Using Mindfulness to Promote Mental Health in Schools

Using Mindfulness to Promote Mental Health in Schools provides scholarly and practical information about using mindfulness-based practices to promote mental health in schools. Mindfulness is understood as a key psychological skill set, which can be taught and learned like any other skill, by mental health professionals, educators, and others who are working in schools. Chapters focus on how practices related to training mindfulness skills can be integrated within a multitiered approach to school-based mental health service delivery, including universal, targeted, and intensive supports. Examples are provided regarding how mindfulness-based practices can be applied at the classroom and schoolwide level for promoting the well-being of all students, at the small-group level for supporting students with emerging psychosocial risk, and at the individualized level for intervening with students experiencing chronic or severe mental health concerns.

Authored by leading scholars in the field, the book provides a brief and accessible introduction to help implementers understand, select, apply, and evaluate mindfulness-based practices in schools. The text is divided into two sections. The first section discusses the conceptual and historical foundations of mindfulness-based practices in schools and mindfulness-based assessment practices with youth and their caregivers that are relevant for use in schools, while the second section covers various approaches to mindfulness-based interventions with youth and their caregivers, including chapters on mindfulness-based stress reduction, mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, mindful yoga, and mindfulness-based parent training.

Tyler L. Renshaw, PhD, is a professor in the Psychology Department at Utah State University (USU). His research focuses on advancing the science of school-based mental health services. He is a licensed psychologist in Utah and a Nationally Certified School Psychologist. Dr. Renshaw is the current Director of Training for the School Psychology PhD program at USU, where he teaches graduate seminars and provides clinical supervision for school-based mental health services. He has authored more than 100 peer-reviewed journal articles and given more than 150 professional presentations.

Shane R. Jimerson, PhD, is a professor in the Gevirtz Graduate School of Education at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Dr. Jimerson is a Nationally Certified School Psychologist and recognized by the American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress as a Board Certified Expert and Diplomat, and is included in their international registry of Experts in Traumatic Stress with specialization in working with children, families, and schools. He has published more than 30 books and contributed more than 350 presentations during the past 20 years to diverse audiences of students, scholars, and professionals across more than 25 countries.