Mindfulness for the Next Generation

Abstract

College students and other young adults today are experiencing high levels of stress as they pursue personal, educational, and career goals. In recent years there has been increased awareness of the seriousness of these struggles, which may increase the risk of psychological distress and mental illness among this age group now commonly referred to as “emerging adults.” Scientific research has shown that practicing mindfulness can help manage stress and enhance quality of life, but traditional methods of teaching mindfulness and meditation are not always effective for emerging adults. Mindfulness for the Next Generation is an easy-to-use guide that details Koru Mindfulness, a curriculum developed at Duke University, designed specifically for teaching mindfulness to emerging adults. Koru has been tested and shown to be effective for helping this age group learn the practice of mindfulness. Koru is now used at hundreds of universities in the United States and abroad. In Mindfulness for the Next Generation, authors Holly Rogers and Margaret Maytan, the developers of the Koru program, discuss the unique challenges emerging adults face, review the research on Koru and mindfulness in general for this population, and provide an overview of the Koru curriculum. This book is the primary resource for individuals learning to teach the Koru curriculum.

Mindfulness as a way to cope with COVID‐19‐related stress and anxiety

“…Perhaps KM participants would have benefited from booster sessions after treatment to maintain gains over time. Rogers and Maytan (2019) have developed Koru 2.0, a four‐week supplement to KM that introduces new mindfulness skills and provides additional practice. Future research might evaluate the effectiveness of supplemental programmes like these to maintain treatment gains over time.…”

“…For example, would increasing the number of sessions or the duration of daily homework improve outcomes? Rogers and Maytan (2019) have recently developed Koru 2.0, an extension of KM, consisting of four additional mindfulness training sessions, increased duration of daily practice and a four‐hour mindfulness retreat. However, we do not know to what extent these changes might affect participants.…”

“…KM is a manualised, mindfulness‐based treatment that consists of four weekly sessions, each 75 min in duration (Rogers & Maytan, 2019). Each session consists of a brief centring activity to focus attention, an introduction of a new mindfulness skill and meditation practice.…”

“…The Koru mobile app facilitates practice by guiding participants through each meditation and prompts participants to identify and describe two people, objects or events they are grateful for each day. The app anonymously shares each gratitude entry with other group members to increase their motivation to engage in the activity and build group cohesion (Rogers & Maytan, 2019).…”

“…We were particularly interested in how non‐referred students might use mindfulness skills to manage stress and regulate negative thoughts and feelings during the pandemic. We examined the efficacy of Koru Mindfulness (KM), a manualised, mindfulness‐based group therapy (Rogers & Maytan, 2019). Unlike most other mindfulness‐based interventions, KM is designed for young adults.…”