Willoughby B. Britton - The Consciousness Library

“I was trying to save the world”: delusion-like ideation and associated impacts reported by Western practitioners of Buddhist meditation

Frontiers in Psychology October 24, 2025 Elizaveta Solomonova, Jared R. Lindahl, Ian Gold et al. 1 citation

Delusional ideation is characteristic of psychopathology (e.g., psychosis, bipolar disorder) and is also found among the general population. Contemporary case studies have documented delusional ideation as a feature of meditation-induced psychosis, and Buddhist literature on the side effects and adverse effects of meditation also includes discussion of transient experiences that could be...

DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1644684 Buddhism Context archaeology Typology Ideation +7

Relationships between Religious and Scientific Worldviews in the Narratives of Western Buddhists Reporting Meditation-Related Challenges

Journal of Contemplative Studies July 23, 2025 Roman Palitsky, David J. Cooper, Jared R. Lindahl et al. 10 citations

Contemporary Buddhist meditators in the West are likely to find themselves engaged in practices with rich associations with both religious and scientific worldviews. Meditation-related challenges can provoke existential concerns that make unexplored relationships between religious and scientific worldviews more important and explicit for Western Buddhist meditators, who may turn to both...

DOI: 10.57010/gdcw6138 Meditation-related challenges Science Religion Culture +1

The Teacher Matters: The Role and Impact of Meditation Teachers in the Trajectories of Western Buddhist Meditators Experiencing Meditation-Related Challenges

Contemporary Buddhism April 22, 2025 Nicholas K. Canby, Jared R. Lindahl, David J. Cooper et al. 1 citation

Although meditation is often treated as an individual practice, meditation teachers can play an important role. Drawing on the mixed-methods dataset of the Varieties of Contemplative Experience project, this paper examines the role of meditation teachers and their impacts on Western practitioners who are navigating meditation-related challenges. Quantitative and qualitative results from 68...

DOI: 10.1080/14639947.2025.2485677 Meditation Buddhism Aesthetics Psychotherapist +1

Childhood trauma and subclinical PTSD symptoms predict adverse effects and worse outcomes across two mindfulness-based programs for active depression.

PLoS One 2025 Nicholas K. Canby, Elizabeth A Cosby, Roman Palitsky et al. 10 citations

Within mindfulness-based programs (MBPs), mixed results have been found for the role of childhood trauma as a moderator of depression outcomes. Furthermore, childhood trauma and PTSD symptoms have been identified as possible risk factors for the occurrence of meditation-related adverse effects (MRAE). The present research examined multiple forms of childhood trauma and PTSD symptoms as...

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0318499 Full text

Leveraging meditation research for the study of psychedelic-related adverse effects.

International review of psychiatry (Abingdon, England) December 1, 2024 Roman Palitsky, Nicholas K. Canby, Nicholas T. van Dam et al. 6 citations

Psychedelics have shown early evidence for a range of benefits and low harm profiles in extant research. However, adverse effects (AEs) research in psychedelics has been limited, leading to underspecified AE profiles, inconsistent measurement, and potential undercounting of AEs. The development of safe, effective psychedelic therapies and treatments for AEs when they occur requires a thorough...

DOI: 10.1080/09540261.2024.2420745 Full text Meditation Psychedelic-assisted therapy Psychedelics Adverse effects +1

Clarifying and measuring the characteristics of experiences that involve a loss of self or a dissolution of its boundaries.

Consciousness and Cognition March 1, 2024 Nicholas K. Canby, Jared R. Lindahl, Willoughby B. Britton et al. 11 citations

Mystical experience, non-dual awareness, selflessness, self-transcendent experience, and ego-dissolution have become increasingly prominent constructs in meditation and psychedelic research. However, these constructs and their measures tend to be highly overlapping, imprecise, and poorly integrated with similar pathological experiences. The present study seeks to clarify the common factors...

DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2024.103655 Full text Ego dissolution Meditation Mystical experience Phenomenology +6

The roles and impacts of worldviews in the context of meditation-related challenges.

Transcultural Psychiatry August 1, 2023 Jared R. Lindahl, Roman Palitsky, David J Cooper et al.

Previous research has shown that worldviews can serve as a coping response to periods of difficulty or struggle, and worldviews can also change on account of difficulty. This paper investigates the impacts worldviews have on the nature and trajectory of meditation-related challenges, as well as how worldviews change or are impacted by such challenges. The context of meditation-related...

DOI: 10.1177/13634615221128679 Full text Meditation-related challenges Religion Science Worldviews

Self-judgment Dissected: A Computational Modeling Analysis of Self-Referential Processing and its Relationship to Trait Mindfulness Facets and Depression Symptoms

Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience September 27, 2022 Peter F Hitchcock, Willoughby B. Britton, Kahini Mehta et al.

Cognitive theories of depression, and mindfulness theories of well-being, converge on the notion that self-judgment plays a critical role in mental health. However, these theories have rarely been tested via tasks and computational modeling analyses that can disentangle the information processes operative in self-judgments. We applied a drift-diffusion computational model to the...

DOI: 10.3758/s13415-022-01033-9 Full text

Comparing impacts of meditation training in focused attention, open monitoring, and mindfulness‐based cognitive therapy on emotion reactivity and regulation: Neural and subjective evidence from a dismantling study

Psychophysiology February 19, 2022 Kirk Warren Brown, Daniel R. Berry, Kristina Eichel et al. 38 citations

Commonly conducted mindfulness-based trainings such as Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) highlight training in two key forms of meditation: focused attention (FA) and open monitoring (OM). Largely unknown is what each of these mindfulness practices contributes to emotional and other important training outcomes. This dismantling trial...

DOI: 10.1111/psyp.14024 Mindfulness meditation Reactivity psychology Cognition Psychotherapist +1

“Like a Vibration Cascading through the Body”: Energy-Like Somatic Experiences Reported by Western Buddhist Meditators

Religions November 24, 2021 David J. Cooper, Jared R. Lindahl, Roman Palitsky et al. 20 citations

There are numerous historical and textual references to energy-like somatic experiences (ELSEs) from religious traditions, and even a few psychological studies that have documented related phenomena. However, ELSEs remain an understudied effect of meditation in contemporary research. Based upon narratives from a large qualitative sample of Buddhist meditators in the West reporting...

DOI: 10.3390/rel12121042 Meditation Buddhism Narrative Scope computer science +6

From Self-Esteem to Selflessness: An Evidence (Gap) Map of Self-Related Processes as Mechanisms of Mindfulness-Based Interventions

Frontiers in Psychology November 22, 2021 Willoughby B. Britton, Gaelle Desbordes, Rebecca L. Acabchuk et al. 77 citations

Self-related processes (SRPs) have been theorized as key mechanisms of mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs), but the evidence supporting these theories is currently unclear. This evidence map introduces a comprehensive framework for different types of SRPs, and how they are theorized to function as mechanisms of MBIs (target identification). The evidence map then assesses SRP target...

DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.730972 Mindfulness Meditation Rumination Self-compassion +8

The Effect of Mindfulness-based Programs on Cognitive Function in Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Neuropsychology Review August 4, 2021 Tim Whitfield, Thorsten Barnhofer, Rebecca L. Acabchuk et al. 193 citations

Mindfulness-based programs (MBPs) are increasingly utilized to improve mental health. Interest in the putative effects of MBPs on cognitive function is also growing. This is the first meta-analysis of objective cognitive outcomes across multiple domains from randomized MBP studies of adults. Seven databases were systematically searched to January 2020. Fifty-six unique studies (n = 2,931) were...

