In a groundbreaking comparison of meditation techniques, researchers from MIU, Augusta University in Georgia, and the US Army Reserve have conducted the largest review and meta-analysis to date on meditation for PTSD treatment.

The study found that meditation, especially Transcendental Meditation, offers a complementary approach that can enhance standard medical care, providing a natural and effective way to promote full recovery from post-traumatic stress.

Analyzing 61 studies involving more than 3,400 participants, the researchers compared four categories of meditation: mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), other mindfulness-based techniques (MBO), other meditations (OM), and Transcendental Meditation (TM). They found TM practice significantly more effective than the other procedures.

The study was published in December in Medicina 2024, an international peer-reviewed open access journal that covers all problems related to medicine.

“Our findings show that all meditation techniques studied can help alleviate PTSD symptoms, but TM stands out as producing the largest and most consistent reductions across diverse trauma populations,” said lead author Dr. David Orme-Johnson, MIU professor emeritus. “Studies show that TM works in men and women, in youth and the elderly, in war veterans and war refugees, in women survivors of interpersonal violence, in prison inmates, in tsunami and earthquake survivors, and in nurses who became traumatized during the 2019 pandemic.”

“The results on the transformative power of TM are especially potent.”

— One of the study’s independent peer reviewers

One of the independent peer reviewers who looked at the study prior to publication described it as an excellent review for the research community because it explains how meditation procedures compare with one another and highlights key directions for further research. “The results on the transformative power of TM are especially potent and have come in line with increasing focus on non-pharmacological treatment for PTSD,” the reviewer said.

“I’ve been teaching TM in a hospital clinic for 12 years, working with soldiers experiencing PTSD and traumatic brain injuries,” said Dr. Vernon Barnes, the second author and emeritus assistant professor at the Georgia Prevention Institute at Augusta University (also an MIU PhD graduate ’96). “Our clinic is regarded as cutting edge for the treatment of complex concussion, which includes combat-related PTSD. TM is one of the few interventions with benefits that can be immediately translated into improved care in military medicine.”

A new standard in rigor and comprehensiveness

With its robust criteria for selecting the studies it examined, along with its advanced statistical methods, this meta-analysis sets a new standard in rigor and comprehensiveness. It included longitudinal research designs such as randomized controlled trials, controlled trials, and single-group case series, ensuring a comprehensive dataset. The researchers analyzed within-group effects, which show how much PTSD changes over time due to treatment, and then directly compared different meditation techniques on this measure.

“We employed meta-regression to identify predictors of effectiveness, such as type of trauma, age, and research design,” Orme-Johnson said. “These methods allowed us to control for all variables that influence the size of the effect, making our conclusions about differences in meditation techniques highly reliable.”

The review covered a wide range of trauma populations and was well accepted by subjects. Of the individuals offered TM, 86% were willing to try it, and 92% of them completed the instruction and continued the twice-daily practice, testifying to its accessibility and acceptability. “This meta-analysis surpasses previous reviews in scope and depth, making it an important resource for policymakers and healthcare providers looking to implement evidence-based PTSD interventions,” Dr. Barnes said.

The authors recommend large-scale clinical trials to further validate TM’s effectiveness and to explore how it can be integrated into diverse healthcare settings. With the growing recognition of meditation as a valuable tool for mental health, this study positions TM as a vital component in the future of PTSD treatment.

This study builds upon prior research from MIU and elsewhere indicating potential health benefits of Transcendental Meditation that include lowering high blood pressure, reducing cardiovascular risk, and improving mental health.

Study title and authors

The full study, Effectiveness of Meditation Techniques in Treating Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis, is published in Medicina and available online here.

The authors are David W. Orme-Johnson, PhD, Maharishi International University • Vernon A. Barnes, PhD, Georgia Prevention Institute, Augusta University • Brian Rees, Colonel (ret.), Medical Corps, U.S. Army Reserve • Jean Tobin, Research Liaison, Transcendental Meditation for Women • Kenneth G. Walton, PhD, Institute for Prevention Research, Maharishi International University.

Additional reporting by Ken Chawkin