Supported Mindful Learning (SMiLe)

We are collaborating with Dr. Rebecca Silton in the Loyola WELL lab, Dr. Jenna Duffecy from UIC, and the science team at Headspace, to run an 8-week intervention for college students with depression.  The intervention entails using Headspace, an online/mobile application delivering brief, guided, themed mindfulness activities, and connecting with a small peer group online (thorough a hidden, private Facebook group) to give and receive encouragement and support.  We will examine the effects of the intervention on various outcomes, as well as moderation and mediation relationships among them:  

• Distress: depression, anxiety, positive and negative affect, emodiversity

• Positive well-being: savoring, happiness, spirituality

• Skills and strategies: mindfulness, rumination, self-regulatory self-efficacy

• Relational skills and styles: social connectedness, prosocial tendencies, empathy, compassion and self-compassion

• Participants’ goals, motivations, engagement, and perceived supportive accountability via the online peer groups

Graduate students oversee participant screening/eligibility, manage participant activity, administer and collect assessment data (at pre, post, and follow-up time-points), and monitor/facilitate the online peer group.