based practices as essential medicine for the world. I am a speaker, consultant, and coach on topics related to well-being. Below you can see the details of my roles and training:

Head of Training and Leader of Compassion Corps at the Global Compassion Coalition.
Senior Instructor (2014), Content Leader for Teacher Training, and supervisor of new instructors for the Compassion Cultivation Training (CCT) at the Compassion Institute, developed at the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education (CCARE) at Stanford University.
Certified Instructor of the Mindfulness and Self-Compassion (MSC) program developed by Kristen Neff and Christopher Germer (2018).
Certified Instructor of the Self-Compassion for Healthcare Providers (SCHC) program developed by Kristin Neff (2024).
Certified Instructor of the Self-Compassion for Shame (SC-Shame) program developed by Christopher Germer (2024).
Teacher and Trainer of instructors for the Mindfulness-Based Emotional Balance (MBEB) program developed by Margaret Cullen and Gonzalo Brito (2017).

I focus my career on Compassion Education and work as a speaker, coach, organizational consultant, and advisor to groups and individuals on topics related to well-being, contemplative practices, mindfulness, and compassion. Some of my clients include Bancolombia, Adidas, Fundación Santa Fé, Cardiovid, Universidad de Antioquia, Gobernación de Antioquia, Kawak, Uniandes, among others.

I have delivered training and talks to various audiences in Colombia, Chile, Mexico, Spain, Uruguay, and the United States.

I am a trained therapist from Universidad de Los Andes and I am an expert in Corporate Social Responsibility from Universidad Sergio Arboleda, as well as in Integrative Therapies from the Faculty of Medicine at Universidad del Rosario.

I have studied bioenergetics (Sintergética) and Hands for Healing for over a decade with mentors and teachers such as Jorge Carvajal, Santiago Rojas, Luz Angela Carvajal, Jorge Montoya, Jorge Iván Arango, Luis Fernando Arenas, among others.

I am an invited faculty member in the Contemplative Companionship to Death program with Frank Ostaseski and Silvia Fernández de Nirakara.

I am in the process of getting certified as an expert in the Happiness Studies Academy’s Cultivating Happiness program with Tal Ben-Shahar (Harvard University).

If you want to learn more about Maria Paula, visit this recent Blog Post from the Compassion Institute!