A 5-Week Seminar on the Biopsychosocial-Spiritual Model of Self-Care Improves Anxiety, Self-Compassion, Mindfulness, Depression, and Stress in Graduate Healthcare Students

A 5-week seminar based on a biopsychosocial-spiritual model of self-care—including breathing, mindful movement, meditation, and education—improved self-compassion and mindfulness and reduced anxiety, depression, and stress in graduate healthcare students. Twenty-one students (20 in physical therapy, 1 in dental medicine) participated. Significant improvements were found for all measured outcomes: self-compassion, mindfulness, anxiety, depression, and stress. The results suggest that programs promoting self-awareness and self-care can benefit future healthcare providers.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Abstract Graduate healthcare students can experience stress that affects their ability to perform academically and clinically, decreases empathy, and affects their well-being and clinical competence. The purpose of the current study was to determine the effects of a seminar on a yoga-inspired biopsychosocial-spiritual model of self-care on perceived levels of anxiety, self-compassion, mindfulness, depression, and stress in graduate healthcare students. We used a within-group repeated-measure design with baseline followed by intervention. The intervention was a 5-week seminar with 60-minute sessions that incorporated breathing, mindful movement, meditation, and education for self-care in five areas of a biopsychosocial-spiritual model (spiritual, physical, intellectual, energetic, and psychoemotional-social). The following outcomes measures assessed perceived changes in anxiety, self-compassion, mindfulness, depression, and stress: Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), Self-Compassion Scale–Short Form (SCS-SF), Freiburg Mindfulness Inventory (FMI), Kentucky Inventory of Mindfulness Skills (KIMS), Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). The Freidman test with Dunn's test post hoc pairwise comparisons was used for the BAI, SCS-SF, FMI, KIMS, and MAAS. A Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used for BDI and PSS. Twenty doctor of physical therapy students and one doctor of dental medicine student participated in the study. Significant improvements (all p < 0.05) were found for self-compassion, mindfulness, anxiety, depression, and stress. A 5-week seminar using a biopsychosocial-spiritual approach for self-care improved self-compassion and mindfulness and diminished anxiety, depression, and stress. Implementing programs that facilitate self-awareness and self-care may provide important benefits to future healthcare providers.