Mindfulness-Based Therapy for Traumatized Adolescents: An Underutilized, Understudied Intervention

Abstract

Mindfulness involves the cultivation of conscious awareness and attention, with an emphasis on seeing and accepting things as they are. While mindfulness-based interventions have been widely examined among adults with posttraumatic stress disorder [PTSD], they were very scarcely studied among traumatized adolescents. In this paper, we address this gap in knowledge. We present evidence supporting the potential benefits of applying mindfulness-based interventions in PTSD, and argue that mindfulness, with its emphasis on nonjudgmental thought, mind–body connection, and a group setting, may be particularly suitable for traumatized adolescents. We therefore encourage researchers to allocate more resources to systematically study the utility of mindfulness practice among this population.