By Zenisha Shah, CEI Writer and Counselor at Innisfree House School Imagine how your life would be impacted if you had to, first, find a specialist to address your mental health concerns equitably—without bias our judgement? This is a reality, if you are a member of an ethnic, racial, religious, or gender group. Accessing quality mental health services has been a struggle for individuals who belong to these groups (Shushansky, 2017). Disparities Start Early The disparity for

By Dana Asby, CEI Director of Innovation & Research Support Mindfulness is transforming many schools in the U.S. and around the world into more compassionate communities, but what’s the state of mindfulness outside the school building? How has mindfulness entered the business and government sectors? Many innovative companies and initiatives are bringing mindfulness to small businesses, large corporations, and entire cities. People at the helm of each of these programs sh

By Vien Nguyen, CEI Intern Educational fads can be frustrating for teachers, because once the hype dies down, good programs are often abandoned. Despite explosive growth over the past 20 years, the mindfulness movement risks becoming a fad if local communities don’t sustain their buy-in over the long run. Policy makers may need to consider different ways of empowering their districts to co-create mindfulness programs and to embed them into their everyday lives. Ivan Sellers,

By Shu Jie Ting, CEI Intern Mindfulness is a phenomenon that is becoming widely applied across the globe. The United Arab Emirates (UAE), one of many prominent leaders advocating for educational progressivism, applies mindfulness in innovative ways to combat chronic pain, stress, and depression. Mindfulness Trending in UAE Classrooms Classrooms in the United Arab Emirates are also embracing the mindfulness movement as a technique to bring clarity and focus while promoting the

By June Naureckas, CEI Intern Psychological researchers have recommended the integration of restorative justice into middle and high schools for decades. Recent attempts to do just that have been proven to reduce racial and class-based disparities in suspension rates. Tenets of Restorative Justice Restorative justice was originally developed as a means of overhauling the criminal justice system. Core beliefs include that breaking the law harms both the victim and the communit

By Kaela Farrise, CEI Intern Editor’s Note: This is Part 3 of a 3 part series. Yoga in schools is a growing trend across the country with in-person classes being implemented in some schools. In other educational environments, however, schools have turned to apps or online videos to help bring yoga instruction and related principles into the classroom. Read below to learn about some of the choices available for educators wanting to bring a yoga practice into the classroom. K

By Zenisha Shah, CEI Writer and Counselor at Innisfree House School The city of Flint, Michigan has a long history of crippling economic and environmental troubles. Water crisis, lead poisoning, and financial deficit are some of the challenges the city has faced in the past (CNN, 2016). In addition to the implementation of various policies, this crisis calls for non-conventional solutions as well. The Mindful Cities Initiative is one such solution that is using mindfulness-ba

By Didi Dunin, CEI Intern Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often engage in maladaptive behaviors such as self-stimulation, aggression, and self-harm as ways to cope with social difficulties and atypical sensory processing. Mindfulness training can help children with ASD cultivate more meaningful social connections by increasing empathy and compassion, develop a more attuned mind-body awareness, and learn more adaptive coping mechanisms for stress and depression. E