Mindfulness-Based Professional Development Tools for Educators, Counselors and Parents

May 1, 2012 - PRLog -- Northampton, MA – Over the last decade, an increasing number of parents, children, educators, clinicians and researchers have studied and experienced the wide-ranging benefits of bringing mindfulness practice to youth in educational, clinical, and community settings. To help develop best practices within this growing movement, the University of California San Diego’s School of Medicine and Center for Mindfulness, along with Stressed Teens, developed the Bridging Hearts and Minds of Youth conference, which took place in February 2012.

The first-of-its-kind conference was designed to engage professionals in the ongoing discussion of the field as well as to assist their professional growth, all within the context of a thought-provoking, collegial and collaborative environment.

"We are excited about sharing the conference audio and videos of this dynamic gathering to those who weren't able to attend, and thereby extend the discussion across the globe to people interested in this work in all its forms,” said Steven D. Hickman, PsyD, Director, UC San Diego Center for Mindfulness. “Our deepest hope is that our efforts will support and deepen the important work being done, and foster even more profound impact in years to come."

Publisher More Than Sound recorded over 20 hours of presentations and workshops with the following thought leaders from various disciplines (clinicians, educators and researchers):

Keynotes

Rick Hanson, PhD
Neuropsychologist and Author
Managing the Caveman Brain in the 21st Century

Susan Kaiser-Greenland, JD
Author, Educator, Co-Founder, Inner Kids
The Mindful Child: Teaching the New ABCs of Attention, Balance and Compassion

Amishi Jha, PhD
Psychologist and Researcher
University of Miami
From Dazed and Distracted to Attentive and Calm: What the Neuroscience of Mindfulness Reveals

Pamela Seigle, MS
Executive Director, Courage & Renewal Northeast

Chip Wood, MSW
Author and Educator, Facilitator, Courage & Renewal Northeast
Keynote: Courage in Schools: Connecting Hearts and Minds in the Adult Community

A keynote panel discussion is also available.

Workshops

Gina M. Biegel, MA, LMFT
Psychotherapist and Author, Founder, Stressed Teens Program
Mindfulness for Professionals Working with Adolescents: A Training in the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Program for Teens (MBSR-T)

Randye Semple, PhD
Clinical Psychologist and Author
Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Anxious Children
Introduction to Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Children (MBCT-C)

Breakouts

Megan Cowan
Co-Founder and Executive Director of Programs
Mindful Schools
Integrating Mindfulness into the K5 Classroom: Lessons Learned From Teaching Over 13,000 Students

Gina M. Biegel, MA, LMFT
Race to Right Here Right Now: An Introduction for Utilizing and Disseminating Mindfulness with Adolescents

M. Lee Freedman, MD
Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist, Co-Founder, Mindfulness Toronto, Founder, Mindful Families and School
Mindful Parents: Resilient Children: Teaching Mindful Parenting Practice through Group and Individual Psychotherapy

Joe Klein, LPC, CSAC
Founder and President Inward Bound Mindfulness Education
Sex, Drugs, Facebook and Ice Cream

Sam Himelstein, PhD
Psychotherapist, Researcher, and Mindfulness Teacher

Chris McKenna
Mindfulness Teacher & Executive Director, Mind Body Awareness Project
Teaching Mindfulness to Urban & At-Risk Adolescents

Amy Saltzman, MD
Mindfulness Teacher & Holistic Physician, Creator and Director: Still Quiet Place,
Co-founder and Director: Association for Mindfulness in Education
Still Quiet Place: Proven Practices for Teaching Children and Teens the Skills for Peace and Happiness

Amy Garrett, PhD
Research Scientist Stanford University
Brain Abnormalities Associated with Mood and Anxiety Disorders in Adolescents

Nimrod Sheinman, ND
Naturopathic physician and mind-body expert, Founder, Israel Center for Mind-Body Medicine, Founder, The Mindful Language Project
Bringing the Soul Back to School: Lessons Learned from over 15 Years of Teaching Mindfulness and Mind-Body Health in Israeli Schools

The audio and videos are a useful resource for psychologists, counselors, educators, health professionals and parents who are working with children and teens.

To purchase the audio or streaming conference videos of individual talks or the full conference, and to learn more about each talk, visit: www.morethansound.net/youth.php. Presenter biographies are available here: http://cme.ucsd.edu/bridging/faculty.html. Sample video clips are available on More Than Sound’s YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLF4E911392843D9DD

The UCSD Center for Mindfulness is planning the second annual Bridging Hearts & Minds event, scheduled for February 1-3, 2013.

Contact Mike Sjostedt at 413-587-0818 or mike@morethansound.net for a press pass to listen to the audio or watch the videos, or to schedule an interview with a presenter. Visit www.morethansound.net to learn more about More Than Sound.


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