Improve Mentee Outcomes by Incorporating Mindfulness in Your Mentoring Program
Posted by eporter on April 15, 2025
Improve Mentee Outcomes by Incorporating Mindfulness in Your Mentoring Program
A recent study found that incorporating mindfulness-based interventions in mentoring programs positively impacted mentees’ behavioral and mental health outcomes, and improved the acceptability of the mentoring program.1 Mindfulness-based interventions aim to teach learners how to be aware of and manage their feelings, thoughts, and behaviors which, in turn, may improve their emotion and behavior regulation abilities and healthy decision-making in the face of stressful, challenging, or risky situations.
Benefits of Incorporating Mindfulness Interventions in Mentoring Programs
The recent study examined the feasibility of incorporating mindfulness-based interventions in mentoring programs to expand youth access to mindfulness learning opportunities as well as to study how it impacts mentee outcomes. The study found that incorporating mindfulness-based interventions in mentoring programs that serve at-risk youth (aged 10-18 years) improved mentoring programs’ overall acceptability. Mentees also found the mindfulness-based intervention to be engaging and beneficial.
Mentees who received a mindfulness-based intervention as part of their mentoring experience, compared to those who did not, showed greater improvements in their emotional clarity and management of impulsive behaviors during distress. They also showed greater improvements in their attention problems, externalizing behaviors, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. These positive outcomes were particularly pronounced in older high school-aged adolescents. The group of teens who received mentoring without mindfulness also showed improvement in several areas such as improvements in internalizing behaviors and use of effective emotion regulation strategies. Therefore, mentoring programs should assess whether they should incorporate mindfulness-based interventions in their program or not based on their mentees’ needs.
Mindfulness-Based Interventions to Incorporate in Your Mentoring Program
- Master Mind for Children: The Master Mind program is a mindfulness education, prevention program designed to enhance the coping strategies and decision-making skills of 9- to 12-year-olds. The program is highly interactive and fun for young people and is completed face-to-face. Programs can choose to implement the program in groups or matches can complete the program one-on-one together. Learn more about Master Mind: https://mastermindprogramsonline.com/
- Moment for Middle School-Aged Youth: The Moment Program teaches middle school-aged students mindfulness skills to build assets to cope in a healthy way with exposure to everyday academic and social stress. The program is completed face-to-face, is adaptable for mentoring programs, and provides fun opportunities for matches to bond with one another. Learn more about Moment: https://momentprogram.com/
- Aware for High School Groups: The Aware for High School Groups program is an instructor-led, mindfulness-based intervention designed for high school students that is easily adaptable for use by mentoring programs. The program is developmentally-appropriate for adolescents and enhances their abilities to be aware of and manage their thoughts and feelings, cope effectively with stress, and make healthier decisions. Learn more about Aware for High School: https://awareprogramsonline.com/school-based-for-high-school-students/
- Aware for Teens with FASD: Adolescents who have Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) may be at risk for experiencing impulsivity and unhealthy behaviors. The Aware for Teens with FASD program teaches mindfulness skills to adolescents with FASD to promote their wellbeing, enhance their abilities to regulate their emotions, and help them make healthy decisions. Mentoring programs that serve adolescents with FASD may support their mentees by offering this engaging, online program to matches to complete together. Learn more about Aware for Teens with FASD: https://awareprogramsonline.com/online-for-teens-with-fasd/
- Aware for Teens with 22q11DS: Adolescents who have 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11DS) tend to experience high levels of anxiety as well as challenges in social situations. The Aware for Teens with 22q11DS program is designed to teach adolescents with 22q11DS new ways of identifying and managing difficult emotions and stress to help enhance their daily functioning. The program is online, self-paced, and engaging for adolescents and can be provided to mentees with 22q11DS and their mentors to enhance their wellbeing. Learn more about Aware for Teens with 22q11DS: https://awareprogramsonline.com/online-for-teens-with-22q11ds/.
Contact us at MentoringCentral@irtinc.us to learn more about our programs and research on mindfulness, and how you can incorporate it into your mentoring program. To browse all of our evidence-based programs for substance use prevention, violence prevention, sexual health promotion, mentoring, and more, visit https://irtinc.us/products/.
- Lucas-Thompson, R.G., Miller, R.L., Moran, M.J. et al.“Scaling Out” a Mindfulness-Based Intervention Through a Youth Mentoring Program: Preliminary Evidence for Feasibility, Acceptability, and Efficacy. Mindfulness 15, 872–888 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-024-02334-5
