Date of Award

Fall 11-21-2025

Document Type

Doctoral Research Paper

Degree Name

Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology

Organizational Unit

Graduate School of Professional Psychology

First Advisor

R. Colby Rogers

Second Advisor

Shelly Smith-Acuña

Third Advisor

Ryan Landoll

Copyright Statement / License for Reuse

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Keywords

Mindfulness, Cultural awareness, Army, Education, Training

Abstract

This doctoral paper examines cost-effective, easily distributed mindfulness practices as a force-multiplier for psychological readiness in the U.S. Army. Daily mindfulness reduces symptom burden, raises distress tolerance, and sharpens performance—all without added equipment, appointments, or cost. However, stigma, long waitlists, and civilian-centric messaging still deter soldiers from adapting mindfulness practices. Rather than replacing clinicians, the program functions as preventive maintenance and a bridge while soldiers await care, thereby easing load on an overtaxed system. By embedding mental fitness alongside physical PT, the Army can advance its mandate to “deploy, fight, and win” with forces that are both mentally and physically ready. The findings provide a scalable template for integrating low-burden mental readiness training across the force. Drawing on the lived experience of focus group participants, this project introduces mindfulness framed in culturally appropriate military language.

Copyright Date

7-30-2025

Publication Statement

Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.

Rights Holder

Katherine Dutler (Skowronski)

Provenance

Received from author

File Format

application/pdf

Language

English (eng)

Extent

51 pgs

File Size

406 KB

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