Well-being and the HM App Pilot (WHAP) Study

Well-being and the Healthy Minds App Pilot (WHAP) Study

There is no single definition of well-being, but consensus exists that positive functioning beyond the absence of detrimental mental health symptoms is central. Building on related "eudaimonic" frameworks of psychological flourishing that identify qualities like environmental mastery, positive relations with others, and personal growth, this study targets brain-based skills that underlie the active cultivation of such qualities (e.g., regulating attention, empathic care, mental flexibility), and thus offers straightforward hypotheses about mechanisms of change.

The Healthy Minds Program (HMP) is designed to promote and protect psychological well-being through sustainable skills training. The program is grounded in constituents of psychological well-being identified in empirical literature. HMP provides core content, with instruction administered through a curriculum of high-quality guided practices. HMP is based on research on eudaimonic well-being (e.g., environmental mastery, purpose) and brain-based skills that underlie these qualities (e.g., regulation of attention, mental flexibility). HMP practices address 4 constituents of well-being: awareness, connection, insight, and purpose. This pilot focuses on awareness, connection, and insight.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Between the age of 18-65

Exclusion Criteria:

• Individuals under 18 or over 65
• Significant meditation experience (as defined below):
• Meditation retreat experience (meditation retreat or yoga/body practice retreat with significant meditation component).
• Regular meditation practice weekly for over 1 year OR daily practice within the previous 6 months.
• Previous practice under the instruction of a meditation teacher, other than in the context of an introductory course.