{"title":"Coping with Burnout in the Healthcare Field","authors":"Ami Rokach, karishma Patel","doi":"10.21926/obm.icm.2304042","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21926/obm.icm.2304042","url":null,"abstract":"The healthcare industry is the largest and fastest growing industry in the world; however, being a part of the healthcare system involves being at an increased risk of experiencing mental health problems, loneliness, stress, and increased susceptibility to experiencing compassion fatigue related to the emotional wear associated with providing patient-centered care. Healthcare workers include, but are not limited, to physicians, nurses, allied health professionals, and psychologists. Often, healthcare workers place the needs and wellbeing of patients before their own. This article aims to highlight the occupational hazards of working in the healthcare field, the physical and emotional isolation associated with clinical practice, managing distressing behaviors by patients, and reviewing the systemic barriers influencing the development and management of moral distress. We further aim to bring attention to the need for healthcare professionals to place self-care at the forefront of their therapeutic repertoire through various individualized strategies, through the importance of building moral resilience, and the shift towards improving workplace spirituality. Practicing self-care can address the consequences of neglecting one’s own wellbeing, positively impact the ability to provide better quality patient care, and benefits relationships with patients, loved ones, and of most importantly with oneself.","PeriodicalId":74333,"journal":{"name":"OBM integrative and complimentary medicine","volume":"24 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135853253","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"‘It’s Nice for My Body but I Don’t Like It’ – Experiences of Soothing Rhythm Breathing in Clients with Depression","authors":"Jasmine French, Richard Brown, Tobyn Bell","doi":"10.21926/obm.icm.2304041","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21926/obm.icm.2304041","url":null,"abstract":"Soothing-rhythm breathing (SRB) is a core component of compassion focused therapy (CFT). While integral to CFT, research has yet to explore personal experiences of SRB. This study aimed to explore the experiences of individuals with depression who had practiced SRB in NHS primary care services. Interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) was used to analyse data from individual semi-structured interviews. Three experiential themes were identified: ‘mind-body connection and bodily needs’, ‘a new relationship with the mind’, and ‘slowing down: shifting to the new and challenging’. Results highlighted the benefits of connecting with the body and the challenges of practicing SRB. Clinical implications and suggestions for further research are discussed.","PeriodicalId":74333,"journal":{"name":"OBM integrative and complimentary medicine","volume":"51 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136064039","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Rebecca L. Utz, Michael Caserta, Eli Iacob, Catharine Sparks, Louisa Stark, Alexandra Terrill, Amber Thompson, Bob Wong
{"title":"Maximizing the Benefit of Respite for Dementia Caregivers: A Study Protocol Describing the Development & Evaluation of the Time for Living & Caring (TLC) Intervention","authors":"Rebecca L. Utz, Michael Caserta, Eli Iacob, Catharine Sparks, Louisa Stark, Alexandra Terrill, Amber Thompson, Bob Wong","doi":"10.21926/obm.icm.2304040","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21926/obm.icm.2304040","url":null,"abstract":"Dementia caregivers are susceptible to adverse physical and mental health outcomes, given the often prolonged and challenging care and support they provide to family members with Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD). This report describes a community-engaged implementation of a novel behavioral intervention - an “app” (interactive website) called TLC (Time for Living and Caring) that coaches caregivers on how to maximize the benefits associated with respite time. The rationale and features of the TLC intervention and the full research protocol used to develop and then evaluate its feasibility, acceptability, and initial efficacy are described here.","PeriodicalId":74333,"journal":{"name":"OBM integrative and complimentary medicine","volume":"32 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135197963","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Nature and City Sounds Influence Physiological and Psychological Markers in College Students","authors":"Domenic John DiPietro, Maria Gabriela Bidart","doi":"10.21926/obm.icm.2303039","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21926/obm.icm.2303039","url":null,"abstract":"Worldwide, human population growth has led to a higher demand for urbanization. While this development is in accordance with our gregarious lifestyles, our availability and contact with nature has consequentially been minimized. The goal of this study was to evaluate whether sounds from nature versus urban environments affect vital signs (i.e., heart rate and respiration rate) and mood states of female college students. Emotional states were assessed using the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) questionnaire. While nature sounds included a mixture of birdsongs and water sounds, urban sounds included traffic, construction, and sirens. Following a within-subject design, each participant listened to a 7-minute segment of nature sounds and a 7-minute segment of city sounds in a randomized order. Sounds were played through each participant’s own headphones and devices at a conversational volume of approximately 70 decibels. All dependent variables were recorded before and after listening to each type of sound. This study was performed throughout the COVID-19 pandemic (April-August 2020). To comply with health and safety guidelines, each participant met with the experimenter through a WebEx virtual conference, and variables were self-recorded by each of the participants. Exposure to 7-minutes of sounds from a natural environment resulted in statistically significant decreases in both respiration rate and negative affect schedule score when compared to the same time exposure to urban sounds. Furthermore, participants had a significantly higher preference for natural over urban environments according to a survey performed prior to listening to both types of sounds. Future research could help to better understand causes for variability in human responses to sound stimuli.","PeriodicalId":74333,"journal":{"name":"OBM integrative and complimentary medicine","volume":"90 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135344902","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Resilience and Burnout among Medical Students: The Role of Difficulties with Emotion Regulation as A Mediator","authors":"Jordan Ensz, Changiz Mohiyeddini","doi":"10.21926/obm.icm.2303038","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21926/obm.icm.2303038","url":null,"abstract":"Burnout is a chronic state of exhaustion caused by prolonged stress. Medical training has been shown to leave many medical students vulnerable to burnout, which can negatively impact their health and patient care. While resilience has been associated with lower burnout, the mechanisms through which resilience reduces burnout are not well established. