Though acceptance and mindfulness interventions have proven enormously effective for adults with stress, anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues, they have not been fully documented for use with children and adolescents. And yet they are a natural fit for children's therapy-the focus on acceptance and mindfulness builds children's psychological flexibility, and the values component of these methods helps young people learn to set goals and take action to achieve them. The chapters in Acceptance and Mindfulness Treatments for Children and Adolescents show how to modify third-wave behavioral and cognitive therapy methods for the treatment of children and adolescents. This book also considers the early evidence for the adaptability and effectiveness of these methods. Edited by two luminaries in the field of third-wave behavior therapy, these essays will be invaluable in helping young patients reap the benefits of acceptance and mindfulness approaches such as acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT), and mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR). Learn how ACT, DBT, MBCT, and MBSR can be used with young people and their families Discover recent third-wave behavior therapy research Explore the practice issues that arise when acceptance and mindfulness techniques are used with children and adolescents Find out how to put these techniques to work in your own practice

This book comprehensively reviews mindfulness-based interventions for specific areas of functioning in children and adolescents, with refreshing insights and perspectives. Based on a solid foundation of research and practice, it presents the nature of mindfulness, examines the psychological processes that may underlie mindfulness, and explores how to assess it. Mindfulness is about how we can be attentive to and present for everything that happens in our daily lives. This book draws upon current research in the field in order to explore topics such as the fundamentals of teaching mindfulness to children and adolescents; assessment of mindfulness in this population; use of mindfulness in educational settings; and clinical applications in mental health, including substance abuse, hyperactivity, and intellectual and developmental disabilities. With contributions from internationally-renowned clinicians and scholars, this book provides a balanced account of the strengths and weaknesses of current research, and how mindfulness-based programs can be used to enhance wellbeing and reduce suffering. This book will be of great interest for academics, scholars and post graduate students involved in the study of the mental health of children and adolescents. It will also appeal to psychologists, psychiatrist, nurses, social workers, rehabilitation therapists and others, such as school counsellors, who provide clinical care to children and adolescents.

This indispensable resource provides a flexible framework and a wealth of engaging tools for teaching mindfulness to children and adolescents with varying needs in school or clinical settings. Numerous kid-friendly mindfulness practices are presented, complete with step-by-step instructions, sample scripts, suggested variations, and discussion questions. The benefits of mindfulness for enhancing children's social–emotional competencies are clearly explained. Clinicians and teachers are guided to select and sequence activities for groups struggling with specific challenges: stress and anxiety, depression, attention problems, behavioral and emotion regulation issues, and trauma. In a convenient large-size format, the book includes 14 reproducible handouts. Purchasers get access to a Web page where they can download and print the reproducible materials.

This book shows how to plan, refine, and implement peer-supported mindfulness-based interventions to prevent mental disorders in children and youths. It focuses on interventions designed to maintain psychosocial health and prevent emotional and behavioral problems in children and youths around the globe. By combining a range of research perspectives, the book connects mindfulness to pro-social behavior, and to positive social and physical environments, in order to enhance resilience. In addition, it presents theoretical aspects and practical recommendations on how to promote mental health and healthy lifestyles in adolescents, such as school-based interventions. Gathering contributions by an international network of researchers and practitioners, the book offers not only state-of-the-art theoretical descriptions of key concepts and interventions, but also best practices for implementing them to strengthen resilience.

In this powerful book, a pediatrician specializing in teen and adolescent medicine offers a breakthrough mindfulness program to help you deal with stress in healthy ways, improve communication, and reduce conflicts with family and friends. Being a teen is stressful! Whether it’s school, friends, or dating, the teen years are full of difficult changes—both mentally and physically. If you're like many teens, you may have difficulty dealing with stress in effective ways. You aren’t alone, and there are things you can do to stay calm, no matter how stressful life becomes. All you need to do is stop, breathe, and be mindful and aware in the present moment. The Mindful Teen offers a unique program based in mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) to help you deal with stress. The simple, practical, and easy-to-remember tips in this book can be used every day to help you handle any difficult situation more effectively—whether it’s taking a test at school, having a disagreement with your parents, or a problem you are having with friends. If you’re ready to uncover your own inner strength and resilience through mindful awareness and take charge of your life, this book will show you how.

Applied Mindfulness: Approaches in Mental Health for Children and Adolescents starts from the premise that mental health clinicians must have their own mindfulness practice before teaching the tenets and techniques of mindfulness to others, including young people. To that end, the book offers readers clear instructions on how to first practice mindfulness in their own lives and then extend their personal practice outward to others. Once this knowledge is internalized, the clinician can focus on mindfulness in terms of its application to specific clinical diagnoses, such as anxiety and depression, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and substance abuse. Because many mental health professionals work in multiple settings, such as in schools, in clinics, and online, the contributors, representing a wide range of creative and authoritative voices, explain how to skillfully tailor mindfulness interventions for effective application across diverse contexts. Drs. Carrion and Rettger, as Director of the Stanford Early Life Stress and Pediatric Anxiety Program (SELSPAP) and Director of SELSPAP's Mindfulness Program, respectively, have been engaged in ongoing community-based work delivering mindfulness and yoga programming to underserved youth and their helpers. This expertise is evident in their eloquent yet down-to-earth editing.The volume offers clinicians everything they need to begin their mindfulness journey, including the following: - Introductory knowledge on how to get started with a meditation practice. Specific mindfulness scripts are provided throughout the book to foster development of the reader's own practice. In addition, there are audio practices and clear written descriptions of practices to offer support for those learning to meditate, internalize mindfulness practices, and then adapt these skills for clinical practice. - A developmental and ecological approach to implementing mindfulness. The book offers insight into integrating mindfulness across many settings, platforms, and applications, and includes chapters on mindfulness online, at home, and in school, as well as chapters on incorporating nature into mindfulness practice and the relationship between mindfulness and creativity. - Material on specific clinical populations, including immigrant youth and incarcerated youth. A special chapter is devoted to trauma-informed yoga, which has been shown to be an effective therapeutic intervention for youth who have been incarcerated.- Comprehensive information on the current state of youth mindfulness research, which prepares readers to discuss these topics knowledgeably with colleagues and patients. Like ripples in water, the benefits of mindfulness spread outward, from clinicians to patients, families, schools, and communities. Applied Mindfulness: Approaches in Mental Health for Children and Adolescents is the first step toward stress reduction, peace, and compassion for a new generation.

Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Anxious Children offers a complete professional treatment program designed to help children ages nine through twelve who struggle with anxiety. This twelve-session protocol can be used to treat anxious children in group or individual therapy. The poems, stories, session summaries, and home practice activities on the enclosed CD-ROM supplement child therapy sessions and parent meetings to illuminate mindful awareness concepts and practices. In twelve simple sessions, children will learn new ways to relate to anxious thoughts and feelings and develop the ability to respond to life events with greater awareness and confidence. Help children manage the symptoms of all types of anxiety: •Panic disorder •Agoraphobia •Obsessive-compulsive disorder •Post-traumatic stress disorder •Generalized anxiety disorder •Social phobia •Specific phobias •Separation anxiety disorder •School refusal