(This is a LIVE VIRTUAL event. Access to a recording will not be available.)

Presented by

Dr. Dayana Jiménez

This seminar addresses the urgent clinical challenge of today's adolescents who are experiencing unprecedented psychological distress and often lack effective coping mechanisms. The workshop provides mental health clinicians with an essential, evidence-based framework to bridge this skills gap by integrating core mindfulness techniques into their everyday living.

The session is highly practical, moving beyond theory to offer a clear, actionable methodology for clinical implementation, ensuring participants walk away with immediate, ready-to-use interventions. The core content and theoretical foundation of this talk is based on Marsha Linehan's Dialectical Behavior Therapy which originated in the late 70's. This method, continuously revised, has been adapted to adolescents and has helped countless families assist their teenagers through life threatening circumstances. This presentation is structured around the foundational concepts and application of mindfulness as it is used in DBT.

In this seminar participants will learn to clearly differentiate between the practice of Mindfulness and Meditation, a crucial distinction for engaging teens who may have misconceptions about the latter. Participants will learn about the Three States of Mind: Emotion Mind, Reasonable Mind, and Wise Mind, which serves as the conceptual framework for the skills taught. Finally, Core Mindfulness Skills will be identified as participants learn the "What Skill" and "How Skill" of this approach to providing support to adolescents.

This seminar is grounded in the belief that all individuals possess an intrinsic capacity for wisdom. By effectively teaching the Wise Mind Framework, clinicians can guide adolescents to actively access their inner wisdom, which fundamentally enhances their capacity in learning to identify and regulate their emotions. This skill development directly reduces moments of acute distress and fosters a critical ability to slow things down and take a "mindful" moment in order for youth to make the next step the best decision possible for themselves.

The strategies that participants will be acquiring are evidenced based and proven to help decrease distress that adolescent clients experience. Participants will be able to access techniques for client engagement and for understanding the relationship of acceptance (in the moment) and moving towards change (future). Participants will be provided with some possible language to use to establish an agreement of engagement in learning mindfulness to lower distress. Moreover, participants will also learn how to teach their adolescent clients to use mindfulness techniques on a daily basis.

Participants will also learn to use concrete tools such as the use of a singing bowl, timer and skill sheet (optional) in their very next session. Implementation of these skills will be supported by clinical case examples and audience-generated questions about how to implement these skills.

The overarching theme for the clinician is the critical role of building client confidence and reiterating the message that adolescents cannot fail at learning these skills. The seminar equips attendees with the resources to immediately empower their adolescent clients in Building Skills for Life starting in their very next session.

Learning Objectives
As a result of attending this course, learners will be able to:

1. Implement a clear structure for a mindfulness session, including guided practice and practice assignments.
2. Understand and teach the What Skill.
3. Understand and teach the How Skill.
4. Help clients identify where in their body they are experiencing distress.
5. Teach clients tools that can be implemented in the very next session.

About Dr. Dayana Jiménez

Dr. Dayana Jiménez is a New York State licensed psychologist and a leading expert in the field of adolescent and young adult mental health. Dr. Jiménez is the Owner, Founder, and CEO of Manhattan Teen & Young Adult Psychology. She earned her Doctorate in Child/School Psychology from New York University and holds undergraduate and master's degrees from the University at Buffalo. As a clinician who is also bilingual in Spanish, she has provided services to a multicultural community across New York City and the metropolitan area.

Dr. Jiménez has held significant leadership roles in New York City's top institutions. Her expertise in treating mood disorders, anxiety, and trauma has been honed through her work in New York City's top hospitals. Prior to starting her own group practice, for nearly 10 years she was the first director of the Home-Based Crisis Intervention Program (HBCI) in Pediatric Psychiatry at New York-Presbyterian Hospital. She also worked at Montefiore Medical Center, Gouverneur Hospital, Northwell Health, as well as various community agencies and schools. She served as the Clinical Director at the Robert Louis Stevenson School in Manhattan and the Berkeley Carroll School in Brooklyn. As a clinician, researcher, supervisor, and program developer, she brings a unique experience assisting adolescents, young adults, parents and families facing depression, anxiety, adjustment issues, school difficulties, family conflicts, and challenges with communication.