What is Mindfulness-Based College for Young Adults (MB-College)?
MB-College is an 8-week, evidence-based course designed to support the distinct experiences and challenges of emerging adults aged 18-29 years.
What Can I Learn in a Mindfulness for Young Adults Course?
Mindfulness-Based College for Young Adults (MB-College) was developed by Dr. Eric Loucks, Director of the Mindfulness Center at Brown University, and specifically designed to support the distinct experiences and challenges of emerging adults aged 18-29 years. Integrating Dr. Loucks’ research on mindfulness and his experience teaching college students, MB-College provides valuable tools and resources to support this challenging period of adult life.
In MB-College, participants are encouraged to explore their personal readiness for change in various health-related behaviors. The program emphasizes the use of mindfulness practices to engage with these chosen behaviors, fostering a deeper understanding of their impact on overall well-being.
What are the Benefits of a Mindfulness for Young Adults?
MB-College helps young adults cultivate mindfulness and self-awareness in areas that directly impact their well-being, including diet, exercise, alcohol use, stress, sleep, social connections, and performance. Through targeted mindfulness modules and biofeedback, participants develop practical skills in meditation, mindful movement, attention control, and emotional regulation. Grounded in the MBSR curriculum, MB-College not only builds a strong foundation in mindfulness but also helps participants apply these skills to make healthier, more intentional choices in their daily lives.
Who is Mindfulness for Young Adults for?
This course is specifically designed to meet the unique challenges for emerging adults aged 18-29. While tailored to the experiences of emerging adults, those outside this age range are welcome to attend to gain insight into the challenges of this life stage on a case-by case basis.
Pay-It-Forward
This is an opportunity to support those with limited resources, making courses accessible to those that cannot pay the standard rate. Paying at this level is an act of generosity.
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Standard Rate
The standard rate covers the costs of these courses, making it possible for MHI to continue to offer them.
Scholarship
This rate is available for those who cannot afford to pay the standard rate. We ask you to use this rate only if paying the higher rate creates a hardship for yourself and/or your family.
Course pricing is set to allow for generosity while meeting individuals needs. We encourage you to pay as much as you can afford and we appreciate your care and thoughtfulness when deciding.
Payment plans are available at checkout. See our refund policy.
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Upcoming MB-College Courses
June 10 to August 12, 2025 - Instructor Katie Morales and Sarah Gouveia
Live Online via Zoom, Orientation: Tuesday, June 3, 12:00pm - 2:30pm (ET), Classes: Tuesdays, June 10, 17, 24, July 8, 15, 22, August 5, 12, Times: 12:00pm - 2:30pm (ET), All-Day: Saturday, July 19, 9:00am - 4:00pm (ET)
Don't see dates/times that work for you? Or are classes for this course closed?
Please join the MB-College (18-29) waitlist to be notified when a new course is available.
What is the Weekly Overview of Mindfulness-Based College for Young Adults (MB-College)?
The MB-College curriculum presented here serves as a general overview and is subject to potential modifications based on the unique needs, insights, and discussions that may arise during class.
Orientation: Introduce program aims, mindfulness practice, health factors, and logistics.
Week 1: Introducing mindfulness, history of mindfulness and MBSR, self-regulation, and mindful practices.
Week 2: Perception, creative responding, stress appraisal, and self-responsibility for health changes.
Week 3: Present moment pleasure and power, conditioned responses and beliefs, mindfulness integration, and curious, non-judgmental awareness.
Week 4: How conditioned ways of thinking, perceptions, and cognitive distortions shape experiences, mindfulness as a tool to respond vs react.
Week 5: Investigating coping strategies, interrupting conditioned behaviors with mindful responses.
Week 6: Interpersonal mindfulness, communication patterns, and cognitive flexibility.
All-Day Session: Intensive mindfulness practice to effectively establish skills for use beyond program completion.
Week 7: Reflecting on lifestyle choices, identifying self-nourishing vs maladaptive choices.
Week 8: Sustaining meditation, reviewing the program, and ongoing growth.
What is the Science and Research on Mindfulness-Based College for Young Adults (MB-College)?
In recent years, researchers have proposed the existence of a unique phase of life called emerging adulthood, occurring between the ages of 18 and 29. This stage is distinct from both adolescence and young adulthood, characterized by its own set of challenges, experiences, and developmental milestones (Arnett, 2015). Developed by Dr. Eric Loucks, Mindfulness-Based College (MB-College) is based on the manualized and standardized Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) curriculum developed by Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn. It is designed to teach emerging adults how to integrate and apply mindfulness in their everyday lives. MB-College builds a foundation of mindfulness skills and attitudes (e.g. attentional control, self-awareness, Attitudinal Foundations) through the MBSR curriculum (Kabat-Zinn, 2013), and then directs participants’ attention toward their relationship with a number of health-related factors relevant in emerging adulthood, including physical activity, diet, sleep, stress, identity, social relationships, substance use, and their impact on health, mortality, and academic/work transition and success (Arnett, 2015; Lasgaard et al., 2016; Qualter et al., 2015; “Substance Abuse,” 2018; Loucks et al., 2021).
Randomized controlled trials have shown that mindfulness programs delivered to emerging adults significantly improve depressive and anxiety symptoms (Bamber & Schneider, 2016; O'Driscoll et al., 2017). Additionally, participants who specifically completed the MB-College program reported reductions in perceived stress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms compared to a control group. MB-College also led to improvements in mindfulness, self-compassion, and positive engagement in chosen health behaviors (Loucks et al., 2021). Given that overwhelming stress and increasing mental health issues appear to be a prevalent concern among individuals aged 18 to 34, as evidenced by recent studies from the American Psychological Association (2022), the need for effective interventions like MB-College is becoming even more crucial for this demographic. By acknowledging the challenges faced by emerging adults and offering evidence-based solutions, tools, and resources, MB-College can foster their growth and resilience.
Sources Cited
- American Psychological Association (2022). Stress in America. https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/stress/2022/concerned-future-inflation
- Arnett, J. J. (2015). Emerging Adulthood: The Winding Road from the Late Teens Through the Twenties. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
- Bamber, M. D., & Schneider, J. K. (2016). Mindfulness-based meditation to decrease stress and anxiety in college students: A narrative synthesis of the research. Educational Research Review, 18: 1-32. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2015.12.004
- Lasgaard, M., Friis, K., & Shevlin, M. (2016). "Where are all the lonely people?" A population-based study of high-risk groups across the life span. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol, 51(10): 1373-1384. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-016-1279-3
- Loucks, E. B., Nardi, W. R., Gutman, R., Saadeh, F. B., Li, Y., et al. (2021). Mindfulness-Based College: A Stage 1 Randomized Controlled Trial for University Student Well-Being. Psychosom Med, 83(6): 602–614. https://doi.org/10.1097%2FPSY.0000000000000860
- O'Driscoll, M., Byrne, S., McGillicuddy, A., Lambert, S., & Sahm, L. J. (2017). The effects of mindfulness-based interventions for health and social care undergraduate students - a systematic review of the literature. Psychol Health Med, 22(7): 851-865. https://doi.org/10.1080/13548506.2017.1280178
- Qualter, P., Vanhalst, J., Harris, R., Van Roekel, E., Lodder, G., et al. (2015). Loneliness across the life span. Perspect Psychol Sci, 10(2): 250-264. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691615568999
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (2018). Results from the 2017 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: Detailed Tables. Retrieved from https://www.samhsa.gov/data/sites/default/files/cbhsq-reports/NSDUHDetailedTabs2017/NSDUHDetailedTabs2017.pdf
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