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Mindfulness and Self-Compassion for Teen ADHD: Build Executive Functioning Skills, Increase Motivation, and Improve Self-Confidence
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 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.
- GenresAdhdPsychologyParenting
192 pages, Paperback
Published May 1, 2021
About the author
Mark Bertin
11 books17 followersDr. Bertin is a developmental pediatrician and author of How Children Thrive, Mindful Parenting for ADHD and The Family ADHD Solution, which integrate mindfulness into the rest of evidence-based pediatric care. He is a contributing author for the book Teaching Mindfulness Skills to Kids and Teens. Dr. Bertin is on faculty at New York Medical College and the Windward Teacher Training Institute, and on the advisory boards for the non-profits Common Sense Media and Reach Out and Read. He is a regular contributor to Mindful Magazine, and his blog is available through Mindful.org and Psychology Today. For more information, please visit his website at www.developmentaldoctor.com.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
December 31, 2023
Beginning this review has been more challenging than I anticipated because I find myself stumbling over language. There is a lot of misunderstanding and stigma around ADHD. I don't like calling it a "condition" and I certainly don't want to call it a "disorder" because that supposes that there is a "right" way to be and exist. In our society, we have lumped brains into "neurotypical" and "neuroatypical" categories, and ADHD drops you into the "neuroatypical" box.
Having a diagnosis for my kiddo has enabled us to equip him with tools and medication to be his best self. (And again, even "best self" doesn't seem quite right. He's great no matter what. But I digress). As he has entered teen-dom he has become less communicative, as is the way with teens, so I have been searching for ways to have more connection and understanding, and books are always my first stop on the "I want to learn more" train. Dan Harris on the podcast "Ten Percent Happier" interviewed an author and ADHD expert who has written a book for parents of kids with ADHD and a book for teens with ADHD, so I dove immediately snagged both. My kid is a bit of already reluctant reader, even of subject material he's very passionate about, so I knew dropping a book on mindfulness and ADHD would be a tough, and maybe impossible sell, so I told him I'd read it first and highlight passages I thought might be helpful or relevant, and he can peruse it at his leisure. (Buuut should I have even read it and highlighted it, to pass it along? I guess that's a question for me (and my therapist) to answer. But I digress. Again.).
Overall, this book provided a lot of insight into understanding what it is to have ADHD and relate to a teen with it, so it's a great resource for a parent, especially if you do not have ADHD. It's a short read with a clear format and something you could easily read in an afternoon, or instead take in a chapter at a time over several weeks. Each chapter starts with a quote from a teen, grounding the material with some relatable authenticity and each chapter ends with a helpful learning summary.
Bertin is very careful to frame things as you "might" experience x, and not be too prescriptive in explaining how ADHD manifests, which is great, as it leaves room for personal interpretation and is never judgmental
I found it valuable, not just as a parent, but as someone who has begun my own meditation and mindfulness practice in the past few years, and this book has deepened my understanding of the importance and impact of those practices.
Having a diagnosis for my kiddo has enabled us to equip him with tools and medication to be his best self. (And again, even "best self" doesn't seem quite right. He's great no matter what. But I digress). As he has entered teen-dom he has become less communicative, as is the way with teens, so I have been searching for ways to have more connection and understanding, and books are always my first stop on the "I want to learn more" train. Dan Harris on the podcast "Ten Percent Happier" interviewed an author and ADHD expert who has written a book for parents of kids with ADHD and a book for teens with ADHD, so I dove immediately snagged both. My kid is a bit of already reluctant reader, even of subject material he's very passionate about, so I knew dropping a book on mindfulness and ADHD would be a tough, and maybe impossible sell, so I told him I'd read it first and highlight passages I thought might be helpful or relevant, and he can peruse it at his leisure. (Buuut should I have even read it and highlighted it, to pass it along? I guess that's a question for me (and my therapist) to answer. But I digress. Again.).
Overall, this book provided a lot of insight into understanding what it is to have ADHD and relate to a teen with it, so it's a great resource for a parent, especially if you do not have ADHD. It's a short read with a clear format and something you could easily read in an afternoon, or instead take in a chapter at a time over several weeks. Each chapter starts with a quote from a teen, grounding the material with some relatable authenticity and each chapter ends with a helpful learning summary.
Bertin is very careful to frame things as you "might" experience x, and not be too prescriptive in explaining how ADHD manifests, which is great, as it leaves room for personal interpretation and is never judgmental
I found it valuable, not just as a parent, but as someone who has begun my own meditation and mindfulness practice in the past few years, and this book has deepened my understanding of the importance and impact of those practices.
March 24, 2023
This book is great for teens. The chapters are short and delivered in a very teen-friendly voice with ideas that make sense for this age group, like practicing mindfulness with music. I think parents will especially appreciate the sections devoted to social media use and time management.
May 1, 2021
In their terrific new book about mindfulness, self-compassion and ADHD, authors Mark Bertin and Karen Bluth, achieve something very rare: offering tools and insights for teens themselves. Most teens with ADHD need assistance in accepting the brain they have but often reject assistance from adults. This wonderful book gives them the resources they need to understand their brains, learn how to live more effectively and be kinder to themselves in the process. With helpful, easy-to-use exercises and quotes from teens themselves, each chapter guides the adolescent reader through accessible techniques that build key life skills and foster self-esteem. I really love this book and plan to share it with my clients!
June 11, 2021
Mindfulness & Self-compassion for Teen ADHD part of The Instant Help Series by New Harbinger is a great resource for therapists who work with teenagers with ADD/ADHD. As someone who works in mental health – and has a teenager, I especially appreciated the exercises and practices throughout the book. Highly recommended. #MindfulnessandSelfCompassionforTeenADHD #NetGalley
March 19, 2021
Good workbook to have available for counselors, particularly those working with teens and their families. Explanations of ADD/ADHD are provided in appropriate language. Exercises are explained well enough that the workbook can be used independently or with a counselor in sessions.
March 20, 2023
This was a very read-able and digest-able way to introduce mindfulness and self-compassion for teens. There was some clunky language, but no book is perfect and the authors did a great job of writing about a high-level concept at a teen level. I plan to use this with clients!
January 28, 2024
Highly recommend for anyone with ADHD or with a child who has ADHD. Simply written, great practical tips to reset yourself, setting new habits and routines to be successful and most importantly, talking to yourself with kindness.
June 19, 2022
Excellent read - got this from the library but will buy a copy for my teen to read. This would have helped me enormously a few decades ago!
July 12, 2022
While not perfect, I feel as though this is something I would have liked to have had when I was a teenager.
January 16, 2023
A great book to help teens and parents navigate the rocky emotions of ADHD during a pivotal age.
December 4, 2023
Useful and encouraging concepts written thoughtfully for teens specifically
October 20, 2024
An excellent guide to understanding ADHD for kids/teens. Reading this also explained a lot about my younger self. I wish I would have had this explanation!
April 22, 2025
Thankful the book allows you to know a link to the audio versions of the mindful activities. You have to set up an account, yet the sound guides can be downloaded. Awesome!
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews