CHAPTER 8: SCHOOl-BASEd MindFulnESS PROTOCOlS • 1672014; Cook-Cottone, 2015; Felver et al., 2013; Shapiro & Carlson, 2009; Zoogman et al., 2014).
Participants are asked to complete extensive home practice of at least 45 minutes a day at
least 6 days a week (Baer & Krietemeyer, 2006). Program content is, in part, psycho-educa-
tional covering education on stress and its effects. There is also an experiential component
with time devoted to mindfulness exercises and processing these experiences in a group for-
mat (Baer & Krietemeyer, 2006; Cook-Cottone, 2015). Experiential activities include formal
and informal mindfulness practices such as the body scan, mindful eating, sitting medita-
tion, hatha yoga, walking meditation, and incorporating mindfulness into daily life (Baer
& Krietemeyer, 2006; Cook-Cottone, 2015; Felver et al., 2013; Shapiro & Carlson, 2009). For
training, resources, and further information on MBSR, go to the Center for Mindfulness
in Medicine, Health-care and Society at the University at Massachusetts Medical School
(www.umassmed.edu/cfm/stress-reduction/). For an easy to read and useful resource on
specific techniques see The Relaxation and Stress Reduction Workbook, Sixth Edition, by Davis,
Eshelman, and McKay (2008).
Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy
Now over 20 years in existence, MBCT is considered to be almost mainstream. It was origi-
nally developed to prevent the relapse of major depression (Obrien et al., 2008; Zoogman
et al., 2014). It is based on MBSR and utilizes many of its components including mindful
eating, body scan, sitting meditation, yoga, walking meditation, and informal daily mindful
practices (Baer & Krietemeyer, 2006; Cook-Cottone, 2015; Felver et al., 2013; Obrien et al.,
2008; Shapiro & Carlson, 2009). Like MBSR, MBCT includes the observing of pleasant and
unpleasant events (Baer & Krietemeyer, 2006; Cook-Cottone, 2015). The didactic compo-
nents of MBCT addresses depressive symptoms rather than stress (Baer & Krietemeyer,
2006; Felver et al., 2013; Obrien et al., 2008). Specifically, MBCT utilizes cognitive techniques
to disrupt depressive thought patterns (Zoogman et al., 2014). As in MBSR, homework
and group discussions are critical factors in implementation. The format is a group-based,
8-week intervention delivered in 2-hour weekly sessions (Cook-Cottone, 2015; Shapiro &
Carlson, 2009; Zoogman et al., 2014).
There are added components to the MBCT protocol. For example, participants are taught
to ask themselves, “What is my experience right now?” (Baer & Krietemeyer, 2006, p. 14). They
are encouraged to scan their bodies and minds for thoughts, sense impressions, and feelings
and to experience and accept them without judgment (Baer & Krietemeyer, 2006; Shapiro
& Carlson, 2009; Zoogman et al., 2014). Next, patients are asked to move their awareness to
their breath and then to the whole body. The breathing space is designed to increase aware-
ness and give space for new behavioral choices rather than default to maladaptive, automatic
responses (Baer & Krietemeyer, 2006; Zoogman et al., 2014). Addressing cognitive aspects
of the treatment, the MBCT protocol includes thoughts and feelings exercise, discussion of
automatic thoughts, de-centering work, and an exercise that focuses on mood, thoughts, and
alternative viewpoints (Baer & Krietemeyer, 2006; Cook-Cottone, 2015; Zoogman et al., 2014).
Weare (2013) describes several adaptions for children and adolescents yielding reduced anxi-
ety, depression, somatic distress, problem behaviors, and improved happiness, sleep qual-
ity, self-esteem, academic performance, attention, self-regulation, and social skills. For more
on MBCT, see Baer’s (2006) Mindfulness-Based Treatment Approaches: A Clinician’s Guide to
Evidence-Base and Applications. For more on MBCT resources, and training go to mbct.com.