Mindfulness Cognitive Behavioral Therapy encourages gifted and talented youth to use emotional intelligence skills more effectively as they face difficulties in their lives. Preliminary data suggest these strategies correlate with reductions in anxiety, heightened success in school, and improved relationships with friends and family.
Mindfulness is our capacity to become aware of our personal problems and successes “in the moment.” We can achieve life balance by recognizing our present life situations and using mindful strategies to control them. Rather than react, a mindfully healthy person learns to self-reflect, then act. Ways of knowing ourselves from the inside-out have particular importance in the digital age as we face a daily barrage of information from multiple sources.
I am an educational psychologist and professional counselor from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (USA) with post-doctoral certification in counseling psychology. I specialize in working with individuals identified with advanced abilities and creative talents. My work is grounded on the research of Dr. Richard Davidson at the Center for Investigating Healthy Minds. After I began using mindfulness therapy practices three years ago, I began noting differences in children’s and adolescents’ behaviors, and I began collecting data on positive changes their families were seeing at home and their teachers were reporting at school. Because I have found these outcomes so compelling, I believe these preliminary findings are of great importance in our study of effective practices that support talent development and excellence in the field.
During my counseling sessions we focus on a child’s inner strengths, the importance of the family’s strengths, and how they can use those capacities to develop healthy minds and relationships. We talk about the importance of reducing “screen time,” and taking time to make and nurture real friendships with face-to-face relationships rather than within virtual social networks or digital means. Goals for ECHA session participants:

*    Recognize how Mindfulness can moderate negative effects in the digital age
*    Learn how Mindfulness can help manage anxieties, stressors and emotional intensities