Personal Readiness

If you are experiencing or have experienced mental, emotional, or physical challenges that may be activated by participation in any of our courses or workshops, we encourage you to contact the instructor and/or your healthcare professional in advance to determine whether a given program is the right fit for you at this time.

Group Safety

We are committed to maintaining a safe and respectful environment for all participants and instructors. Please familiarize yourself with our Participant Guidelines. Participants may be removed from a course or workshop if their behavior poses a risk to that safety.

Grounds for removal include, but are not limited to:

• Comments that intentionally cause discomfort to other participants
• Language that is offensive, unkind, aggressive, or threatening
• Berating, verbal harassment, or abuse directed at participants or instructors

Participants removed for any of the above reasons remain subject to the full cost of tuition.

Applying for a Scholarship

Scholarship requests must be submitted via the online scholarship application form, completed in its entirety. Because the number of scholarships is limited, we encourage interested applicants to apply as early as possible before the event they wish to attend.

Eligibility

Scholarships are awarded based on a holistic review that considers both the applicant’s financial need and the organization’s available resources and commitments. Only applications submitted within the designated window are guaranteed to be reviewed.

Amount & Availability

Scholarships are offered at 50% of the standard (non-member) registration fee. A limited number of scholarships are available per event, depending on enrollment.

Decisions & Timeline

Most scholarship decisions are communicated to applicants approximately two weeks before the requested event.

Coordination of Scholarships

Please know that our scholarship programs for community membership, workshops, and courses each function independently. 

Privacy

Scholarship recipients are not disclosed. All scholarship-related information is kept strictly private.

We understand that life happens. If your plans change, here’s everything you need to know about cancellations and refunds — no surprises. 

Eligibility for Refund:

• Refunds will not be issued for missed coupon codes or other partial-fee situations.
• Participants must submit a valid reason for their refund request by email.
• Participants removed from a course or workshop due to behavior outlined in our Participant Guidelines remain subject to the full cost.
• If you initiate a dispute with your credit card company before contacting us directly, it will result in the transaction being frozen.  We will not be able to issue a refund until all documentation has been submitted and the review process is complete.  

Workshop Cancellation & Refund Policy

(Note: SCI workshops are typically stand-alone single events, usually lasting 2-4 hours.  Registrants can watch either via live attendance and/or via  recording.)

Workshops can be refunded at any time prior to the day of the workshop.  A 10% cancellation fee will be deducted from the refund to cover transaction fees and administrative time. Alternatively, we may be able to honor a one-time transfer request to another workshop that is made with sufficient advance notice, subject to the availability of an equally priced workshop that is open for registration.

Live Course Cancellation & Refund Policy

(Note: SCI live courses are a series of events that comprise a gradual sequence of material shared over time shared by a common grouping of students.)

Our courses have limited enrollment, and every seat matters. Late cancellations or schedule transfers leave little time to offer your seat to someone else.  Our course cancellation policy encourages commitment and ensures every spot goes to someone who can attend. The closer to the event, the higher fee reflects the reduced opportunity to fill your seat. 

• 30+ days before the start date:  10% fee 
• 15-29 days before the start date:15% fee 
• 1-14 days before the start date: 25% fee 
• After the course starts but before the second session:  50% fee 
• After 2 sessions have occurred: No refunds will be given.

Once a course has begun, transfers are not permitted in order to protect participant safety, group trust, and continuity of instruction.  If circumstances arise mid-course that prevent you from completing, we may offer an option to re-enroll in a future course at a discounted rate, subject to availability. Please reach out, and we will do our best to work with you.

If We Need to Cancel

We never want to cancel on you. If we need to reschedule or cancel an event for any reason, we’ll notify you as soon as possible. You’ll have the choice of a full refund or a transfer to another available course — whichever works best for you.

Refund Process:

1. Refund requests should be submitted to info@self-compassion.org.
2. Once received, your request will be reviewed, and a decision will be communicated to you within 7–10 business days. We appreciate your patience.
3. Approved refunds will be returned to your original payment method.

The Self-Compassion Institute reserves the right to exercise discretion in special circumstances and may offer options such as enrollment deferral or transfer to a future event.

This policy is subject to change. We encourage all participants to review it before registering. If you have questions, please contact us at info@self-compassion.org.