Understanding the power of thought and innate mental health: Mediating pathways between maladaptive repetitive thought and psychopathology
Thomas M Kelley, James Bowers, William F. Pettit, Jr., and Jack B Pransky
Citation: Kelley, T. M., Bowers, J., Pettit, W. F., & Pransky, J. B. (2026). Understanding the power of thought and innate mental health: Mediating pathways between maladaptive repetitive thought and psychopathology. International Journal of Stress Prevention and Wellbeing, 10, 1, 1-14. https://www.stressprevention.net/volume/volume-10-2026/volume-10-article-1
Processing dates: Submitted 24th April 2025; Re-submitted 12th September 2025; Accepted 26th November 2025; Published 6 March 2026
Abstract
Objective: Maladaptive repetitive thought (MRT)—including rumination and worry—is implicated in numerous forms of psychopathology. Despite its harmful outcomes, individuals continue to engage in MRT, raising questions about the mechanisms that sustain it. Drawing on Sydney Banks’s psychospiritual paradigm, this study tests whether understanding the Power of Thought1 (PT) and innate mental health (IMH) mediates the relationship between MRT and both psychopathological symptoms and mental well-being.
Method: A total of 851 participants were recruited into two groups: those with prior exposure to PT/IMH (N = 507) and those without exposure (N = 344). All participants completed validated
measures of MRT, psychopathological symptoms, mental well-being, and understanding PT/IMH. Multiple regression and mediation analyses were conducted to test direct and indirect
associations across groups.
Results: Across both groups, greater understanding of PT/IMH was associated with lower MRT, which in turn was positively related to psychopathological symptoms and negatively related to wellbeing. Mediation analyses confirmed that PT/IMH understanding significantly mediated the relationships between MRT and both outcomes. Effects were stronger in the exposure group,
and IMH emerged as a more robust mediator than PT. Between-group comparisons showed that the exposure group reported higher understanding, lower MRT and symptoms, and greater wellbeing.
Conclusions: Findings support the hypothesis that insufficient understanding of PT/IMH contributes to reliance on maladaptive repetitive thought and its psychological consequences. Psychospiritual education that deepens understanding of PT/IMH may help reduce MRT and strengthen wellbeing by redirecting attention from symptom management to insight into PT/IMH.
Keywords: maladaptive repetitive thought, Power of Thought, innate mental health, psychopathology, psychospiritual education
Biographies
Thomas M Kelley is Professor Emeritus, The Emeritus Academy (Formerly in the Department of Criminology & Criminal Justice), Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48202, USA. He is also a Licensed Psychologist in the State of Michigan.
Email: aa5216@wayne.edu
Phone (cell): 248-227-1757
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5285-8581
James Bowers, Ph.D. is Professor, Department of Criminal Justice, Saginaw Valley State University, University Center, MI 48710, USA.
Email: jbowers@svsu.edu
Phone (cell): 989-392-5286
https://orcid.org/0009-0006-3639-4947
William F. Pettit, Jr., MD is with the Creighton University School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Phoenix AZ 85013, USA.
Email: bill@thedrspettit.com
Phone (cell): 304-692-5880
https://orcid.org/0004-0006-6347-2938
Jack B. Pransky, Ph.D. is Director, Center for Inside-Out Understanding, 228 Wine Street, Charlottesville, VT 22901, USA.
Email: jack@healthrealize.com
Phone (cell): 802-249-0620
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3193-7990