Evaluation of a Mindfulness Intervention for Children with Emotion Regulation Difficulties

Emotion regulation difficulties are featured in internalizing and externalizing psychological diagnoses and can be seen as a precursor for a severe and persistent mental illness, relationship, and personal problems. Mindfulness based stress reduction (MBSR) is a non-pharmaceutical alternative and may alleviate limitations for medication, cognitive behavior therapy, and dialectical behavior therapy. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a MBSR intervention on emotion regulation in children with emotion regulation difficulties and associated psychiatric diagnoses. Five participants, ages 6 to 13 years old, with emotion regulation difficulties were recruited through local psychiatric clinics and participated in an MBSR group intervention that consisted of eight weekly group sessions and at-home practice. Participants were evaluated using a variety of assessments in a pre-post treatment schedule. Effect size data indicates that the MBSR intervention shows promising results across all domains. Results of this study suggest that this MBSR may be a useful as a complimentary treatment for children and adolescents with emotion regulation difficulties