Mindfulness therapy for adults with serious mental illness at community clinics
Official title: Evaluating the Effectiveness of Mindfulness-Based Therapy for SMI Implemented in a Community Mental Health Setting
Funded at Butler Hospital (Providence, Ri) · NIH-11270842 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project is seeing whether mindfulness-based therapy helps adults with serious mental illness when it is offered at community mental health centers.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Butler Hospital (Providence, Ri) NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Providence, United States) |
| Project start | February 3, 2025 |
| Project end | December 31, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $710,634 |
| NIH project number | 5R01MH136540-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11270842 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults age 21 or older diagnosed with a serious mental illness (for example, schizophrenia-spectrum disorders or major mood disorders) who receive care at participating community mental health centers.
✕Less likely to help
People younger than 21, those not treated at participating community mental health centers, or individuals for whom mindfulness interventions are clinically inappropriate may not be eligible or benefit.
What this research studies
You would be offered a structured mindfulness-based therapy program delivered at your local community mental health center, with clinicians who have completed a certified MBT training program. Researchers will track changes in symptoms, daily functioning, and any adverse effects before and after the program. The team will also study how well the therapy can be integrated into routine clinic care and what supports clinicians need to keep offering it. The work focuses on adults with schizophrenia-spectrum or major mood disorders treated in U.S. community mental health settings.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could give people with serious mental illness a proven therapy option they can get at local community clinics to improve symptoms and functioning.
How similar studies have gone: Previous trials in the United Kingdom have shown that mindfulness-based therapy can improve symptoms and functioning in community outpatients with serious mental illness, but it has not been widely tested in U.S. community mental health centers.
Where this research is happening
-
Butler Hospital (Providence, Ri)
Providence, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Gaudiano, Brandon a — Butler Hospital (Providence, Ri)
- Study coordinator: Gaudiano, Brandon a
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.