Dr. Willoughby Britton

Biography

Willoughby B. Britton is an Associate Professor in the Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences and the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at Brown University. He earned his B.A. in Neuroscience from Colgate University in 1996 and his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Arizona in 2007. He serves as the Director of Brown’s Clinical Affective Neuroscience Laboratory, which investigates the psychophysiological effects of meditation and mindfulness-based interventions on mood and anxiety disorders. Dr. Britton has been the principal investigator on several NIH-funded studies exploring the neurocognitive mechanisms of meditation and its effects on mental health. His current research focuses on 'ego dissolution' in meditation and its comparative study with classic psychedelics. He offers trauma-informed mindfulness training for organizations and individuals and teaches mindfulness to both clinical and non-clinical populations. Dr. Britton is a licensed clinical psychologist and a trained instructor in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy. His work extends to research on meditation-related adverse effects and practice-specific refining of interventions for varied conditions including anxiety, depression, and stress. He actively collaborates with other faculty members at Brown University to expand the field of contemplative studies.

Research Interests

Experience