Teachers see it every day: unprecedented levels of stress, anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem that follow teens into the classroom, preoccupying their minds and preventing them from learning. Whether you’re a teacher, counselor, instructional aide, administrator, or any other type of educator working with teens, this book is your go-to SEL guide. Featuring ready-to-use lesson plans, teaching tips, mini-sessions, and handouts, this guide aims to help students:

• Be kinder and more supportive to themselves

• Quiet their minds and re-center themselves

• Work through difficult emotions like anger, sadness, and anxiety

• Break free from the social media comparison trap

• Rein in impulsivity or distractibility to focus on the task at hand

• Overcome perfectionistic tendencies, rumination, and “over-analysis paralysis”

Audible Book: Self-Compassion for Girls: A Guide for Parents, Teachers, and Coaches with Karen Bluth

If you were ever a teenage girl - or if you’ve even known a teenage girl - you may know it’s a difficult time, often riddled with insecurities, anxiety, and depression.  

And while adolescent boys often face similar emotions, research shows that females are more likely to be predisposed to depression; by the time they reach late adolescence, teen girls are twice as likely to become depressed as teen boys. So, what happens in early adolescence that pushes teen girls over the edge into depression? And more importantly, how can we address it?   

Over the course of 10 lessons, Dr. Karen Bluth offers a solution: self-compassion. She explores why self-compassion is a good thing - a resource that people can learn, put in their toolbox, and use whenever they have a challenging day or even a challenging moment. And crucially, she explains how we can help teenage girls develop self-compassion to aid them in the fight against depression. You’ll discover the struggles girls face, how they can maintain a balanced perspective, how to help girls not be self-critical, how they can claim their agency and purpose, how they can avoid toxic friends, and more.  

Help your girls develop the tools that will get them through some of the most turbulent times in their lives.

©2022 Audible Originals, LLC (P)2022 Audible Originals, LLC

The Self-Compassionate Teen:
Mindfulness and Compassion Skills to Conquer Your Critical Inner Voice (The Instant Help Solutions Series)

Are you kind to everyone but yourself? This book will help you find the strength and courage to move beyond self-criticism and just be you. 

Do you ever feel like you’re just not good enough? Do you often compare yourself to friends, classmates, or even celebrities and models? As a teen facing intense physical, mental, and social changes, it’s easy to get caught up in self-judgment and criticism. The problem is, over time, these negative thoughts can build up, cloud your world, and lead to stress, anxiety, and even depression. So, how can you start being nicer to yourself?

Written by Karen Bluth, Ph.D and based on practices adapted from Kristin Neff and Christopher Germer’s Mindful Self-Compassion program, this book offers fun, everyday exercises grounded in mindfulness and self-compassion to help you overcome crippling self-criticism and respond to feelings of self-doubt with greater kindness and self-care. You’ll find real tools to help you work through difficult thoughts and feelings, navigate life’s emotional ups and downs, and be as accepting of yourself as you are of others.

Learning to believe in yourself means being aware of the self-critical voice inside you, and then discovering how to not take it so seriously. With this book, you’ll learn how self-compassion can actually be a much greater motivator for reaching your goals than self-criticism. In fact, being kind to yourself when you’re struggling can actually reduce stress and make you more resilient!

So, stop beating yourself up, and start reading this book. You have an important friend to make—you!

Paperback – October 1, 2020; Available on Amazon.

“Mindfulness strategies geared toward overwhelmed teens illuminate this evidence-based self-help guidebook by an expert in the field. Readers will encounter a whole box of tools for cultivating compassion as they work through nine themed chapters addressing common adolescent struggles...The messages that teens are not alone in their difficulties and have the ability to change their own outlooks are empowering and hopeful. The author both criticizes how social media can add to teen anxiety as well as offers up ways to harness the power of social media for self-kindness practice, offering a balanced approach. Importantly, the author is explicitly reassuring toward and supportive of LGBTQ+ youth. Teens will learn to treat themselves with kindness with the tools gleaned from this text.”
—Kirkus Reviews

Read a review of Mindfulness & Self-Compassion for Teen ADHD on Mindful.org here: www.mindful.org/6-mindful-books-to-add-to-your-summer-reading-list/

Mindfulness and Self-Compassion for Teen ADHD:
Build Executive Functioning Skills, Increase Motivation, and Improve Self-Confidence
(The Instant Help Solutions Series)

A powerful and compassionate guide for cultivating self-confidence, independence, and the executive functioning skills you need to live your best life!

