Table 4.

Primary themes and sample responses about participants’ experience of mindfulness training from the anonymous program satisfaction survey

Theme	Sample Responses
Group content
Curriculum	I really enjoyed meditating and the deep breathing exercises. I even loved learning about other techniques like RAIN Learning to be still, the breathing moments and the useful handouts they provided They never did explain how or why meditation helps. Tie every mindful lesson to the ‘why’ for veterans
Practical applications	A good skill to learn and apply to help with stress, anxiety, depression, and other distressing emotions and behaviors The one thing that I will take away would be the grounding stone. I was able to use it to focus my energy and attention whenever I become irritable or angry
New coping skills
Emotional regulation	I have learned skills that can allow me to calm down and respond rather than react I liked how I learned good techniques to be able to compensate and de-escalate myself I believe that learning to slow down my reactions to things that upset or anger me will really help to start rebuilding relationships with my family and friends
Nonjudgement	I liked learning about how to recognize my emotions and allow them to be, without judging myself or trying so hard not to feel certain ways The meditation process helped me to stop judging myself
Logistics
Time/frequency/length	I loved the mindfulness portion of this program, I just wish it did not last so long at the end of the day [when] I was already tired I felt that the time for MBRT should be changed. I felt that it was quite a bit at the end of the day and could have benefitted from it more at the beginning to the day to assist me in starting my day and getting in the right mindset I found this to be a little longer than it needed to be… 45 min [would be] plenty of time
Flexibility/engagement in exercises	The sessions were slow paced. It seemed difficult to keep the group engaged
Application to veterans
Veteran-specific language	The mindfulness class felt like it was more pertinent to civilians and not veterans It is too fluffy… explaining how we can feel these events coming before they become overwhelming to us (and use) mindfulness to reduce or stop this from happening would be key