DOI: 10.1007/s11065-021-09519-y Full text Mindfulness Meta-analysis Cognition Subgroup analysis +3

Prevalence of meditation-related adverse effects in a population-based sample in the United States

Psychotherapy Research June 2, 2021 Simon B. Goldberg, Sin U Lam, Willoughby B. Britton et al. 110 citations

OBJECTIVE: Meditation practice and meditation-based psychotherapies have become increasingly popular. Although psychological benefits associated with meditation are well-documented, potential risks are unclear. METHOD: We conducted a population-based survey to evaluate the occurrence of a broad range of meditation-related adverse effects (MRAE). RESULTS: Nine hundred and fifty three...

DOI: 10.1080/10503307.2021.1933646 Full text Meditation Anxiety Clinical psychology Adverse effect +3

Defining and measuring meditation-related adverse effects in mindfulness-based programs

Clinical psychological science : a journal of the Association for Psychological Science May 18, 2021 Willoughby B. Britton, Jared R. Lindahl, David J. C. Cooper et al.

Research on the adverse effects of mindfulness-based programs (MBPs) has been sparse and hindered by methodological imprecision. The 44-item Meditation Experiences Interview (MedEx-I) was used by an independent assessor to measure meditation-related side effects (MRSEs) following three variants of an 8-week program of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (n = 96). Each item was queried for...

DOI: 10.1177/2167702621996340 Full text

Progress or Pathology? Differential Diagnosis and Intervention Criteria for Meditation-Related Challenges: Perspectives From Buddhist Meditation Teachers and Practitioners

Frontiers in Psychology July 29, 2020 Jared R. Lindahl, D. James Cooper, Nathan E. Fisher et al. 2 citations

Studies in the psychology and phenomenology of religious experience have long acknowledged similarities with various forms of psychopathology. Consequently, it has been important for religious practitioners and mental health professionals to establish criteria by which religious, spiritual, or mystical experiences can be differentiated from psychopathological experiences. Many previous attempts...

DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01905 Meditation Buddhism Intervention counseling Psychotherapist +3

Can Mindfulness Be Too Much of a Good Thing? The Value of a Middle Way

Current Opinion in Psychology January 7, 2019 Willoughby B. Britton

Previous research has found that very few, if any, psychological or physiological processes are universally beneficial. Instead, positive phenomena tend to follow a non-monotonic or inverted U-shaped trajectory where their typically positive effects eventually turn negative. This review investigates mindfulness-related processes for signs of non-monotonicity. A number of mindfulness-related...

DOI: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2018.12.011 Full text

Gender differences in response to a school-based mindfulness training intervention for early adolescents.

Journal of school psychology June 1, 2018 Yoona Kang, Hadley Rahrig, Kristina Eichel et al. 143 citations

Mindfulness training has been used to improve emotional wellbeing in early adolescents. However, little is known about treatment outcome moderators, or individual differences that may differentially impact responses to treatment. The current study focused on gender as a potential moderator for affective outcomes in response to school-based mindfulness training. Sixth grade students (N = 100)...

DOI: 10.1016/j.jsp.2018.03.004 Full text Meditation Mindfulness Affect Early adolescence +2

Reiterated Concerns and Further Challenges for Mindfulness and Meditation Research: A Reply to Davidson and Dahl.

Perspectives on psychological science : a journal of the Association for Psychological Science 2018 Nicholas T. van Dam, Marieke K. van Vugt, David R. Vago et al.

In response to our article, Davidson and Dahl offer commentary and advice regarding additional topics crucial to a comprehensive prescriptive agenda for future research on mindfulness and meditation. Their commentary raises further challenges and provides an important complement to our article. More consideration of these issues is especially welcome because limited space precluded us from...

DOI: 10.1177/1745691617727529 Full text Meditation Mindfulness Adverse events Questionable research practices

Mind the Hype: A Critical Evaluation and Prescriptive Agenda for Research on Mindfulness and Meditation

Perspectives on Psychological Science October 10, 2017 Nicholas T. van Dam, Marieke K. van Vugt, David R. Vago et al. 1,500 citations

During the past two decades, mindfulness meditation has gone from being a fringe topic of scientific investigation to being an occasional replacement for psychotherapy, tool of corporate well-being, widely implemented educational practice, and "key to building more resilient soldiers." Yet the mindfulness movement and empirical evidence supporting it have not gone without criticism....

