Dr. Sears is working with Dr. Melissa Delbello from Cincinnati Children's Hospital, Dr. Sian Cotton from the University of Cincinnati Center for Integrative Health and Wellness, and others on a project to measure the effectiveness of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Children (MBCT-C). The program was first developed by Dr. Randye Semple, who has been consulting on the project, which involves conducting brain scans and other measures on kids before and after a 12-week mindfulness training program. Initial results are very promising, and the project will continue with larger numbers of subjects.
Studies with adults have already demonstrated important brain changes in areas related to things like emotional regulation, attention, and empathy after an 8-week mindfulness program, so these pioneering studies will determine if similar results are found in children.
