Promoting Resilience in Youth Through Mindfulness mEditation

The aim of this randomized controlled trial (RCT) is to assess whether mindfulness training reduces early stage internalizing problems such as anxiety, worrying, and low mood in help-seeking youth.

Participants will be randomly assigned to one of two groups: 1) mindfulness + care-as-usual (CAU) or 2) CAU-only. The mindfulness program was developed specifically for youth with internalizing problems. The 8-week training program consists of weekly 2-hour sessions, with mindfulness, yoga, and mindful active movement in each session. In addition, participants are invited to practice at home in between sessions for around 20 minutes per day.

Data will be collected at baseline (T0), end-of-treatment (T1) (or 2-3 months after baseline for the CAU-only group), and at 2 months follow-up (T2) and 6 months follow-up (T3).

Measurements will include:

* Self-report questionnaires (T0, T1, T2, T3) * Psychiatric diagnostic interview (T0, T3) * MRI scans (T0, T1) * Cognitive tasks (T0, T1)

The primary outcome parameter is the total number of internalizing problems measured with the Adult Self Report (ASR) at end-of-treatment. The effect of mindfulness training (mindfulness + CAU vs. CAU-only) on internalizing problems at T1 will be assessed using a linear-mixed effects model.