by Hanna M. Jagow

Created on: August 29, 2010

Children, even those who are emotionally challenged and at risk for serious behavioral problems at school, can engage in simple meditation.  I know this because I have seen it done by a gifted and caring therapist in a group setting.  We can define meditation in this context as being quiet, focused, physically still, and able to participate in an exercise of looking inward peacefully and with full concentration.

In an outpatient program working with youngsters from five to eleven, usually having six to eight children in a group, both girls and boys, the therapist part of our team would have the children on mats on the floor in an open space.   Pillows and blankets were provided as needed.  After all requests for water and bathroom trips were taken care of, she would put on soft music and dim the lights.  Then she would speak slowly and distinctly, verbally providing what is called a "guided visualization" that included going into a different environment culminating in a place where each child could visualize their own ultimate peaceful place.  This lasted about 20 minutes, so it did not push anybody's attention span too far, but all were able to focus inward for the entire time.

Following the peaceful place, she would verbally guide them back to the real world in incremental steps that were the exact opposite of the entrance sequence.  Such visualizations have been written and are available in the literature of the psychological field.  The fact that they could be used with these children was both amazing and therapeutic.

Many of these children were diagnosed with ADHD and many lived in extremely chaotic homes.  Regardless, they were able to be quiet and even report what they "saw" following the exercise.  After the first time, they unexpectedly requested a repeat, and seemed to look forward to those, even curbing disruptive behaviors in order to "earn" them.

Some clinicians use guided visualizations as part of a hypnotic episode, but this was not the goal, and hypnosis was avoided.  Simple relaxation, a tool that each child could use on their own in a different setting, was accomplished.  It was one part of the treatment provided for at-risk children, not heavily documented or counted on to make behavioral changes, except for the time during the meditation, but it did prove that even very active mentally and emotionally disturbed children are able to participate in simple meditation if the setting and the technique are carefully thought out and implemented.

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