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate whether difficulties with emotion regulation mediate the relationship between resilience and burnout among medical students. For this cross-sectional study, we conducted a power analysis to determine the necessary sample size and recruited 82 medical students (mean age = 25.2, 35.4% male) to complete a questionnaire that measured burnout (Oldenburg Burnout Inventory), difficulties with emotion regulation (Difficulties in Emotional Regulation Scale), and resilience (Brief Resilience Scale). Hierarchical regression analysis was conducted to examine the mediation model. Our results indicate that difficulties with emotion regulation mediate the relationship between resilience and burnout, with a significant indirect effect of resilience on burnout. The mediation model explained 16% of the variance in burnout. In conclusion, difficulties in emotion regulation may increase the risk of burnout among medical students. Our findings suggest that enhancing resilience and adaptive emotion regulation could help protect medical students against burnout.","PeriodicalId":74333,"journal":{"name":"OBM integrative and complimentary medicine","volume":"104 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135015267","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Tobyn Bell, Jane Montague, James Elander, Matthew Pugh, Paul Gilbert
{"title":"Bringing the Inside Out and the Outside in: The Therapeutic Relationship in Compassion Focused Therapy Chairwork","authors":"Tobyn Bell, Jane Montague, James Elander, Matthew Pugh, Paul Gilbert","doi":"10.21926/obm.icm.2303037","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21926/obm.icm.2303037","url":null,"abstract":"Chairwork is a central component in Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT). Despite its importance, there has been no prior research on the relational factors underpinning the application of chairwork in CFT. There is also a general paucity of research on the role of the therapeutic relationship in chairwork across modalities. This paper analyses data from interviews with 21 clients following a CFT chairwork intervention to ascertain how relational factors influenced their experience of this method. An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) found three main themes: 1) direction and coaching during enactment; 2) externalisation: bringing the inside out and outside in; 3) regulation and trust: the relational requirements to ‘let go’. The implications of these findings, both for the delivery and training of chairwork, are then discussed in the context of CFT.","PeriodicalId":74333,"journal":{"name":"OBM integrative and complimentary medicine","volume":"21 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135016258","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Cultural Biases and Psychedelic Experiences: Western Scientific Perspectives about Amazonian Mestizo Therapeutic Traditions","authors":"Alberto Dubbini","doi":"10.21926/obm.icm.2303035","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21926/obm.icm.2303035","url":null,"abstract":"This article aims to analyze how Western researchers can be influenced by their epistemic and ethical foundations, which are also expressed through a culturally shared idea of therapy, and how this influence can significantly hinder the understanding of a different cultural reality and its resources in terms of knowledge and practices. While examining a collection of research cases in the field of psychedelic therapy, the present paper focuses on the obstacles created by ethical and epistemic conflicts in the mind of researchers with Western scientific training and their consequent difficulty in exploring the situations induced by psychedelic substances in a context of articulation and integration between their therapeutic know-how and that of a spiritual hundreds-year-old psychedelic tradition like Amazonian mestizo vegetalismo. Such obstacles may offer a chance to increase awareness of the cultural bias and limitations of the scientific gaze and highlight the importance of therapeutic and research contexts in which declared independence, neutrality and effectiveness of human alert thinking as undebatable ethical and epistemic value are under discussion.","PeriodicalId":74333,"journal":{"name":"OBM integrative and complimentary medicine","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47973099","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jennifer King, Megan Holmes, Kylie Evans, Anna Bender, Dakota King-White
{"title":"Introducing a Novel Intervention, CoHealing, to Address Teacher Burnout and Indirect Trauma","authors":"Jennifer King, Megan Holmes, Kylie Evans, Anna Bender, Dakota King-White","doi":"10.21926/obm.icm.2303036","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21926/obm.icm.2303036","url":null,"abstract":"The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the long-standing issues of stress and burnout in the education sector, with teachers and education staff facing unprecedented challenges including significant adjustments to teaching methods and balancing the mental health and academic needs of their students. The resulting challenges have contributed to heightened levels of stress and burnout among teachers and education staff. The impact of the pandemic on teachers and education staff has highlighted the need for greater support and resources to help them cope with these challenges and address their stress and burnout. One such promising intervention, CoHealing, is aimed at promoting