Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

“I Feel Mad Light”: Sharing Mindfulness-Based Strategies with Troubled Youth

  • Chapter
Alternative Offender Rehabilitation and Social Justice

Abstract

At the end of a short meditation exercise where students were asked to bring attention to their breath and its movement through the body, the teacher asked the young people seated on yoga mats around the room how they were feeling. “Calm.” “Relaxed.” “Good.” “Energized.” “Awake.” “Inside myself.” The students, all Black and Hispanic male clients of an Alternative to Incarceration (ATI) program for 16-to-24-year-olds had just come to the end of a class taught by the Lineage Project, a New York City non-profit that offers mindfulness-based classes to youth in various settings such as detention centres, Alternative to Incarceration/Detention (ATI/ATD) programs, and suspension schools. For the past hour, the students had participated in a class that included a discussion around a mindfulness theme (i.e., acceptance), a sequence of yoga poses, or asanas, and some seated meditation. Lineage Project teachers have been teaching these skills to troubled youth in New York City since 1998. Their work, forged over years working with youth in often challenging settings, is grounded in an expanding body of literature that suggests that youth, especially vulnerable youth, can derive important benefit from learning mindfulness-based practices such as yoga and meditation.

I think meditation is a good way to relieve stress. Before I started taking the class, I would have a lot of problems because of my temper. But now I can control my temper thanks to the [Lineage Project] class. When I first started taking the class, I didn’t like to go. Now I look forward to my Thursday meditation. (student)

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Abram, K. M., Teplin, L. A., Charles, D. R., Longworth, S. L., McClelland, G. M., & Dulcan, M. K. (2004). Posttraumatic stress disorder and trauma in youth in juvenile detention. Archives of General Psychiatry 61: 403–10.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Baer, R. A. (2003). Mindfulness training as a clinical intervention: A conceptual and empirical review. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice 10: 125–43.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baer, R. A. (Ed.) (2010). Assessing mindfulness and acceptance processing in clients: Illuminating the theory and practice of change. Oakland, CA: Context Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barnert, E. S., Himelstein, S., Herbert, S., & Garcia-Romeu, A. (2014). Innovations in practice: Exploring an intensive meditation intervention for incarcerated youth. Child and Adolescent Mental Health 19: 69–73.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Becker, S. P., & Kerig, P. K. (2011). Posttraumatic stress symptoms are associated with the frequency and severity of delinquency among detained boys. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology 40: 765–71.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Black, D. S., Milam, J., & Sussman, S. (2009). Sitting-meditation interventions among youth: A review of treatment efficacy. Pediatrics, published online August 24, 2009. doi: 10.1542/peds.2008-3434

    Google Scholar 

  • Burke, C. A. (2010). Mindfulness-based approaches with children and adolescents: A preliminary review of current research in an emergent field. Journal of Child and Family Studies 19: 133–44.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chiesa, A. (2013). The difficulty of defining mindfulness: Current thought and critical issues. Mindfulness 4 (3): 255–68.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chiesa, A., & Serretti, A. (2009). Mindfulness-based stress reduction for stress management in healthy people: A review and meta-analysis. Journal of Alternative & Complementary Medicine 15: 593–600.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Children’s Defense Fund–Ohio (November 2012). Zero tolerance and exclusionary school discipline policies harm students and contribute to the cradle to prison pipeline (Issues Brief). Retrieved from http://www.cdfohio.org/ assets/pdf-files/issue-brief-zero-tolerance.pdf.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dafoe, T., & Stermac, L. (2013). Mindfulness meditation as an adjunct approach to treatment within the correctional system. Journal of Offender Rehabilitation 52 (3): 198–216.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Duckworth, A. L., Kim, B., & Tsukayama, E. (2013). Life stress impairs self-control in early adolescence. Frontiers in Psychology, 3. Online. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2012.00608.

    Google Scholar 

  • Feld, B. (1999). Bad kids: Race and the transformation of the juvenile court. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Flinton, C. (1998). The effects of meditation techniques on anxiety and locus of control in juvenile delinquents. (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from Pro-Quest California Institute of Integral Studies, ProQuest, UMI Dissertations Publishing, 1998. 9824353.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ford, J. D., Hartman, J. K., Hawke, J., & Chapman, J. F. (2008). Traumatic victimization, posttraumatic stress disorder, suicidal ideation, and substance abuse risk among juvenile-justice involved youth. Journal of Child & Adolescent Trauma 1: 75–92.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gard, T., Brach, N., Hölzel, B. K., Noggle, J. J., Conboy, L. A., & Lazar, S. W. (2012). Effects of a yoga-based intervention for young adults on quality of life and perceived stress: The potential mediating roles of mindfulness and self-compassion. The Journal of Positive Psychology 7: 165–75.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Greenberg, M. T., & Harris, A. R. (2012). Nurturing mindfulness in children and youth: Current state of research. Child Development Perspectives 6 (2): 1–6.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Himelstein, S., Hastings, A., Shapiro, S., & Heery, M. (2012a). Mindfulness training for self-regulation and stress with incarcerated youth: A pilot study. Probation Journal 59 (2): 151–65.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Himelstein, S., Hastings, A., Shapiro, S., & Heery, M. (2012b). A qualitative investigation of the experience of a mindfulness-based intervention with incarcerated adolescents. Child & Adolescent Mental Health 17: 231–37.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hoffman, J. P. (2010). A life-course perspective on stress, delinquency, and young adult crime. American Journal of Criminal Justice 35: 105–20.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hofmann, S. G., Sawyer, A. T., Witt, A. A., & Oh, D. (2010). The effect of mindfulness-based therapy on anxiety and depression: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Consulting & Clinical Psychology 78: 169–83.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kabat-Zinn, J. (2003). Mindfulness-based interventions in context: Past, present and future. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice 10: 144–56.

