The Application of the Third Generation of Cognitive-Behavioral Approaches to Parenting

Book excerpt: In recent years, there has been growing interest in understanding how the third generation of cognitive-behavioral approaches, particularly mindfulness-, compassion-, and acceptance-based approaches, can contribute to the design of more efficacious parenting interventions and to a better understanding of parenting behaviors and the parent-child relationship. However, the application of third-generation cognitive-behavioral therapies and concepts to parenting is still in its infancy, and further research is needed to explore the potential of these approaches to enhance existing parenting interventions or to inform the development of new parenting interventions targeting different groups of parents and their children. More research is also needed to understand how mindfulness, (self-)compassion, acceptance and other related psychological processes may influence parenting practices, the parent-child relationship, and the child’s socioemotional development. With this e-book, presenting state-of-the-art research articles on third generation cognitive-behavioral approaches, a new step is taken in 1) exploring relations between parenting-related issues and concepts from the third generation cognitive-behavioral framework, and 2) examining parenting-interventions informed by third-generation cognitive-behavioral therapies.