JMIR Mental Health
November 27, 2020
Simon B. Goldberg, Ted Imhoff‐Smith, Daniel M. Bolt et al.
104 citations
An eight-week randomized controlled trial tested two versions of a self-guided smartphone-based meditation app, the Healthy Minds Program, against a waitlist control. One version combined mindfulness with practices for positive relationships; the other combined mindfulness with insight into the self. Among 343 randomized adults without extensive meditation experience, both app conditions led to larger improvements in psychological distress, social connectedness, and mindfulness compared to the control group, with effect sizes ranging from small to moderate. The two app versions did not differ from each other. Improvements in distress were linked to days of app use. The study provides initial evidence that the app can reduce distress and enhance well-being.
JMIR Mental Health
April 28, 2023
Sin U Lam, Qiang Xie, Simon B. Goldberg
29 citations
Among US adults who have ever meditated, more than half (58.8%) have used a meditation app at least once, and 21.7% use one weekly or daily. Younger age, higher anxiety, and a mental health motivation for meditating were linked to having used a meditation app. Active users were younger, less likely to be men or non-Latinx White, had lower income, and were more likely to have started meditating for spiritual reasons. Concerns about cost, effectiveness, time, technical issues, and user-friendliness were more common among app users. Desired features include practice tips, reminders, mini-practices, and mental health content, while social features were less popular. Headspace and Calm were the most used apps.
JMIR Mental Health
November 21, 2024
Francesca Malandrone, Sara Urru, Paola Berchialla et al.
8 citations
Patients with cancer who engaged in a wider variety of internet-based mindfulness practices experienced greater reductions in depression, anxiety, and stress than those who practiced more frequently but with less variety. Among 107 patients (68 women with breast cancer, 38 men with prostate cancer), a high correlation (0.94) was found between diverse and sustained mindfulness practices and symptom reduction. Male, married, and highly educated patients were more likely to engage in mindfulness. Dispositional mindfulness and self-compassion did not affect how much or how diversely patients practiced, but higher baseline levels of these traits were associated with larger reductions in psychological distress. The variety of practice, not just the amount, appears crucial for symptom relief.
JMIR Mental Health
June 12, 2024
Camrie Kerry, Prabhdeep Mann, Nazanin Babaei et al.
4 citations
Web-based mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (CBT-M) shows promise for treating body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), a condition where individuals obsess over perceived flaws in appearance. In an 8-week pilot trial with 28 adults, both CBT-M and standard web-based CBT led to significant improvements in BDD symptoms, depression, and pain, with large effect sizes: BDD severity (d=-0.96), depression (d=-1.06), and pain interference (d=-1.28). While no significant differences emerged between groups, mindfulness may enhance the benefits of internet-delivered CBT for BDD.
JMIR Mental Health
July 7, 2025
Michael Bowen, Michael Beam, Joakim Semb et al.
2 citations
A large-scale digital experiment on the Spotify mobile app tested whether messages addressing specific barriers to meditation could encourage people to try meditation. Among approximately 1.33 million U.S. adults aged 18 and older, the most effective message—which countered the barrier that meditation requires being alone in a quiet place—had a click-through rate 1.57 times higher and an activation rate 1.55 times higher than a control message with no barrier-focused content. The least effective message, targeting knowledge barriers, performed worse than the control, with a click-through rate odds ratio of 0.91 and activation rate odds ratio of 0.66. After seven days, engagement differences between conditions largely disappeared. Theory-driven messaging can boost initial interest but may not sustain long-term behavior change.
JMIR Mental Health
May 13, 2025
Meysam Pirbaglou, Christo El Morr, Farah Ahmad et al.
2 citations
An 8-week online mindfulness and cognitive-behavioral therapy program for students reduced depression, anxiety, and perceived stress while improving quality of life compared to a waitlist control. The intervention's benefits were partly explained by increased mindful non-reactivity—the ability to let thoughts and feelings pass without reacting—which then reduced anxiety and depression, which in turn lowered stress and improved quality of life. Direct effects showed depression scores dropped by 1.65 points, anxiety by 3.29 points, perceived stress by 2.28 points, and quality of life rose by 4.07 points, all statistically significant. The findings highlight mindful non-reactivity as a key mechanism driving improvements.
JMIR Mental Health
June 12, 2026
Polina Beloborodova, Lillian M. Smith, Kevin M. Riordan et al.
About 28% of distressed college students and 10% of distressed US adults reported at least one adverse experience during a digital meditation program, but rates did not differ between those who completed guided meditations and those who did not, suggesting the experiences were not caused by meditation itself. Higher baseline depression, anxiety, loneliness, experiential avoidance, and perceived barriers to meditation predicted more adverse experiences. Among those reporting adverse experiences, roughly 90% were glad to have learned to meditate. Participants used diverse coping strategies, often drawing on skills taught in the program. The findings indicate that adverse experiences during meditation training may reflect preexisting distress rather than iatrogenic harm.
JMIR Mental Health
December 3, 2025
Alexandre Hudon, Emmanuel Stip
Sustained engagement with conversational AI may trigger or amplify psychotic experiences in vulnerable individuals, not as a new diagnosis but through mechanisms involving stress, altered theory of mind, and uncritical validation. AI acts as a novel psychosocial stressor, increasing allostatic load and disturbing sleep. The digital therapeutic alliance can be a double-edged mediator: empathic design supports adherence, but uncritical validation may entrench delusional conviction. Disturbances in theory of mind lead individuals to project intentionality onto AI, creating a 'digital folie à deux.' Emerging risk factors include loneliness, trauma, schizotypal traits, and nocturnal AI use. The paper advances a research agenda with five domains, including empirical studies, digital phenomenology, therapeutic design safeguards, ethical governance, and environmental cognitive remediation.
JMIR Mental Health
December 2, 2020
P. Ritvo, F. Ahmad, Christo El Morr et al.
An 8-week online Mindfulness Virtual Community program, combining mindfulness and cognitive behavioral therapy principles, was tested against a wait-list control in 154 undergraduates during a university labor strike. The program produced a statistically significant reduction in perceived stress but did not significantly reduce depression or anxiety, nor improve mindfulness, compared to the control group. The authors discuss how these null results for most outcomes contrast with two prior trials conducted during normal university operations, and suggest the findings offer insight into the impact of campus disruptions on online mental health interventions.
JMIR Mental Health
June 17, 2020
Christo El Morr, P. Ritvo, F. Ahmad et al.
An 8-week web-based mindfulness and cognitive behavioral therapy program called Mindfulness Virtual Community (MVC) reduced depression and anxiety symptoms in undergraduate students compared with a waitlist control group, but had no significant effect on perceived stress. The program included video modules, discussion forums, and live videoconferences. Among 159 students, those in the MVC group showed a statistically significant decrease in depression scores and anxiety scores, and a significant increase in mindfulness scores. The findings suggest that online mindfulness interventions can help address common mental health conditions in university populations at scale.