Enhancing Resilience in Youth Mindfulness-Based Interventions in Positive Environments

Prof. Christoph Steinebach had been working at a child guidance clinic for several years before he became head of an early education center. During these years, he worked with children and families on diagnostics, counseling, and supervision. In 1995, he became Professor of Special Education at the Catholic University of Applied Sciences in Freiburg (Germany), where he served as head of the Institute of Research and Development and as President of the University for many years. In 2007, he became a Professor at Zurich University of Applied Sciences, Dean of the School of Applied Psychology, and Director of the Institute of Applied Psychology in Switzerland and in 2013 adjunct professor at Ryerson University, Toronto (CA). Dr. Steinebach is member of various national and international associations. Currently, he is Vice-President of the European Federation of Psychologists’ Associations (EFPA). As a developmental psychologist, his research interests focus on resilience, youth development, health promotion in young people, and counseling. He also serves on the editorial boards of different journals.

Prof. Álvaro I. Langer is a clinical psychologist and associate professor at Universidad Austral de Chile (UACh), Valdivia. He is Director of the Institute of Psychological Studies at the Faculty of Medicine of this house of studies, Deputy Director of the Excellence Research Center Millennium Nucleus to Improve the Mental Health of Adolescents and Youths (Imhay) as well as adjunct researcher at the Millennium Institute for Research on Depression and Personality (MIDAP), both funded by the Chilean Government. Moreover, he is a principal researcher at the Interdisciplinary Center for the Study of the Nervous System (CISNe/UACh) and head of the Mind-Body lab at UACh. His research interests address the issues of prevention and promotion in mental health, interventions based on acceptance and mindfulness, and the study of social and cultural variables linked to thehealth process. Dr. Langer has several publications in the area of mental health, specifically, he has been a pioneer in the application of mindfulness in psychosis in Ibero-America and mindfulness in Chilean educational contexts.