Old blog post #2 - Mindfulness: Positive Psychology for Children?

October 2011

Today I read about Mindfulness in schools. Funnily enough, today I also walked past a sign for ‘mindfulness continuum movement’ and laughed. While the term (which is actually a concept from Buddhism - part of the eightfold noble path) has been adopted loosely into Western culture and media, Mindfulness has also been developed as a cognitive therapy. Now they are wondering if it should be used in schools.

Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy was developed by Segal, Williams and Teasdale in 2002 and is supposed to be affective in reducing frequency and severity of relapse into depression. It involves concentrating on breathing and other actions in a mindful way, avoiding ‘auto-pilot’ or being dismissive. The aim is not to clear the mind, but to note each thought and let it pass without judgement.

Last year a study took place in two schools in Cambridge. Huppert and Johnson delivered a course of 4 x 40 minute classes to boys aged 14 or 15. The boys were also encouraged to practice Mindfulness at home. The results were recorded through online questionnaires using various psychological scales. The study concluded that there was a ‘significant increase in well-being’ amongst the students, and that the more individual practice was done the more benefit was seen. Importantly, students with ‘low emotional stability’ received the greatest benefit.

So is mindfulness a good idea for schools? It is suggested that it could be used as young as pre-school age and would give children the coping-skills necessary to avoid anxiety and depression at a later stage. It is noted that the teachers must also be trained and experienced in Mindfulness.

When I was at primary school we did ‘brain gym’. Every morning we would go through a series of physical exercises followed by a period of quiet reflection sitting in a specific pose…and lots of sipping water. If there were benefits and what they were is hard to know, but certainly the routine allowed a feeling of security that helped us to cope with the day. At a school where I volunteer, on the teachers say-so heads go down on desks…and silence attempts to fall… usually unsuccessfully…

Would Mindfulness actually help children? Would children accept Mindfulness, or dismiss it like I did today walking past the sign? Tough questions, but worth thinking about.