WKU Counseling Center launches four-session virtual MBSR program for students

Western Kentucky University’s Counseling Center launched a condensed virtual Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program for students on Feb. 19, 2026, offering four Zoom sessions and a one-month daily-practice commitment. The listing frames the series as a short, student-tailored version of MBSR and sets clear practice expectations: at least 10 minutes of meditation per day and roughly one hour of weekly reading from Jon Kabat-Zinn’s Wherever You Go There You Are.

WKU’s program description positions the offering within established MBSR language: “This is a shortened version of the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program for college students. MBSR is an evidence-based group program for adults to cultivate mindfulness and develop mindfulness-based skills to cope with various life stressors effectively for a wide range of physical and mental health benefits.” The Counseling Center lists specific potential outcomes the program aims to support, including reduced stress reactions, lowered blood pressure and heart rate, enhanced attention and concentration, management of anxiety, prevention of recurrent depression, and improvement of eating habits.

The Counseling Center’s event copy details the structure and expectations for participants: “We will meet via Zoom for 4 sessions to deepen our understanding of mindfulness, practice mindfulness-based skills and meditation together, and support one another in building our ‘mindfulness muscle’ (in our brains!) by daily practice for a month.” The listing also states that “Attendance to all 4 sessions, some readings from the textbook (Wherever You Go There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation In Everyday Life by Jon Kabat-Zinn, about 1 hour weekly), and practice of mindfulness-based skills/meditation at home (at least 10 minutes daily) are strongly encouraged to receive the full benefits of this program.”

The WKU Herald coverage referenced the program as a condensed virtual series in which students “will learn about stress management and take part in mindfulness and meditation, all guided by” but the excerpt of that article provided with the program announcement was truncated and did not include facilitator names or credentials. The Counseling Center’s online description supplied no instructor name, no session dates or times, and no registration or cost details in the excerpts reviewed.

Those logistical gaps leave open key questions for students weighing enrollment: who will lead the sessions, when the four Zoom meetings will take place, how to register, and whether sessions will be recorded or limited in capacity. As presented, the Counseling Center has packaged a ready-to-use short MBSR pathway for WKU students this semester, four Zoom gatherings, daily micro-practice, and a Jon Kabat-Zinn reading plan, pending publication of facilitator and registration details to complete the offering.