Premium
A Conceptual Model and Clinical Framework for Integrating Mindfulness into Family Therapy with Adolescents
Author(s) -
Brody Janet L.,
Scherer David G.,
Turner Charles W.,
Annett Robert D.,
Dalen Jeanne
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
family process
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.011
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1545-5300
pISSN - 0014-7370
DOI - 10.1111/famp.12298
Subject(s) - mindfulness , psychological intervention , psychology , psychotherapist , family therapy , intervention (counseling) , modalities , prosocial behavior , clinical psychology , set (abstract data type) , conceptual framework , developmental psychology , psychiatry , philosophy , epistemology , programming language , social science , sociology , computer science
Individual and group‐based psychotherapeutic interventions increasingly incorporate mindfulness‐based principles and practices. These practices include a versatile set of skills such as labeling and attending to present‐moment experiences, acting with awareness, and avoiding automatic reactivity. A primary motivation for integrating mindfulness into these therapies is compelling evidence that it enhances emotion regulation. Research also demonstrates that family relationships have a profound influence on emotion regulation capacities, which are central to family functioning and prosocial behavior more broadly. Despite this evidence, no framework exists to describe how mindfulness might integrate into family therapy. This paper describes the benefits of mindfulness‐based interventions, highlighting how and why informal mindfulness practices might enhance emotion regulation when integrated with family therapy. We provide a clinical framework for integrating mindfulness into family therapy, particularly as it applies to families with adolescents. A brief case example details sample methods showing how incorporating mindfulness practices into family therapy may enhance treatment outcomes. A range of assessment modalities from biological to behavioral demonstrates the breadth with which the benefits of a family‐based mindfulness intervention might be evaluated.