'Disruptive behavior in the classroom, poor academic performance, out-of-control emotions: if you work with adolescents, you are well-aware of the challenges this age group presents. What if
there was a way to calm these students down and arm them with the mindfulness skills needed to really excel in school and life? Written by mindfulness expert and licensed clinical psychologist
Patricia C. Broderick, Learning to Breathe is a secular program that tailors the teaching of mindfulness to the developmentalneeds of adolescents to help them understand their thoughts and
feelings and manage distressing emotions. Students will be empowered by learning important mindfulness meditation skills that help them improve emotion regulation, reduce stress, improve
overall performance, and, perhaps most importantly, develop their attention. The book also includes a website link with student handouts and homework assignments, making it an ideal classroom
tool. The book integrates certain themes of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn, into a program that is shorter, more accessible to students, and compatible
with school curricula. Students will learn to pay attention in the moment, manage emotions as they are perceived, and gain greater control over their own feelings and actions. These mindfulness
practices offer the opportunity to develop hardiness in the face of uncomfortable feelings that otherwise might provoke a response that could be harmful (e.g. acting out by taking drugs,
displaying violent behavior or acting in by becoming more depressed). This easy-to-use manual is designed to be used by teachers, but can also be used by any mental health provider teaching
adolescents emotion regulation, stress reduction and mindfulness skills. The author is a graduate of the MBSR advanced practicum at the Center for Mindfulness in Massachusetts, led by Jon
Kabat-Zinn. She is also a clinical psychologist and a certified school psychologist and counselor for grades K-12. In the book, Broderick calls on her years of experience working with
adolescents to outline the best strategies for dealing with disruption in the classroom and emotions that are out of hand. The book is structured around six themes built upon the acronym
BREATHE, and each theme has a core message. The program allows for themes to be delivered in 6 longer or 18 shorter sessions, depending upon time and needs of students. The 6 core lessons are:
Body, Reflection, Emotions, Attention, Tenderness, and Healthy Mind Habits. Learning to Breathe is the perfect tool for empowering students as they grapple with the psychological tasks of
adolescence'--
