User Engagement with Clinician-Developed Guided Meditations on a Global Digital Platform: A Multi-Method Study

Abstract Digital meditation applications are increasingly used to support stress management, emotional balance, and everyday coping among individuals seeking accessible mental health and wellness resources. At the same time, less is known about how people engage with and experience clinician-developed guided meditation content on large global wellness platforms outside of formal research settings. This multi-method study examined user engagement and user-reported experiences associated with a series of clinician-developed guided meditations delivered through a single clinician-developed Insight Timer account. Quantitative descriptive analyses were conducted using platform analytics, including total plays (N = 6,688 since February 2025), follower activity, and available geographic information for followers and commenters. In addition, 59 publicly available user comments were extracted; 29 comments met the inclusion criteria and were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis. Descriptive findings indicated ongoing listener interaction through plays, follows, and written commentary, while available geographic information for followers and commenters indicated engagement across multiple regions. Qualitative analysis identified four primary themes in commenters’ descriptions of their experiences with the recordings: emotional regulation and nervous system calming, perceived psychological safety, integration into daily coping routines, and the therapeutic qualities of the audio environment. Listener comments frequently described feelings of relaxation, reassurance, and emotional support while engaging with the meditation content. Grounded in a health psychology framework, this study provides practice-informed observational evidence regarding how a self-selected subset of users described experiencing clinician-developed guided meditations in a real-world digital environment. These findings contribute to the growing literature on digital mental health by providing insight into how clinician-developed digital mindfulness resources are voluntarily integrated into everyday coping and wellness practices outside formal clinical settings. As digital mental health continues to evolve, understanding naturally occurring patterns of user engagement may help guide future observational and intervention-based research and support the development of accessible, evidence-informed digital resources that complement traditional models of behavioral health care.