a more resilient, interdisciplinary network of trauma-informed helping professionals (e.g., teachers, medical providers, social workers) by reducing secondary traumatic stress, burnout, and isolation. CoHealing is a monthly group-intervention delivered over six months that aims to reduce secondary traumatic stress, burnout, and isolation. CoHealing provides self-regulation tools, relational connection as a coping resource, and psychoeducation on the causes and symptoms of indirect trauma. CoHealing was born out of the need to enhance the relational health of trauma-informed helping professionals and to address indirect trauma and job-related vicarious trauma, secondary traumatic stress, and compassion fatigue across disciplines. Reducing the damaging effects of indirect trauma is critical to maintaining a healthy and resilient workforce that will, in turn, continue to provide high-quality health and human services to individuals and communities experiencing trauma and adversity. This paper provides an intervention description with limited preliminary evidence. More research is needed to robustly evaluate the impacts quantitatively and/or qualitatively.","PeriodicalId":74333,"journal":{"name":"OBM integrative and complimentary medicine","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44400224","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Robyn Long, Megan Kennedy, Katie Malloy Spink, L. Lengua
{"title":"Promoting College Student and Staff Well-being Through a Mindfulness-based Coping Program","authors":"Robyn Long, Megan Kennedy, Katie Malloy Spink, L. Lengua","doi":"10.21926/obm.icm.2303034","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21926/obm.icm.2303034","url":null,"abstract":"This study evaluated the impact on student and staff well-being of a mindfulness-based cognitive-behavioral coping program, Be REAL (Resilient Attitudes & Living), delivered by campus staff using a task-sharing approach. The program was adapted for online delivery during COVID19. Study participants included 325 undergraduate students and 100 staff members at a large tri-campus university in the U.S. Participants completed surveys with self-report measures assessing mindfulness, perceptions of stress, emotion regulation, executive control, coping, self-compassion, anxiety, depression, and indicators of well-being including resilience and flourishing. Students also completed measures of social connectedness and happiness, while staff completed measures of work-related burnout and self-efficacy. With students we employed an assessment only control group, and with staff, a waitlist control (WLC) design was used. Feasibility and acceptability measures were obtained. Compared to students in the assessment-only group, students participating in Be REAL showed significant improvements in mindfulness, self-compassion, flourishing, resilience, happiness, emotion regulation problems, executive control, active coping, social connection, depression and anxiety symptoms. These effects were maintained at follow-up. Compared to WLC, staff participating in Be REAL reported improved self-efficacy and reduced anxiety symptoms. This study demonstrated that a mindfulness-based cognitive-behavioral coping enhancement program, Be REAL, delivered online during the pandemic, can improve the well-being and mental health of college students and staff. It further demonstrated feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness through a task-sharing model whereby staff supporting students facilitated the groups, which presents universities with a promising model of cultivating a campus culture of well-being.","PeriodicalId":74333,"journal":{"name":"OBM integrative and complimentary medicine","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-08-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49077294","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
V. Hofmann, Céline Pagnotta, Noémie Lacombe, Myriam Squillaci
{"title":"Burnout Among Special Education Teachers and the Role of Individual, Interpersonal, and Organizational Risk and Protective Factors","authors":"V. Hofmann, Céline Pagnotta, Noémie Lacombe, Myriam Squillaci","doi":"10.21926/obm.icm.2303033","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21926/obm.icm.2303033","url":null,"abstract":"Burnout is a syndrome commonly characterized by the three dimensions of Maslach and Leiter's model, namely emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and lack of professional accomplishment. While burnout affects individuals in all professions, teachers are recognized as being at particular risk, a fact explained in the literature by the high level of relational demands inherent to the profession. During the pandemic and subsequently, these demands have even increased. Several studies have focused on the influence of individual, interpersonal, and organizational factors predicting teacher burnout risk. Yet, less is known about special education teachers working in inclusive and non-inclusive settings and how the pandemic has particularly affected their burnout risk. Thus, this study aimed to examine (1) whether burnout risk among special education teachers has increased since the pandemic and (2) whether burnout risk is related to individual, interpersonal, and organizational variables, including factors related to the pandemic. For this purpose, a cross-sectional study was conducted among a sample of special education teachers in Switzerland (n = 358) using the Maslach Burnout Inventory. Since there are three distinctive dimensions of burnout, which might also be differently associated with risk and protective factors, we conducted separate logistic regression analyses to predict risk status for emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment by individual, interpersonal, and organizational variables. Results indicate that for emotional exhaustion, individual teaching satisfaction and health problems are most important, whereas for depersonalization individual teaching satisfaction, good relationships with parents and working in an inclusive setting decrease burnout risk. An inclusive setting increases the risk, regarding lack of personal accomplishment, while all other effects are non-significant. Implications for practice are discussed.","PeriodicalId":74333,"journal":{"name":"OBM integrative and complimentary medicine","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-08-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45268631","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}