Living In Families with Emotions (LIFE)
Adolescence is a time of heightened risk for the development of mental health challenges. Early symptoms of psychological distress in adolescents often go undetected and unaddressed for too long. The limited resources available for supporting the mental health of this population has led to the recognition of a “youth mental health crisis” in the U.S. To contribute to the efforts to address this major public health gap, we have developed and piloted a prevention-focused behavioral intervention for adolescents that can be delivered in a variety of community settings by clinicians or non-clinicians.
Our intervention, called Living In Families with Emotions (LIFE), is a group-based program for adolescents that teaches skills that are known to increase emotional resilience, such as mindfulness, self-compassion, cognitive flexibility and social skills. LIFE, which is led by two trained facilitators, is comprised of either eight 90-minute meetings or sixteen 45-minute meetings. There are also two 90-minute meetings with the adolescents’ parents or other caregivers.
Our research has found that symptoms or signs of depression, emotion dysregulation and social difficulties decreased in adolescents who participated in LIFE and there was some evidence that these beneficial effects were sustained over time, for at least a year following the program. We are now testing the effectiveness of a LIFE dissemination program we have designed that trains staff members of community organizations, such as YMCAs, Family Resource Centers and schools, to lead LIFE workshops.
If you and/or other members of your organization are interested in receiving training to lead LIFE workshops, please contact: Francesca de Marneffe at fdemarneffe@mgb.org
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The training program of the LIFE workshop is sponsored by the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health and the MGH Center of Excellence for Psychosocial and Systemic Research
