Shifting focus: Feasibility of online mindfulness exercises as an adjunct to tailored internet-delivered cognitive behavior therapy for public safety personnel

Caeleigh Landry

Impact

  • Mindfulness meditations can be offered as an extension to each CBT program for public safety personnel to alleviate stress and anxiety.

  • Caeleigh’s findings inform the development of effective and accessible mental health resources for Public Safety Personnel to enhance mental health.

  • Saskatchewan

  • Studentship

  • University of Regina

  • Canadian Institute for Public Safety Research and Treatment (CIPSRT), PSPNET

  • SHRF

  • 2021-2022

  • Minority Essential Workers

About the Project

The overarching aim of this research project was to incorporate mindfulness meditation into an internet-delivered cognitive behavior therapy (iCBT; a talking therapy that helps manage problems by changing the way of thinking and behavior) program for Canadian public safety personnel. The changes in symptoms of anxiety, depression, resilience, mindfulness and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) were measured to evaluate potential trends of changes in outcomes.

Methodology

Mindfulness meditations (five 10-minute videos) were added to a pre-existing 8-week, 5 lesson internet-delivered cognitive behavior therapy course. 32 participants completed an online screening questionnaire and a telephone screen with a trained clinician before beginning the course.. They then completed evaluations to measure their mental state with specific focus to depression, anxiety, PTSD and treatment satisfaction pre-and post-treatment. 12 participants attended a post-treatment interview to provide further insight into their experiences with mindfulness meditations.

Findings

  • 84% of participants who used the mindfulness meditations showed a reduction in symptoms of anxiety, depression, PTSD from pre- and post-treatment.

  • All participants reported that mindfulness meditations have increased their confidence in their ability to manage their symptoms.

  • 58% of participants claimed that mindfulness meditation alleviated stress and improved relaxation in their free-response interviews

  • Based on these findings, mindfulness meditations was found to be an acceptable addition to the internet-delivered cognitive behavior therapy course.

Project Outreach

A new mindfulness mediation resource is being developed in French for use in Quebec and with French-speaking Canadians

Resources Created