Mindfulness-based Attention Training

Mindfulness-based Attention Training (MBAT, Jha et al., 2020), is an 8-hour, 4-week mindfulness training course amendable to contextualization for a variety of high-demand, high-stress groups. MBAT’s overarching framework aims to promote optimization of performance and well-being in the face of demanding professional and/or personal circumstances that may be protracted over weeks and months. The program emphasizes the cultivation of mindfulness, “a mental mode characterized by attention to present moment experience without conceptual elaboration or emotional reactivity” (Jha et al., 2010) by engaging in reflection, discussion, and most critically, mindfulness practice exercises (15 minutes daily/3-4 days per week, for 4 weeks) that aim to strengthen attention, awareness, and connection. 

A series of federal and nonfederal grants and contracts have allowed us to refine MBAT, test its contextualization for a variety of groups nationally and internationally, and determine how it can be effectively delivered via train-the-trainer delivery as well as via a learning management system (LMS) as a web-course. To date, MBAT has been delivered to special (Zaneco et al., 2019) and conventional forces (e.g., Jha et al., 2020; Nassif et al., 2023) in the US and abroad (Roemer et al., 2023), military spouses (Denkova et al., 2021), firefighters (Denkova et al, 2020), corporate employees (Denkova et al., 2022), community leaders and teachers (Price et al., 2023), as well as medical students (Gunsilius et al., 2023). In many of these studies, MBAT was delivered by context-familiar trained trainers, after they participated in a 10-week (3 hours/per week) training practicum delivered in person (Price et al., 2023), hybrid (e.g., Nassif et al., 2023), or exclusively online (e.g., Smith et al., 2023). Across studies, MBAT has been found to result in a variety of beneficial effects including protection and strengthening in objective cognitive task performance (e.g., attention and working memory), operational performance, psychological resilience, and well-being. 

Core MBAT Advisory Board: LTG (R) Walter Piatt, COL (R) Michael Brumage, Sharon Salzberg, Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn

MBAT Senior Military Leader Advisory Board: LTG David Hodne, BG Maurice Barnett; LTG (R) Nadia West, LTG (R) James Campbell, LTG (R) Eric Schoomaker, CSM (R) Dr. Athea Green, LTG(R) Edward Cardon, COL (R) Michael Hosie, COL (R) Maurice Sipos, MAJ Michael McConville, SMA(R) Grinston, CDR (R) William MacNulty

MBAT Publications by the Jha Lab and Collaborators

Gutierrez, I. A., Bliese, P. D., Nassif, T. H., Smith, C. D., Jha, A. P., Adler, A. B. (2025). The Effect of a Mindfulness Training and Yoga Intervention on Unit Cohesion in the Military. Health Education & Behavior. https://doi.org/10.1177/10901981251358709

Jha, A. P., Izaguirre, M. K., & Adler, A. B. (2025). Mindfulness training in military settings: Emerging evidence and best-practice guidance – Current Psychiatry Reports. SpringerLink. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-025-01608-6

Gunsilius, C. Z., Price, M. M., Rogers, S. L., Flynn, E., & Jha, A. P. (2024). Paying attention to attention: a program evaluation of faculty-delivered mindfulness-based attention training to optimize wellness and professionalism in medical students. BMC medical education, 24(1), 182. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-024-05119-5

Nassif, T.H., Gutierrez, I.A., Smith, C.D., Jha, A.P., Adler, A.B. (2023). Bolstering Soldier Mental Health in Basic Combat Training with Mindfulness and Yoga: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Depression and Anxiety.https://doi.org/10.1155/2023/6869543

Smith, C., Gutierrez, I. A., Nassif, T. H., Jordan, K. L., Taylor, K. M., Jha, A. P., & Adler, A. B. (2023). Impact of Mindfulness Training and Yoga on Injury and Pain-Related Impairment: A Group Randomized Trial in Basic Combat Training. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, 1214039. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.121403

Nassif, T.H., Adrian, Gutierrez, I.A., A.C., Dixon, A., Rogers, S.L., Jha, A.P., Adler, A.B., (2023). Optimizing Performance and Mental Skills with Mindfulness-Based Attention Training: A Pilot Randomized Trial with Operational Units. Military Medicine. 188 (3/4), 761-770, https://doi.org/10.1093/milmed/usab380  

Price M, Zanesco A, Denkova E, Barry J, Rogers SL, & Jha A.P. (2023). Investigating the Protective Effects of Mindfulness-Based Attention Training on Mind Wandering in Applied Settings. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1232598

Denkova, E., Alessio, C., Barry, J., Zanesco, A.P., Rogers, S.L., & Jha, A.P. (2022). Mindfulness training in organizational settings: An empirical look at the research. In L. Wilkin and Y. Pathak, De Gruyter Handbook of Organizational Conflict Management. De Gruyter. 

