Dr Caroline Hoffman OAM

Bringing spacious awareness and a compassionate heart to wellbeing

About Caroline

Integrating mind-body approaches for health and happiness

With over 40 years of frontline psychological and physical healthcare experience, Caroline has been delivering and researching mind-body and complementary therapy approaches in settings as diverse as international business, intensive care, cancer support and with global populations. Caroline loves to inspire and help others find kindness and courage to find more ease and joy, whatever challenges they may be facing, These may be in their private lives, in the workplace or in different communities across the world.

Mindfulness & self-compassion training, retreats


Mindfulness and Self-Compassion Courses and Retreats

Caroline provides mindfulness and self-compassion course nationally and internationally . She also leads mindful self-compassion (MSC) retreats. She has taught and researched the eight-week programmes of Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction (MBSR) since 2004 and Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) since 2016. She teaches both in person and online.

She has taught many courses for people affected by cancer but also teaches courses to general populations and with sequential translation. She is particularly interested in helping people reduce stress and increase overall wellbeing through theses approaches.

She is a certified MSC teacher, retreat leader and a mindfulness based intervention’s supervisor. Her PhD was in mindfulness.

Integrative healthcare including acupuncture


Acupuncture for pain and other symptoms

Caroline is an integrative and complementary therapies practitioner and provides mindfulness and self-compassion trainings and reteats as well as acupuncture and EMDR (bilateral brain stimulation) one to one. She hs been delivering and researching integrative medical support for people living with cancer and other life-threatening health conditions for over 30 years.

She has been a pioneer of practice, education and research in integrative medicine in the NHS, cancer charities and the global cancer community.   For her PhD she taught and evaluated the effects of MBSR in women affected by breast cancer which was published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology in 2012 and also published a paper evaluating the benefits of Mindful Self-Compassion in breast cancer in 2022. She supports people’s minds and bodies with a range of complementary and integrative medical approaches. She has a degree in social work, and for nine years was an intensive care nurse.

In a voluntary capacity, she is on the executive committee of the British Society of Integrative Oncology (BSIO) supporting professionals to cultivate the best of medical treatment and supportive oncology care.

Reducing the impact of stress and trauma


Treating trauma and PTSD with bilateral brain stimulation (ultraEMDR)

Caroline understands how trauma and stress can negatively impact effectiveness and performance in the workplace and generally in life.

She has been supporting individuals and groups staff in all levels of business and healthcare to relieve stress and trauma and to build resilience with mindfulness, self-compassion and individually for trauma and PTSD with bilateral brain stimulation known more widely as Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR). This a fast and effective method.

In terms of working with organisations, In the late 1990s, Caroline worked overeseas as a health consultant in an international businesses based in South East Asia. She has worked at Consultant level in the NHS, as Clinical and Research Director of a national breast cancer support charity and as part-time CEO of a London-based cancer support charity.

MINDFUL SELF-COMPASSION (MSC)


Mindful Self-Compassion teaches core principles and practices that enable us to respond to difficult moments in our lives with kindness, courage and wisdom

Upcoming MSC Courses, Retreats and Events

What people say about Caroline


  • I’ve been wanting to tell you what a wonderful teacher you are! I’ve done uncountable spiritual and personal and professional growth workshops and classes and received support from many many healers and therapists over the past 35 years – and your presence, wisdom and compassion is extraordinary! Thank you for being you and all you give to our world. Your class was truly amazing! Much love to you!  Catherine, USA March 2021
  • I found this retreat very deep, and the content and themed focus each day was inspiring and just what I needed. I now have ways of being and knowing that can be easily applied in my life. An awareness of the presence of love and compassion, appreciation for the beauty of life and being alive in this amazing world (inner and outer!). Thank you. 5-day online retreat participant, January 2022
  • Caroline was amazing, the retreat was beautifully run. She embodied kindness and compassion. I ‘landed’ feeling refreshed and renewed. January 2022
  • You did an outstanding job. You are so knowledgeable and wisdom. You deliver the material gracefully and at a comfortable pace. Tom, USA, 5-day online retreat participant, September 2022
  • Fantastic! Thank you so much Dr Caroline for your time, space and expertise. The 8-week Mindfulness and Self-Compassion course with you has been amazing, empowering and healing. Celia, UK, 5-day onlineMSC course participant, Spring 2022
  • I thought the retreat was perfect! I loved your facilitation style.  The whole retreat flowed really well. It had a wonderful mix of practices, activities, talks and sharing. I found that my mood became uplifted while at the same calm so I experienced a sense of balance that I carried over past the end of the retreat. Autumn 2023
  • Thank you. Our MSC online course (with sequential translation course into Chinese) has been successfully completed, and the students have given feedback that your teaching is excellent, leaving a deep impression on everyone. Thank you very much for your efforts. Winter 2023-4.

PARTNERS