Project Advisor: Shelley R. Adler, PhD | Director, UCSF Osher Center
UCSF Osher Center Project Leads: Kennedy M. Blevins, PhD, Nichole Proffitt, SEP, CMT-P, Selena Chan, DO
Brief Project Description:
Seventy percent of adults globally report at least one trauma experience (Benjet, et al., 2016). Typically mindfulness-based programs focus on re-establishing a sense of safety following trauma (Herman, 1992). However, there is a need for programs focused on trauma recovery (Kelly & Garland, 2017) that integrate psychotherapeutic and mindfulness approaches (Willison, et al., 2020).
Mindful HEART is an innovative 5-week public course designed for individuals in recovery stages of trauma. The program’s development—from conceptualization to delivery—has been shaped by UCSF Osher Center MBSR participant feedback and integrative health expertise of a mindfulness instructor, somatic experiencing practitioner, and integrative psychiatrist.
The overarching aim of this project is research on the development process of the Mindful HEART program from an IHE framework, refined and validated through co-creation with participants navigating trauma recovery. We will recruit Mindful HEART students to participate in post-course interviews, informing development of the second course offering.
Brief Statement on Feasibility and Anticipated Impact:
Feasibility: The project work aligns with the grant period (July 2025- June 2026). Mindful HEART’s infrastructure is already in place, with the fully enrolledinitial (pilot) course running May-June 2025. A growing waitlist indicates strong demand, supporting future study recruitment. The FY26 evaluation plan focuses on the second course, using qualitative and mixed-methods centering participant perspectives for refinement. In support of the evaluation and validation of Mindful HEART, Public Classes has awarded a full scholarship to Dr. Blevins to join the May-June pilot.
Impact: This research is strengthened by the team’s diverse integrative health equity expertise,spanning research and education evaluation, experiential group programming, and direct care of individuals in trauma recovery. The proposed project contributes to the Osher Center’s broader trauma-recovery efforts while building professional and personal communities of wellbeing. This effort can help assess potential pathways for clinical integration, instructor training, and future research across Osher Center programs.
Total Budget Requested: $15,000
Comments
This is sounds like a great
This is sounds like a great project to diversify, extend, and enhance offerings at Osher for important populations!
Curious if the Mindful HEART program is structured to have similar groups (e.g., women, men, by race/ethnicity, age, etc.) in class with each other, or is it more that folks are in recovery from trauma? Also, would the funding requested through this grant be aimed at running a second course of Mindful HEART, or be focused on conducting a mixed methods evaluation of the pilot course that's running now to inform the second and/or future iteration(s) of Mindful HEART?
Thank you Dorothy for your
Thank you Dorothy for your support and thoughtful question. The later of your comment is our plan -- to use funding to conduct a mixed methods evaluation of the Mindful HEART program. Participants from the pilot program will be invited to participate in focus groups, which will inform the next and future itterations of the Mindful HEART program. Further program evaluation will be coducted on the second iteration of the Mindful HEART program with existing feedback in mind.
The Mindful HEART program was created to be open access for those self-identified trauma recovery based on Osher MBSR and other public class participant feedback stating a need for this type of programing. We will definitely consider participants' thoughts and feelings around specitic affinity groups during the evaluation stage.