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‘A Light in the Whole Darkness of Zoom’: A Qualitative Examination of College Students' Experiences in an Online Mindfulness‐Based Intervention

Helen Z. MacDonald, Madeline Bradley, Tracy Neville

Counselling and Psychotherapy Research February 12, 2025 DOI: 10.1002/capr.12893 (opens in new tab)

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Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Qualitative study Randomized Peer reviewed
Sample size 9
Population College students
Duration Fall 2020 COVID-19 pandemic lockdown
Topics Meditation
Keywords Intervention counseling Zoom Qualitative research Medical education Psychotherapist Optics
Citations 2
Key findings College students reported both advantages and challenges of participating in an online mindfulness-based stress reduction intervention during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Abstract

ABSTRACT Background Mindfulness‐Based Interventions (MBIs), including those administered online, have demonstrated efficacy in promoting mental health among college students. Few studies, however, have examined participants' lived experiences of engaging in these interventions when administered online.

Method: The current qualitative study investigated nine college students' experiences of participating in a randomised controlled trial of an online adaptation of mindfulness‐based stress reduction, a group intervention administered during the fall 2020 COVID‐19 pandemic lockdown. Data were analysed using thematic analysis.

Results: Two themes and eight subthemes were identified. The first theme centred on advantages of the intervention's online modality. The college student participants described greater comfort, a strong instructor, broadened social connections and enhanced community in the context of the online intervention. The second theme surrounded challenges of the intervention's online format, and subthemes included environmental distractions, impersonal modality, difficulty connecting with others and technology issues.

Conclusion: The COVID‐19 pandemic underscored the need for health promotion programmes specifically targeting college students; online MBIs may increase access to these interventions. Promoting the strengths and addressing the limitations of online MBIs among this population are essential as this modality of treatment becomes more widely employed across college campuses.

Comparable studies

Other qualitative studies on meditation, most cited first.

Study Year Design Participants
The varieties of contemplative experience: A mixed-methods study of meditation-related challenges in Western Buddhists Western Buddhist meditation practitioners and experts in Theravāda, Zen, and Tibetan... 2017 Qualitative study with mixed-methods
The Effects of Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction on Nurse Stress and Burnout Nurses in a hospital system 2004 Implementation study with mixed methods
An exploratory mixed methods study of the acceptability and effectiveness of mindfulness -based cognitive therapy for patients with active depression and anxiety in primary care Primary care patients with recurrent depression or recurrent depression and anxiety 2006 Exploratory mixed methods study n = 13
A qualitative study of mindfulness‐based cognitive therapy for depression Participants in mindfulness-based cognitive therapy in a mental-health context 2001 Qualitative study n = 7
Effortless awareness: using real time neurofeedback to investigate correlates of posterior cingulate cortex activity in meditators' self-report Meditators 2013 Qualitative study using grounded theory methodology

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