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Research on negative self-concept: why and how

My primary research area is psychological trauma, especially regarding developing and optimizing psychosocial intervention for trauma survivors. Among trauma survivors, distorted self-referential processes (e.g., thinking or feeling negatively towards oneself) is the underlying factor impacting a wide range of psychological symptoms and interferes with therapy progress. My prior research showed mindfulness meditation are very beneficial for childhood trauma survivors, with neural plasticity being observed at the hippocampus and amygdala that supported clinical improvements in depression and anxiety symptoms, however, the mechanisms for how these therapeutic effects are achieved still need further investigation. I have conducted several studies on the topic of how meditation practices could improve negative self-concept, see the list below for some examples. 

For people who have a tendency to think or feel negatively towards oneself (e.g., self-criticism, self-blame, self-doubt, low self-esteem), it can be helpful to try meditation practices for cultivating compassion towards yourself. You can start from simply noticing the negative self-talk without judging yourself for having them, followed by giving yourself kind understanding and warm validation. Over time, the neural circuitry that supported the habitual patterns of being harsh towards yourself will be trained to shift towards a new mentality of self-compassion. 

Below are several publications on this topic:

D Joss (2026) Neural Correlates of Meditation-Induced Changes in Self-Related Traits: A Resting State fMRI Study. Mindfulness (in press) full text

   note: Although this study was not from a population who experienced trauma, the generalizable knowledge on how meditation practices promotes neural plasticity related to self-related processes has fundamental value for informing future research and clinical development. 

D Joss, M Datko, C Washington, M Tresvalles, M Mete, S Lazar, Z Schuman-Olivier, E Hoge (2025) Neural correlates of reduction in self-judgment after mindful self-compassion training: a pilot study with resting state fMRI. Journal of Mood & Anxiety Disorders, 9, 100096. full text
  note: This study showed patients with more severe childhood trauma benefited more from an 8-week Mindful Self-Compassion program.

D Joss, A Comeau, H Rea, A Rajan, M Sweezy, Z Schuman-Olivier (2026) The role of reduced sense of isolation in group-format PTSD treatment. Scientific Report. (in press) full text