Publication Date
2011
Document Type
Dissertation
Committee Members
Jeffrey Allen (Committee Member), Daniela Burnworth (Committee Member), Robert Rando (Committee Chair)
Degree Name
Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)
Abstract
The current generation of college students, the Millennials (Howe & Strauss, 2000, 2007) lead highly pressured and achievement-oriented lives. Along with generational changes, change is occurring on university campuses, especially in terms of mental health demographics. There is an increase in the severity of presenting concerns reported by students as seen at counseling centers (Gallagher, 2008), and more students with existing mental health diagnoses are seeking college admissions (Gallagher, 2009). Changes in the current college student generation and socio-cultural changes underscore the need for an effective stress-reduction program for university students. Mindfulness-based interventions have received attention from researchers and clinicians. The current dissertation modifies the traditional Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (Kabat-Zinn, 1990) to propose a new format for facilitating a mindfulness group suited for beginning meditators within the Millennial college student population. In addition to emphasizing flexibility of the group program, the handbook includes information on conducting pre-group screening, debriefing, assessment of members' mindfulness skills, and allied mindfulness practices such as Tai chi and Qigong. Future directions include gathering empirical support for the proposed format and including practices suitable for college students with severe psychological concerns.
Page Count
189
Department or Program
School of Professional Psychology
Year Degree Awarded
2012
Copyright
Copyright 2011, all rights reserved. This open access ETD is published by Wright State University and OhioLINK.
