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Thriving Teenager – 6 weeks mindfulness course

Price: €199 includes:

  • 6 x 90 min sessions,
  • Participants handbook
  • Recorded guided meditations.

Places are limited to 6 – 8 students in a group

Location: Santhorstlaan 15, Wassenaar.

Teacher: Berit Lewis

After you have booked a place on this course, the teacher will contact you to arrange a pre-course phone interview. This interview is both for you to learn more about what the course is about and for the teacher to get to know you. The purpose of the interview is to ensure that the course is the right for you at this point in your life.

If you wish to have more information please send an email to berit@thrivinglife.eu and we will organise to have a chat.

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Description

Imagine you had a magic wand, that took away all the difficult thoughts and emotions. Pliing… away with all the worries about upcoming tests, exams and sports-try-outs. Away with the thoughts about whether you fit in and whether people like you. Away with the critical voice in your head telling you that you are not pretty, smart or confident enough. And away with emotions such as loneliness, anxiety and anger.

Unfortunately, this course is not magic, and the difficult thoughts and emotions aren’t going anywhere; we all have them and they will be there for the rest of our lives. However, this course offers some essential tools for how to deal with them.

Theoretical Background

Thriving Teenager is a condensed version of the world renowned and evidence based 8 week MBSR course (Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction) but adapted to the age group. It is supplemented with engaging and fun exercises from ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy – a mindfulness-based cognitive behavioral therapy). As well as exploring mindfulness during the course we will also look at values as they play an important role when one approaches adulthood and when making important decisions in life

It is important to stress that this course is not therapy. The aim of the course is not to “fix” any mental or learning difficulties. Mindfulness might be able to help cope with these, but it is not the aim of the course. Please inform the teacher prior to the course, if the student has any mental or physical health issues.

Home-practice

Like any other new skills, mindfulness needs to be practiced regularly. Just like going to the gym in order to get stronger muscles, the mind can be shaped and strengthened through mindfulness practice. A regular meditation practice has been proven to build new neurological pathways in the brain. Participants therefore need to be committed and open minded. It is expected that the students practice around 10-15 min of mindfulness at home every day during the course (guided meditations are provided).

 

 

 

 

When and Where

Thriving Teenager is a 6 weeks course. It is an after-school activity for students at the American School of the Hague (ASH) but it is also open for teenagers that doesn’t go to ASH. The aim is to give young people (about 14-18 year olds) mindfulness tools to handle difficult situations, thoughts and emotions during teenage years and beyond. However, it will also challenge you to discover your strengths and explore the values and passions that lie within you.

It consists of 6 sessions of 90 min from 15.00-16.30 once a week. It is held in small groups of 6-8 people in a confidential, safe and fun environment at Thriving Life´s Mindfulness Studio in Wassenaar. We will explore and practice mindfulness together, and it is completely up to you how much you wish to share your thoughts with the group.

The course is offered in March-April and again in October-November in order to allow the older students to utilize their new mindfulness skills to cope with the pressure of exams.

The course is open for anyone from around 15 years and older (we suggest the Mindfulness for children course for the younger ones).

Supportive Parents

Mindfulness is easy – changing habits and thought-patterns are not. The more support the student can get from home in order to set up time and space for a regular daily mindfulness practice during (and after) the course, the better the chances are that she/he will benefit from the course.

Of course, the best support for the teenager is if the parent join in on the mindfulness practice. For parents who would like to explore and experience mindfulness in their own life, we are offering the 8 week popular science based Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) for adults as a family package (see above) and during the same time as the Thriving Teenager courses are held. This way you can learn with your peers but talk about and support each other at home.

Schedule

Session plan

Session 1: Waking up

Autopilot and awareness.
Session 2: Finding your balance

Coping with stress and pressure
Session 3. It is OK not to be OK

Coping with difficult thoughts and emotions
Session 4: What matters to you?

Identifying your values and who you want to be?
Session 5: Finding your inner strength & kindness.

Be-friending your inner critic
Session 6. Committed action

How to continue living mindfully

 

Testimonials

Please see the videos below to hear what Katrina and Renee got out of the course.

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