Patricia Rockman - The Mindful Teen Workbook: Powerful Skills to Find Calm, Develop Self-Compassion, and Build Resilience

Rockman, McLay, and Freedman have created a wonderful, simple, and practical introduction to mindfulness for our teens who need it now more than ever. Through a range of fun practices, thoughtful reflections, and just the right amount of science, they guide adolescents, and their adults, through a path to create their own sustainable and helpful practice.

Christopher Willard, PsyD , coauthor of Alphabreaths

Its harder than ever to be a teenagerand this gem of a book is full of practical, scientifically based help. Its a great combination of inviting exercises, useful information, and friendly support. A wonderful resource for adolescents and their parents, and for anyone who teaches or works with teens!

Rick Hanson, PhD , author of Resilient

Teens have had to shoulder a lot during the pandemic, adding more stress to an already challenging developmental period. The Mindful Teen Workbook will help them meet lifes struggles with greater resilience, and savor its awesome moments more deliberately. Written in an engaging and accessible style, it features carefully calibrated didactic content alongside experiential learning, and guides teens on how show up more fully to their lives and embrace the vast potential that awaits them.

Zindel Segal, PhD , coauthor of The Mindful Way through Depression

Teens are under more pressure today than ever before. This book is a well-written, engaging, and extremely practical resource to help teens cultivate the skills of mindfulness, compassion, emotional resiliency, and metacognitive awareness during a critical time in their development. Mindfulness (as the authors note) is indeed a superpower. As a youth mindfulness researcher, Im delighted that this workbook offers such an inviting, user-friendly style of teaching mindfulness to teens.

Randye J. Semple, PhD , associate professor at the University of Southern California, and coauthor of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Anxious Children and The Mindfulness Matters Program for Children and Adolescents

This book comes out at a time when mindfulness, self-compassion, and well-being are consequential for youth. Kudos to the authors for making mindfulness-based skills accessible for teens. The Mindful Teen Workbook advances the mindfulness movement for youth in this book.

Gina Biegel, MA, LMFT , developer of the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction for Teens (MBSR-T) program

Now more than ever, our world needs humans who can tap into their true selves and respond to stress with mindfulness and self-compassion. This workbook supports this need by offering simple practices that help us get to know who we really are at heart so that we can exert our power and freedom to choose exactly how we want to be in relationship to everything around us and within us.

Jaisa Sulit, BPHD, BEd, MScOT , mindful self-compassion and mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) teacher, and author of Purpose in Paralysis

The Mindful Teen Workbook is an excellent support for teens. In fact, people of all ages could benefit. The authors translated the wisdom of mindfulness and simplified it into accessible language. Each chapter scaffolds on each other and offers a chance to learn, reflect, practice, and integrate into everyday life. An impressive array of tools that teens can experience individually, with friends, or in a therapeutic context.

Shari Geller, PhD , clinical psychologist, mindful self-compassion teacher, author of A Practical Guide for Cultivating Therapeutic Presence , and coauthor of Therapeutic Presence

Mindfulness is a much-needed approach that can help teens navigate through daily challenges, including stress, intense emotions, conflict, overwhelm, and uncertainty. But the key is to make mindfulness demystified, simple, and relevant for each teen. This book accomplishes this in an elegant and thoughtful way, empowering each reader to creatively adapt and make mindfulness their own.

Lidia Zylowska, MD , associate professor at the University of Minnesota Medical School, author of The Mindfulness Prescription for Adult ADHD , and coauthor of and Mindfulness for Adult ADHD

A powerful guide for teenagers willing to develop a mindful way of caring for inner experiences, especially when facing challenging moments. Step by step, this workbook helps develop resourceful skills that help teens meet stillness and respond with resilience in the post-pandemic world.

Vitor Friary , author of Mindfulness for Children , and founder of the Centro de Mindfulness in Brazil

Publishers Note

This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering psychological, financial, legal, or other professional services. If expert assistance or counseling is needed, the services of a competent professional should be sought.

The Web of Reactivity discussed in practice 8 comes from the work of Mary Elliot and Evan Collins. It is used with permission.

INSTANT HELP, the Clock Logo, and NEW HARBINGER are trademarks of New Harbinger Publications, Inc.

New Harbinger Publications is an employee-owned company.

Copyright 2022 by Patricia Rockman, Allison McLay, M. Lee Freedman

Instant Help Books

An imprint of New Harbinger Publications, Inc.

5674 Shattuck Avenue

Oakland, CA 94609

All Rights Reserved

Cover design by Amy Shoup; Acquired by Ryan Buresh; Edited by Karen Schader

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Rockman, Patricia, author. | McLay, Allison, author. | Freedman, M. Lee, author.

Title: Mindful teen workbook / Patricia Rockman, Allison McLay, M. Lee Freedman.

Description: Oakland, CA : Instant Help Books, an imprint of New Harbinger Publications, Inc., [2022] | Includes bibliographical references.

Identifiers: LCCN 2022018698 | ISBN 9781684039432 (trade paperback)

Subjects: LCSH: Mindfulness (Psychology)--Juvenile literature. | Stress (Psychology)--Juvenile literature. | Self-management (Psychology)--Juvenile literature. | BISAC: YOUNG ADULT NONFICTION / Health & Daily Living / Mindfulness & Meditation | YOUNG ADULT NONFICTION / Inspirational & Personal Growth

Classification: LCC BF637.M56 R63 2022 | DDC 158.1/3--dc23/eng/20220616

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022018698

Contents

For Tita AngangcoHer vision and commitment to making mindfulness accessible to all people created the foundation for us to write this book.

Patricia Rockman
Allison McLay
M. Lee Freedman

introduction: why this mindful workbook for teens?

Mindfulness has gone mainstream, but what is all the buzz about, and why develop a workbook especially for teens? For young people, there are particular challenges and opportunities in discovering what mindfulness has to offer. Sitting still and meditating may not be the most accessible or engaging way for some young people to develop the skills and attitudes of mindfulness. Luckily, there are other ways to learn the mindful skills and attitudes that can be helpful in negotiating the turmoil, stress, and excitement of this time of life.

How does this work? Mindfulness helps you understand your own experienceboth the pleasant and the difficult. Its a process of exploration that involves learning to work with your attention in a particular way so you can direct it when and how you want. The practices and exercises in this book give you tools for understanding and managing thoughts, emotions, and behaviors so they dont control you. Writing down your responses to the exercises will help you clarify your thinking, gain perspective, remember what you have learned, and help you see that you are not your thoughts. The awareness or understanding you get in the process allows for more choice in how you can respond.