Jha, A. P., Zanesco, A. P., Denkova, E., MacNaulty, W., & Rogers., S. L. (2021). The effects of mindfulness training on working memory performance in high-demand cohorts: a multi-study investigation. Journal of Cognitive Enhancement. 6, 192–204. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41465–02100228–1

Denkova, E., Barry, J., Slavin, L., Zanesco, A. P., Rogers, S.L., & Jha, A.P. (2021). Investigating the impact of peer-trainer delivered mindfulness training on cognitive abilities and psychological health. Mindfulness, 12, 2645–2661. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671–021–01713–6

Jha, A. P., Zanesco, A. P., Denkova, E., Morrison, A. B., Ramos, N., Chichester, K., Gaddy, J., & Rogers, S. (2020). Bolstering cognitive resilience via train-the-trainer delivery of mindfulness training in applied high-demand settings. Mindfulness, 11, 683–697. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671–019–01284–7   

Denkova, E., Zanesco, A. P., Rogers, S. L., & Jha, A. P. (2020). Is resilience trainable? An initial study comparing mindfulness and relaxation training in firefighters. Psychiatry Research, 285, 112794 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2020.112794

Zanesco, A. P., Denkova, E., Rogers, S. L., MacNulty, W. K., & Jha, A. P. (2019). Mindfulness training as cognitive training in high-demand cohorts: An initial study in elite military servicemembers. Progress in Brain Research, 244, 323-354. https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.pbr.2018.10.001

 MBAT Publications by other Research Teams

Roemer, A., Sutton, A., Grimm, C., Kimber, S., & Medvedev, O. N. (2023). Mindfulness-Based Attention Training in the Navy: A Feasibility Study. Psychological reports, 332941231154442. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/00332941231154442

Ihme, K. R. M., & Sundstrom, P. (2021). The mindful shield: The effects of mindfulness training on resilience and leadership in military leaders. Perspectives in psychiatric care, 57(2), 675–688. https://doi.org/10.1111/ppc.12594

Additional Resources

  1. 2025 Review paper on Military Mindfulness by Drs. Jha, Izaguirre, and Adler
  2. American Psychological Association (APA) Monitor discussed military mindfulness
  3. US Army War College’s War Room article on their Mindfulness course elective
  4. Dr. Amishi Jha Pentagon Talk
  5. Dr. Amishi Jha and LTG (R) Walter Piatt—Interview with Anderson Cooper
  6. Dr. Amishi Jha and LTG(R) Eric Schoomaker—Talks at Google
  7. Dr. Amishi Jha and LTG(R) Walter Piatt—NYU Interview with David Gelles 
  8. “Zero the Mind” Mindful Magazine
  9. Dr. Amishi Jha, LTG Walter Piatt, and Congressman Tim Ryan at Mindful Magazine Webinar 
  10. Ten Percent Happier with Dan Harris with Amishi Jha and LTG Walter Piatt (Podcast audio)
  11. News at the U: UMindfulness Lecture by LTG Walter Piatt 
  12. 3-minute Mindfulness Practice Guided by LTG Walter Piatt
  13. The Jha Lab study on Mindfulness Training in Special Operations Forces—NY Times
  14. Quick Guide| Mindfulness: Boosting your capacity under stress
  15. COVID-19| Mindfulness: Boosting your capacity under stress
  16. Investigator Dispatch: Resilience and maximizing potential
  17. Mindfulness Podcast: WRAIR Minds
  18. Leading with Attention: Mindfulness Takes Hold as Army
  19. Being ‘mindful’ improves readiness, says director of Army Staff
  20. Dr. Amishi Jha & LTG (R) Eric Schoomaker Talks@Google, Mindfulness and Military Medicine