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Joseph Wielgosz

Dissemination and Training Division, VA National Center for PTSD.

2 papers in the library · 449 citations · publishing 2018-2025

Papers

Mindfulness Meditation and Psychopathology

Annual Review of Clinical Psychology December 11, 2018 Joseph Wielgosz, Simon B. Goldberg, Tammi R. A. Kral et al. 441 citations

Mindfulness meditation is increasingly used in mental health interventions and has influenced basic research on psychopathology. This review examines mindfulness meditation through clinical neuroscience, linking its core capacities to cognitive and affective constructs from the National Institute of Mental Health's Research Domain Criteria. Effective applications are noted for depression, anxiety, chronic pain, and substance abuse, with emerging work on attention disorders, traumatic stress, dysregulated eating, and serious mental illness. Priorities for future research include identifying mechanisms, refining methods, and improving implementation. Mindfulness meditation shows promise for interventions, especially for psychiatric comorbidity, and its successes and challenges offer lessons for integrating contemplative traditions with clinical science.

Clinical benefits of self-guided mindfulness coach mobile app use for veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder: A pilot randomized control trial.

Psychological trauma : theory, research, practice and policy July 1, 2025 Joseph Wielgosz, Robyn D Walser, Eric Kuhn et al. 8 citations

A pilot randomized trial tested a free, publicly available mobile app called Mindfulness Coach (MC) tailored to veterans with PTSD. Among 173 U.S. veterans, those assigned to self-guided use of the app showed medium reductions in PTSD symptoms and depression after eight weeks compared with a waitlist control group, but no change in psychosocial functioning. Higher-intensity users experienced greater benefits. App engagement was lower for women and minoritized subpopulations. Study attrition was high (68.4%), but diagnostic tests indicated no bias from missing data. Usability and helpfulness ratings were favorable. The findings suggest MC holds promise as a public health resource for veterans with PTSD, though further study is needed to confirm benefits and ensure consistent engagement across groups.