Being a teen with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) doesn’t stop you from wanting what almost every other teen wants: independence, good grades, and a healthy social life. But ADHD also presents obstacles that can keep you from reaching your goals. At times you may become frustrated, sad, or even angry at your inability to achieve the things you want. This book can help.

This unique guide will help you develop the skills you need to strengthen your executive functioning, foster the self-compassion essential to overcoming self-criticism often caused by ADHD, and gain the confidence and resilience necessary to take control of your ADHD—and your life. You’ll also learn how to manage your emotions, focus, practice flexible problem solving, change habits, and improve communication skills. Finally, you’ll learn how these skills can improve your relationships with friends and family, and help you succeed in school—and life!

Your ADHD doesn’t have to define you, and it certainly doesn’t have to determine your life. This book will allow you to step off the path of self-criticism, and guide you on the path toward self-compassion, self-confidence, and success.

Paperback – May 1, 2021; Available on Amazon.

“This selection from the Instant Help Solutions series addresses teens struggling with symptoms of ADHD. The table of contents lists 10 chapters, from “What is ADHD Anyway?” to “Steering Yourself to the Future You Choose.” The text is frank and supportive: Besides discussions of symptoms, strategies, and specific mindfulness and self-compassion exercises, each chapter includes quotations from young people ages 12 to 20 (whose names indicate some ethnic diversity) who briefly share their trials, triumphs, and insights. The book mentions that although the condition is permanent, symptoms can effectively be reduced through mindfulness and self-compassion training plus other supports and medication, which it describes as the most highly effective treatment for some aspects of ADHD.... The exercises are terrific for all teens, whether they have ADHD or not, and are largely accessible without having to read the whole work. Downloadable audio assistance and worksheets are added bonuses.... Helpful strategies for tackling ADHD.”
—Kirkus Reviews

The Self-Compassion Workbook for Teens:
Mindfulness and Compassion Skills to Overcome Self-Criticism and Embrace Who You Are

Your teen years are a time of change, growth, and—all too often—psychological struggle. To make matters worse, you are often your own worst critic. The Self-Compassion Workbook for Teens offers valuable tools based in mindfulness and self-compassion to help you overcome self-judgment and self-criticism, cultivate compassion toward yourself and others, and embrace who you really are.

As a teen, you’re going through major changes—both physically and mentally. These changes can have a dramatic effect on how you perceive, understand, and interpret the world around you, leaving you feeling stressed and anxious. Additionally, you may also find yourself comparing yourself to others—whether its friends, classmates, or celebrities and models. And all of this comparison can leave you feeling like you just aren’t enough. So, how can you move past feelings of stress and insecurity and start living the life you really want?

Written by psychologist Karen Bluth and based on practices adapted from Kristin Neff and Christopher Germer’s Mindful Self-Compassion program, this workbook offers fun and tactile exercises grounded in mindfulness and self-compassion to help you cope more effectively with the ongoing challenges of day-to-day life. You’ll learn how to be present with difficult emotions, and respond to these emotions with greater kindness and self-care. By practicing these activities and meditations, you’ll learn specific tools to help you navigate the emotional ups and downs of the teen years with greater ease.

Life is imperfect—and so are we. But if you’re ready to move past self-criticism and self-judgment and embrace your unique self, this compassionate guide will light the way.

Paperback – Illustrated, December 1, 2017; Available on Amazon.

Project You:
More than 50 Ways to Calm Down, De-Stress, and Feel Great

Paperback – September 1, 2017 (Switch Press); Available on Amazon.

Happiness Hacks:
How to Find Energy and Inspiration (Stress-Busting Survival Guides)

Library Binding – Illustrated, August 1, 2017; Available on Amazon.

Stress Less:
How to Achieve Inner Calm and Relaxation (Stress-Busting Survival Guides)

Library Binding – August 1, 2017; Available on Amazon.

Me Time:
How to Manage a Busy Life (Stress-Busting Survival Guides)

Library Binding – Illustrated, August 1, 2017; Available on Amazon.