Applied Mindfulness

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.