Mindful Parenting Programmes for parents of children with a diagnosis of ADHD
Pietro Muratori, Rebecca Ciacchini, Beatrice Castelli, Marina Papini, Irene Spiga, Silvia Villani, Ciro Conversano
Mindful parenting programmes may be of great help to parents of children with a diagnosis of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). These protocols enhance the parents’ ability to manage the consequences of chronic stress, teaching them the basic principles of Vipassana meditation and moderate yoga activities, to be practiced alone or with their children. In addition, the presence of a child who is diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is frequently associated with increased parenting stress, which may be defined as the consequence of the perceived disparity between demands, needs and available resources, in association with the parental role. Unfortunately, this psychophysical condition could lead to an increase in negative feelings in the parent, which may be directed towards oneself (as a parent) or the child. The aim of our work is to present the mindfulness approach as a valuable tool in promoting recovery from this type of stress. This paper reviews the most common and widely available mindful parenting protocols used in clinical practice. Many of these programmes are associated with efficacy studies, which, albeit only with preliminary data, can highlight the strengths of this approach.
Keywords
Parenting, Mindfulness, Mindful parenting, Parenting stress, ADHD.