Master Lectures: Mindfulness Training in High Demand, Time-Pressured Real-world Settings: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

The science and practice of mindfulness-based interventions have witnessed exponential growth in recent years with applications in diverse settings, including health care, education, the workplace, sports, and the military. Such expansion raises complex and engaging questions. This lecture will discuss efforts to offer short-form mindfulness training programs contextualized for various high demand, time-pressured groups. Three key questions will be discussed. 1. What are the key cognitive vulnerabilities in such groups? 2. Is short-form mindfulness training protective against these vulnerabilities? 3. If so, how can training delivery be made both scalable and sustainable? Our ongoing results suggest that there is promise. Yet, considerable challenges remain regarding research and implementation. Possible solutions will be discussed.