Mindfulness
July 20, 2026
Julia Petrovic, Jessica Mettler, Julia Baran-Polansky et al.
Individuals with a history of nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) often report high self-criticism, emotion dysregulation, and a complex relationship with their body. As such, formal mindfulness practice (i.e., focusing on one’s thoughts, emotions, and body with acceptance) is a common element of prominent approaches to the treatment of NSSI. However, adherence to formal mindfulness practice is...
BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies
September 1, 2025
Emma Schmelefske, Megan Per, Leena Anand et al.
Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is associated with suicide risk, as well as a number of psychological disorders. This, coupled with its high prevalence rate, make it imperative that effective treatments for those who engage in NSSI are investigated and made available to the public. Despite this, few interventions specifically targeting NSSI have been researched. This study aimed to address this...
Journal of school psychology
August 1, 2024
Jessica Mettler, Stephanie Zito, Laurianne Bastien et al.
16 citations
Given high levels of adolescent stress and educational institutions' key role in supporting students' mental health, mindfulness instruction is increasingly being implemented in schools. However, there is growing evidence adolescents find traditionally taught formal mindfulness (e.g., structured regular practice like meditation) challenging. Indeed, school-based studies report high levels of...
Clinical Psychology Review
April 1, 2024
J. Petrovic, Jessica Mettler, Sohyun Cho et al.
Loving-kindness meditations involve sending feelings of kindness and care to a series of people including oneself, loved ones, strangers, and all beings. Loving-kindness interventions (LKIs), which include knowledge and/or practice related to loving-kindness, have been gaining attention as a potential intervention for improving mental health in adults. This meta-analysis synthesized the effects...
Psychological Services
December 7, 2023
J. Petrovic, Julia Milad, Jessica Mettler et al.
Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) is defined as the deliberate destruction of one's bodily tissue without suicidal intent. Mindfulness practice is commonly incorporated into universities' stress management programming and may benefit students with a history of NSSI. However, recent findings suggest that these students may respond differentially to specific types of mindfulness practice (i.e.,...
Journal of school psychology
April 1, 2023
Jessica Mettler, Bassam Khoury, Stephanie Zito et al.
Mindfulness-based programs (MBPs) are increasingly used in educational institutions to enhance students' mental health and resilience. However, reviews of the literature suggest this use may have outpaced the evidence base and further research is needed to better understand the mechanisms underlying these programs' effectiveness and which outcomes are being affected. The purpose of this...
Psychological Reports
April 27, 2022
Julia Petrovic, Laurianne Bastien, Jessica Mettler et al.
Stressful experiences are abundant in university and students with a history of nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) may be hyper-reactive to stress. While brief mindfulness inductions have been proposed as a buffer against acute stress, whether they function differently in students with a history of NSSI remains in question. This study sought to explore the impact of an online mindfulness induction...
International Journal of Whole Person Care
January 15, 2020
Dana Carsley, Francis Charlebois, Polina Titova et al.
Test anxiety is a concern among university students. Mindfulness-based colouring activities (mandalas) have been found to be effective for reducing university students’ generalized anxiety and for decreasing test anxiety in youth; however, studies have not used this method to address test anxiety with university students. Given that university students may struggle with higher test anxiety than...
School Psychology International
June 1, 2018
Dana Carsley, Nancy L. Heath
The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of a mindfulness art activity (mandala) with a free draw/colouring activity on test anxiety in adolescents with an examination of gender differences, and to assess the effect of dispositional mindfulness on students’ experience of mindfulness and test anxiety states. Participants were 193 Grade 8 students (56.6% female; M age = 13.49...