How can a 6-week training course shape mental healthcare professionals’ understanding of mindfulness? Experiences at Weskoppies Psychiatric Hospital

South African Journal of Psychiatry

 
 
Field Value
 
Title How can a 6-week training course shape mental healthcare professionals’ understanding of mindfulness? Experiences at Weskoppies Psychiatric Hospital
 
Creator Petersen, Nathalie H. Grobler, Gerhard
 
Subject Medicine, Paychiatry, Psychology healthcare workers; mindfulness; skills; training; Weskoppies Psychiatric Hospital
Description Background: Mindfulness-based practice has gained increasing attention in the mental health community over the last four decades, and many studies have explored the evidence of its various benefits among healthcare users and providers alike. However, there remains limited research regarding the understanding of mindfulness among mental healthcare professionals. This poses the question: how much do mental healthcare professionals really know about mindfulness, and can self-practice increase the understanding of these providers?Aim: This descriptive or exploratory case study aimed to explore the understanding of mindfulness amongst 15 mental healthcare professionals.Setting: The study took place at Weskoppies Psychiatric Hospital.Method: The study was conducted following a 6-week training course in which the participants were taught, and carried out mindfulness-based practices and techniques. The study also explored the following: (1) the healthcare workers’ experiences, benefits and challenges regarding the consistent practice of mindfulness and (2) their confidence when explaining the concept of mindfulness, and the practices learned, to other colleagues and patients. Data were collected in the form of semi-structured interviews with the participants, 4–6 weeks after completion of the training course.Results: Three main themes were identified: (1) understanding of mindfulness expanded with practice; (2) unexpected experiences during the mindfulness course; and (3) experience caused partial gains in confidence and skills. Overall, 15 subthemes were derived from the data collected.Conclusion: Self-practice of mindfulness can increase one’s understanding of the concept and the confidence to teach informal techniques. More research is needed to determine how the design and duration of such training could impact this understanding and confidence.
 
Publisher AOSIS
 
Contributor University of Pretoria, Weskoppies Hospital
Date 2021-03-23
 
Type info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion — Qualitative, explorative, descriptive
Format text/html application/epub+zip text/xml application/pdf
Identifier 10.4102/sajpsychiatry.v27i0.1489
 
Source South African Journal of Psychiatry; Vol 27 (2021); 7 pages 2078-6786 1608-9685
 
Language eng
 
Relation
The following web links (URLs) may trigger a file download or direct you to an alternative webpage to gain access to a publication file format of the published article:

https://sajp.org.za/index.php/sajp/article/view/1489/2064 https://sajp.org.za/index.php/sajp/article/view/1489/2063 https://sajp.org.za/index.php/sajp/article/view/1489/2065 https://sajp.org.za/index.php/sajp/article/view/1489/2062
 
Coverage South Africa, Gauteng 2017 - 2019 Health care workers
Rights Copyright (c) 2021 Nathalie H. Negus, Gerhard Grobler https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
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