Mindfulness and Self-Compassion for Teen ADHD: Build Executive Functioning Skills, Increase Motivation, and Improve Self-Confidence

Mark Bertin, MD, is a developmental pediatrician in private practice in Pleasantville, NY. He is author of How Children Thrive and Mindful Parenting for ADHD, which integrate mindfulness into the rest of evidence-based pediatric care; and a contributing author for Teaching Mindfulness Skills to Kids and Teens. He is on faculty at New York Medical College and The Windward Institute, and on the advisory boards for Common Sense, and Reach Out and Read. His blog on topics in child development, mindfulness, and family is available through www.huffingtonpost.com, www.psychologytoday.com, www.mindful.org, and elsewhere. For information about his online mindfulness classes and other resources, visit www.developmentaldoctor.com.

Karen Bluth, PhD, earned her doctoral degree in child and family studies at the University of Tennessee. Her work focuses on the roles that mindfulness and self-compassion play in promoting well-being in teens. Bluth was awarded a Francisco J. Varela research award from the Mind and Life Institute in 2012, which allowed her to explore the effects of a mindfulness intervention on adolescents’ well-being through examining stress biomarkers. In spring 2015, she received internal University of North Carolina funding to explore relationships among mindfulness, self-compassion, and emotional well-being in teens in grades 7-12. With current NIH funding, she is part of a research team at the University of North Carolina that is studying the teen adaptation of Kristin Neff and Christopher Germer’s Mindful Self-Compassion program. In addition to her research, Bluth regularly teaches mindfulness and mindful self-compassion courses to both adults and teens in the Chapel Hill, NC, and regularly gives talks and leads workshops at schools and universities. A former educator with eighteen years classroom experience, Bluth is currently associate editor of the academic journal, Mindfulness.