<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-6684 lazyload" src="http://www.bishopodowd.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/gina.jpg" alt="gina" width="1000" height="667" srcset="https://www.bishopodowd.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/gina.jpg 1000w, https://www.bishopodowd.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/gina-300x200.jpg 300w, https://www.bishopodowd.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/gina-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /> The first in our series of four Parent Education Evenings,held on October 6, featured Ms. Gina M. Biegel MA, LMFT, who spoke to the parent community on “Parenting Stressed Teens and Mindfulness.” Gina M. Biegel, LMFT, is a San Francisco Bay Area based psychotherapist, researcher and author specializing in bringing mindfulness-based work with adolescents. She is also the founder of Stressed Teens Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction for Teens (MBSR-T) program. Ms. Biegel began the evening focusing on the teen experience of stress using the metaphor of stress as a wave and comparing the teen experience of stress to the adult experience. Without an anchor teens are easily overwhelmed with stress and feel as if they are caught in a fierce storm. Noting that this experience of stress can often be worn as a badge of honor among teens, Ms. Biegel highlighted some of the common stressors in the lives of teens and drew attention to the challenges teens can face in forming accurate judgments about the true nature of the stressor. Ms. Beigel then introduced mindfulness as an approach to help parents help teens cope with stress. Because stress is often related to judgments about the past or the future, Ms. Beigel reviewed how to use awareness of breath, body, and mind as three anchors to rely on to stay grounded in the present and weather the storms of stress. Ms. Biegel reviewed research and cases from her practice to help parents appreciate how developing the ability to stay anchored in the awareness of the present moment helps teens learn to replace an impulsive reaction with a thoughtful response, build skills in self-regulation, and promotes healthy development of the teenage brain. Ms. Bigel then reviewed five tips to help parents build a mindful relationship with their teen: communication, support, awareness, love, and presence. Throughout the evening parents were guided by Ms. Biegel through three mindfulness exercises, one on bringing awareness to the present moment, a second on mindful listening, and a third on gratitude, and had the opportunity to share their experience with each other. The evening concluded with questions. Our next Parent Education Evening is set for Thursday, November 10, and will feature child and adolescent psychologist specialist and O’Dowd alum Dr. Adrienne Candell ’83. Dr. Candell will speak on adolescent mental health as part of Health and Wellness Week at O’Dowd. Please RSVP for this event if you plan to attend »
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