Journal of Counseling Psychology
July 15, 2021
Shufang Sun, Danhua Lin, Simon B. Goldberg et al.
148 citations
A mindfulness-based mobile health intervention reduced anxiety more than a social-support-based mobile health intervention among young adult students in quarantine in China who had elevated anxiety or depressive symptoms. Both groups improved on depression, with no significant difference between them. The mindfulness program was also rated as more feasible and acceptable. Emotional suppression reduction helped explain the improvements. The study suggests that delivering mindfulness or social support via smartphone apps can help reduce distress during a pandemic, with mindfulness especially effective for anxiety.
Mindfulness
September 1, 2023
Blair T Johnson, Rebecca L. Acabchuk, Elisabeth A George et al.
45 citations
Mindfulness-based programs improve well-being in college students, with the strongest evidence for reducing anxiety and depressive symptoms. A systematic review and meta-analysis of 58 randomized controlled trials found that mindfulness interventions significantly outperformed both active and inactive controls, with the most marked effects on anxiety, depression, and mindfulness. Greater success appeared for clinical populations. Online programs performed equivalently to in-person programs, and non-mindfulness-based programs were equivalent to mindfulness-based programs after controlling for other factors. Publication bias and other quality issues emerged. More studies using stronger methods are needed to evaluate effects on additional health outcomes and online interventions in clinical populations.
Health Psychology
July 6, 2023
Richa Gawande, Lydia Smith, Alexandra Comeau et al.
21 citations
An 8-week warm mindfulness training program for primary care patients with anxiety, depression, or stress-related disorders improved emotion regulation and helped patients initiate health behavior changes more than a low-dose mindfulness comparator. Emotion regulation difficulties decreased significantly at 8 weeks and at 24 weeks. 63% of those in the full program started their action plan within three weeks, compared to 38% in the comparator group.
Psychiatry Research
December 1, 2024
Zev Schuman-Olivier, Richa Gawande, Timothy B. Creedon et al.
10 citations
Mindfulness training helps people change health behaviors partly by improving how they listen to and trust internal bodily signals, a process called interoceptive appreciation. In a randomized trial with 274 primary care patients who had depression, anxiety, or stress disorders related to chronic illness, those who received Mindfulness Training for Primary Care showed greater initiation of a chosen health behavior action plan compared to a low-dose mindfulness group. The effect was mediated by interoceptive appreciation: among patients without depression, listening to bodily signals played a key role; among those with moderate-to-severe depression, trusting bodily signals was more important. Regaining body trust may be a crucial step for behavior change in depression.
Psychiatry research. Neuroimaging
March 1, 2025
Michael Datko, Jacqueline Lutz, Richa Gawande et al.
1 citation
Mindfulness training for primary care patients with anxiety or depression increased activity in the dorsal medial prefrontal cortex when anticipating pain, and this brain change was strongly linked to initiating health behavior changes. Greater increases in this brain response correlated with higher levels of action plan initiation, suggesting that mindfulness strengthens emotion regulation and goal-directed behavior in the face of discomfort.
Evidence & policy : a journal of research, debate and practice
April 4, 2025
Ariana M Albanese, Hannah E Frank, Margaret E Crane et al.
Health insurers in the United States typically do not cover Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), a well-studied treatment. To understand how research can support coverage, researchers interviewed key informants—policy makers, health insurers, healthcare administrators, clinicians, MBSR students/patients, and teachers—about barriers and facilitators to coverage, how they use research, and which outcomes matter most. Perspectives aligned across those with and without direct policy influence. Participants wanted information on MBSR's worthiness as a covered treatment (its quality, usability, and financial soundness) and a clearer definition of the service and its coverage. Barriers included billing code creation and use, but MBSR's ability to address mental health in an un-stigmatizing way could facilitate coverage. Research is frequently integrated into decisions, though other factors also weigh in.