DOI: 10.1177/1745691617709589

The varieties of contemplative experience: A mixed-methods study of meditation-related challenges in Western Buddhists

PLoS One May 24, 2017 Jared R. Lindahl, Nathan E. Fisher, David J. Cooper et al. 468 citations

Buddhist-derived meditation practices are currently being employed as a popular form of health promotion. While meditation programs draw inspiration from Buddhist textual sources for the benefits of meditation, these sources also acknowledge a wide range of other effects beyond health-related outcomes. The Varieties of Contemplative Experience study investigates meditation-related experiences...

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0176239 Meditation Buddhism Thematic analysis Contemplation +7

Women Benefit More Than Men in Response to College-based Meditation Training.

Frontiers in Psychology 2017 Rahil Rojiani, Juan F. Santoyo, Hadley Rahrig et al. 232 citations

Objectives: While recent literature has shown that mindfulness training has positive effects on treating anxiety and depression, there has been virtually no research investigating whether effects differ across genders-despite the fact that men and women differ in clinically significant ways. The current study investigated whether college-based meditation training had different effects on...

DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00551 Full text Meditation Mindfulness Affect Emotion +1

A randomized controlled pilot trial of classroom-based mindfulness meditation compared to an active control condition in sixth-grade children.

Journal of school psychology June 1, 2014 Willoughby B. Britton, Nathaniel E Lepp, Halsey F Niles et al. 253 citations

The current study is a pilot trial to examine the effects of a nonelective, classroom-based, teacher-implemented, mindfulness meditation intervention on standard clinical measures of mental health and affect in middle school children. A total of 101 healthy sixth-grade students (55 boys, 46 girls) were randomized to either an Asian history course with daily mindfulness meditation practice...

DOI: 10.1016/j.jsp.2014.03.002 Full text Children Contemplative education Mindfulness meditation Pre-adolescent +1

A phenomenology of meditation-induced light experiences: traditional buddhist and neurobiological perspectives

Frontiers in Psychology 2014 Jared R. Lindahl, Christopher T. Kaplan, Evan M. Winget et al. 123 citations

The scientific study of Buddhist meditation has proceeded without much attention to Buddhist literature that details the range of psychological and physiological changes thought to occur during meditation. This paper presents reports of various meditation-induced light experiences derived from American Buddhist practitioners. The reports of light experiences are classified into two main types:...

DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00973 Meditation Buddhism Perception Context archaeology +8

Awakening is not a metaphor: the effects of Buddhist meditation practices on basic wakefulness.

Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 2014 Willoughby B. Britton, Jared R. Lindahl, B Rael Cahn et al.

Buddhist meditation practices have become a topic of widespread interest in both science and medicine. Traditional Buddhist formulations describe meditation as a state of relaxed alertness that must guard against both excessive hyperarousal (restlessness) and excessive hypoarousal (drowsiness, sleep). Modern applications of meditation have emphasized the hypoarousing and relaxing effects...

DOI: 10.1111/nyas.12279 Full text Buddhist meditation Alertness Arousal Relaxation +2

Mindfulness training alters emotional memory recall compared to active controls: support for an emotional information processing model of mindfulness.

Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 2012 Douglas Roberts-Wolfe, Matthew D. Sacchet, Elizabeth Hastings et al. 79 citations

While mindfulness-based interventions have received widespread application in both clinical and non-clinical populations, the mechanism by which mindfulness meditation improves well-being remains elusive. One possibility is that mindfulness training alters the processing of emotional information, similar to prevailing cognitive models of depression and anxiety. The aim of this study was to...

DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2012.00015 Full text Mindfulness Emotional information processing Memory

Papers