{
  "id": 14947590,
  "title": "Mindfulness exercises can support psychotherapy for adolescents",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/16/mindfulness-exercises-can-support-psychotherapy-for-adolescents",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-10-16T12:00:07.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Medical Xpress",
    "slug": "medical-xpress",
    "url": "https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-mindfulness-psychotherapy-adolescents.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A new study conducted at Heidelberg University's Centre for Psychological Psychotherapy reveals that brief mindfulness exercises can enhance the effectiveness of psychotherapy for adolescent patients. The research, led by Drs. Johannes Mander and Julia Kalmar, found that adolescents who engaged in a five- to ten-minute mindfulness exercise at the beginning of each therapy session experienced greater symptom reduction compared to those in a comparison group who underwent psychotherapy without this standardized session introduction.\n\nThe study, published in the Journal of Clinical Psychology, involved 90 adolescents aged 11 to 19 who were receiving outpatient treatment for depression, anxiety disorders, or ADHD. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three groups: mindfulness, relaxation, or a control group with no standardized session introduction. While all three groups showed symptom reduction over the course of therapy, the mindfulness group exhibited a significantly greater reduction in symptoms than the other groups.\n\nInterestingly, the study also found that adolescents in the mindfulness group reported a greater improvement in the quality of their therapeutic alliance—the therapeutic relationship between the patient and therapist. However, therapists themselves did not perceive any significant differences in the alliance between the groups. The researchers emphasize that this is the first study to examine the impact of brief mindfulness interventions in individual cognitive-behavioral therapy for adolescents, bridging the gap in the existing research on mindfulness exercises primarily studied in structured programs.",
  "summary": "A brief mindfulness exercise at the beginning of a psychotherapy session can have a positive effect on psychological symptoms in adolescent patients. This is the finding of a study conducted at Heidelberg University's Centre for Psychological Psychotherapy (ZPP) under the direction of Dr. Johannes Mander and Dr. Julia Kalmar.",
  "key_points": [
    "Brief mindfulness exercises enhance psychotherapy effectiveness for adolescents",
    "Study by Drs. Johannes Mander and Julia Kalmar shows symptom reduction in mindfulness group",
    "Adolescents in mindfulness group report better therapeutic alliance quality"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}