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.
Journal of Counseling Psychology
January 1, 2014
Simon B. Goldberg, A. C. del Re, William T. Hoyt et al.
80 citations
In a randomized clinical trial of mindfulness training for smokers, the quality of mindfulness practice—how well participants engaged with the techniques—predicted improvements in psychological functioning (including negative affect, emotion regulation, quality of life, and mindfulness) both immediately after treatment and at a 5-month follow-up, even after accounting for the amount of time spent practicing. The amount of practice time predicted improvements only at posttreatment, not at follow-up. Neither practice time nor change in practice quality predicted smoking abstinence at 1 or 6 months after quitting. The findings suggest that the quality of mindfulness practice is a more enduring predictor of psychological benefits than the quantity of practice.
Journal of Counseling Psychology
July 1, 2015
Don E Davis, Kenneth Rice, Joshua N Hook et al.
72 citations
Spirituality can involve a sense of closeness or connection with a theistic being, the transcendent, oneself, humanity, or nature, not just religious forms. Across four studies, the Sources of Spirituality (SOS) Scale was developed and validated to measure these distinct elements. Factor structure was consistent across undergraduate and community adult samples. Construct validity was supported by associations with religious commitment, attitudes toward the Sacred, and connection with nature. Latent profile analysis revealed five distinct patterns of spirituality based on the SOS subscales. The findings have implications for therapy and models of spirituality.
Journal of Counseling Psychology
July 25, 2019
Simon B. Goldberg, Cara Knoeppel, Richard J. Davidson et al.
71 citations
In mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), the quality of meditation practice—not just the amount of time spent—mediates improvements in self-reported mindfulness. Multilevel mediation models showed that better practice quality linked practice time to changes in mindfulness, suggesting that how one practices is a mechanism connecting practice duration with outcomes. The authors recommend future research on practice quality in clinical samples using intensive sampling methods and objective measures.
Journal of Counseling Psychology
March 1, 2024
Kevin M. Riordan, Otto Simonsson, Corrina Frye et al.
12 citations
A two-week compassion-based meditation program delivered via the Healthy Minds Program app was tested in undergraduates with elevated depression or anxiety (N=351). Participants were randomly assigned to either one 20-minute meditation per day or two 10-minute meditations per day. Both groups showed improvements in psychological distress, experiential avoidance, fear of missing out, loneliness, and self-compassion from before to after the intervention, and daily distress and loneliness also improved over time. No significant differences were found between the two dosing schedules on any measure. When total daily meditation time is equal, distributing practice into shorter sessions does not affect outcomes for distressed beginners.
Journal of Counseling Psychology
July 14, 2025
Zhenzhen Wang, Mo Chen, Amy Hu et al.
2 citations
Two randomized controlled trials tested whether cognitive flexibility—the ability to shift attention—explains how a mindfulness intervention reduces emotional distress. In Study 1, 607 highly distressed adults were assigned to an eight-week mindfulness program or a waitlist. In Study 2, 89 similar participants were assigned to the program or a control group. Both trials showed that the mindfulness program significantly improved anxiety, depression, and general distress. Changes in cognitive flexibility during the intervention statistically mediated later reductions in emotional distress. Specifically, shifting attention away from affective to nonaffective aspects of positive stimuli at week 5, and less shifting from negative to positive affective aspects at week 3, predicted greater distress relief at week 7. The findings indicate cognitive flexibility is a key mechanism of mindfulness-based intervention for emotional distress.