This eight-week curriculum for adolescents prioritizes the instruction and practice of self-compassion[10] . It’s adapted from the Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) program and endorsed by the developers of MSC, self-compassion researcher Kristin Neff and clinical psychologist Chris Germer.

The program’s three one-hour-and-45-minute lessons center around the components of self-compassion: (1) self-kindness, (2) common humanity, and (3) mindful, balanced awareness. According to the curriculum’s authors, “these elements serve to open the hearts of teens to their own suffering so they can learn to give themselves what they truly need, recognize that they are not alone in their suffering, and encourage an open-minded acceptance of the struggle they are facing.”⁹⁹

Making Friends With Yourself offers a six-day, residential training program for individuals interested in teaching the program. To qualify, individuals must have an established daily mindfulness and self-compassion practice and experience working with teens in educational or clinical settings. Additionally, participants must have completed the eight-week MSC course or the five-day MSC intensive. Upon completion of the six-day residential teacher training program, participants receive online consultation while teaching at least one Making Friends With Yourself course.

The curriculum was written by Karen Bluth, an assistant professor at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and a former classroom teacher, and Lorraine Hobbs, a family therapist and Director of Family Programs at the University of California, San Diego Center for Mindfulness. It has has been evaluated in two empirical studies.¹⁰⁰ The following table summarizes the findings:

Making Friends With Yourself
Domain	Variable	Associated Study
Mindfulness	Increased mindfulness	Bluth et al., 2015 Bluth et al., 2017
Mental Health	Reductions in perceived stress	Bluth et al., 2015 Bluth et al., 2017
	Reduced anxiety	Bluth et al., 2015
	Reduced depressive symptoms	Bluth et al., 2015
	Reductions in negative affect	Bluth et al., 2015
Physical Health	N/A	N/A
Social and Emotional Competency	N/A	N/A
Well-Being	Increased self-compassion	Bluth et al., 2015 Bluth et al., 2017
	Increased gratitude	Bluth et al., 2017
	Increased resilience	Bluth et al., 2017
Classroom Skills	Increased curiosity and exploration	Bluth et al., 2017
Academic Achievement	N/A	N/A