    Google Scholar 

  • Keng, S. L., Smoski, M. J., & Robins, C. J. (2011). Effects of mindfulness on psychological health: A review of empirical studies. Clinical Psychology Review 31: 1041–56.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Kerig, P., Ward, R. M., Vanderzee, K. L., & Arnzen Moeddel, M. (2008). Posttraumatic stress as a mediator of the relationship between trauma and mental health problems among juvenile delinquents. Journal of Youth and Adolescence 38: 1214–25.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kerrigan D., Johnson, K., Stewart, M. Magyari, T., Hutton, N., Ellen, J. M., & Sibinga, E. M. S. (2011). Perceptions, experiences, and shifts in perspective occurring among urban youth participating in a mindfulness-based stress reduction program. Contemporary Therapies in Clinical Practice 17: 96–101.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lang, A. J., Strauss, J. L., Bomyea, J., Bormann, J. E., Hickman, S. D, Good, R. C, & Essex, M. (2012). The theoretical and empirical basis for meditation as an intervention for PTSD. Behaviour Modification 36 (6): 759–86.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lewin, T. (6 March 2012 ). Black students face more discipline, data suggest. New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/06/education/black-students-face-more-harsh-discipline-data-shows. html?_r= 0.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lineage Project Research Working Group (2011). Outcomes Assessment Report. The Lineage Project.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lineage Project (2013). Lineage Project Experience Survey (unpublished).

    Google Scholar 

  • Luberto, C. M., Cotton, S., McLeish, A. C., Mingione, C. J., & O’Bryan, E. M. (2013). Mindfulness skills and emotion regulation: The mediating role of coping self-efficacy. Mindfulness 5 (4): 373–80.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lyfe, I. (19 September 2012 ). Kicking Black boys out of class, teaching Black girls a lesson. Huffington Post, Education. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ise-lyfe/kicking-black-boys-out-of_b_1894719.html.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mendelson, T., Greenberg, M. T., Dariotis, J. K., Feagans Gould, L., Rhoades, B. L., & Leaf, P. J. (2010). Feasibility and preliminary outcomes of school-based mindfulness intervention for urban youth. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology 38: 985–94.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ramadoss, R., & Bose, B. K. (2010). Transformative life skills: Pilot studies of a yoga model for reducing perceived stress and improving self-control in vulnerable youth. International Journal of Yoga Therapy 20: 75–80.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ronel, N., Frid, N., & Timor, U. (2013). The practice of positive criminology: A vipassana course in prison. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology 57: 133–53.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Samuelson, M., Carmody, J., Kabat-Zinn, J., & Bratt, M. A. (2007). Mindfulness-based stress reduction in Massachusetts correctional facilities. The Prison Journal 87: 254–68.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scott, E. S., & Grisso, T. (1997). The evolution of adolescence: A developmental perspective in juvenile justice reform. Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology 88 (1): 137–89.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shapiro, S. L., Carlson, L. E., Astin, J. A., & Freedman, B. (2006). Mechanisms of mindfulness. Journal of Clinical Psychology 62: 373–86.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sibinga, E. M. S., Perry-Parrish, C., Chung, S., Johnson, S. B., Smith, M., & Ellen, J. M. (2013). School-based mindfulness instruction for urban male youth: A randomized controlled trial. Preventative Medicine 57: 799–801.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, D. K., Leve, L. D., & Chamberlain, P. (2006). Adolescent girls’ offending and health-risking sexual behaviour: The predicative role of trauma. Child Maltreatment 11: 346–53.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Sumter, M. T., Monk-Turner, E., & Turner, C. (2009). The benefits of meditation practice in the correctional setting. Journal of Correctional Health Care 15: 47–57.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tanenhaus, D. S. (2004). Juvenile justice in the making. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tremblay, R., Pihl, R., Vitaro, J., & Dobkin, P. (1994). Predicting early onset of male antisocial behaviour from preschool behaviour. Archives of General Psychiatry 50: 732–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zack, S., Saekow, J., Kelly, M., & Radke, A. (2014). Mindfulness based interventions for youth. Journal of Rational-Emotive Cognitive Behavioural Therapy 32 (1): 44–56.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zeidan, F., Johnson, S. K., David, Z., Goolkasian, P., & Diamond, B. J. (2010). Mindfulness meditation improves cognition: Evidence of brief mental training. Consciousness and Cognition 19: 597–605.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zoogman, S., Goldberg, S. B., Hoyt, W. T., & Miller, L. (2014). Mindfulness interventions with youth: A meta–analysis. Mindfulness. Online. doi: 10.1007/s 126 71–013–0260–4.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Authors
  1. Carla Barrett
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Toronto, Canada

    Janelle Joseph

  2. University of Ontario Institute of Technology, Canada

    Wesley Crichlow

Copyright information

© 2015 Carla Barrett

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Barrett, C. (2015). “I Feel Mad Light”: Sharing Mindfulness-Based Strategies with Troubled Youth. In: Joseph, J., Crichlow, W. (eds) Alternative Offender Rehabilitation and Social Justice. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137476821_3

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation