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

IF 1.2 Q3 PSYCHOLOGY, CLINICAL Counselling & Psychotherapy Research Pub Date : 2025-02-12 DOI:10.1002/capr.12893

Helen Z. MacDonald, Madeline Bradley, Tracy Neville

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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.

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来源期刊

Counselling & Psychotherapy Research PSYCHOLOGY, CLINICAL-

CiteScore

4.40

自引率

12.50%

发文量

期刊介绍： Counselling and Psychotherapy Research is an innovative international peer-reviewed journal dedicated to linking research with practice. Pluralist in orientation, the journal recognises the value of qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods strategies of inquiry and aims to promote high-quality, ethical research that informs and develops counselling and psychotherapy practice. CPR is a journal of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy, promoting reflexive research strongly linked to practice. The journal has its own website: www.cprjournal.com. The aim of this site is to further develop links between counselling and psychotherapy research and practice by offering accessible information about both the specific contents of each issue of CPR, as well as wider developments in counselling and psychotherapy research. The aims are to ensure that research remains relevant to practice, and for practice to continue to inform research development.