A well-being promotion program increases self-compassion, active coping and emotion regulation among providers who work with children and families

Abstract This study examined the effects of the REsilient Attitudes and Living for Professionals (REAL Pro) prevention intervention on the well-being of professionals who work with children and families. The program combines mindfulness and self-compassion practices with cognitive-behavioral tools t...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Liliana J. Lengua, Rebecca Calhoun, Ignatius Balinbin, Robyn Long, Katie Malloy Spink, Marie Angeles
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2025-08-01
Series:BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12906-025-05043-1
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849238022719012864
author Liliana J. Lengua
Rebecca Calhoun
Ignatius Balinbin
Robyn Long
Katie Malloy Spink
Marie Angeles
author_facet Liliana J. Lengua
Rebecca Calhoun
Ignatius Balinbin
Robyn Long
Katie Malloy Spink
Marie Angeles
author_sort Liliana J. Lengua
collection DOAJ
description Abstract This study examined the effects of the REsilient Attitudes and Living for Professionals (REAL Pro) prevention intervention on the well-being of professionals who work with children and families. The program combines mindfulness and self-compassion practices with cognitive-behavioral tools that aim to promote improved stress management, emotion regulation and well-being, and was evaluated with early childhood (n = 87) and K-12 educators (n = 40), staff serving youth in out-of-school or after-school settings (n = 31), and medical providers (n = 35). Participants completed pre- and post-test assessments, reporting on measures of stress management (perceived stress, self-compassion), emotion regulation (dysregulation, active coping, denial), and well-being (flourishing, resilience, burnout, secondary trauma symptoms). Dependent sample t-tests were conducted, showing significant improvement from pre- to post-test in self-compassion, emotion regulation, active coping, and a trend toward increased resilience. Three-month follow-up in a small subset of the sample (n = 11) suggested potential delayed reduction in burnout and secondary trauma symptoms. Satisfaction surveys and qualitative data indicated high participant satisfaction with the program and that participants made use of and perceived benefits from the skills for themselves and their clients. The preventive intervention shows promise for providing professionals with tools for stress management and emotion regulation, with the potential for reducing burnout in providers working with children and families who tend to experience substantial work-related stress.
format Article
id doaj-art-c97ef71ac6f7467ebb6ecaef4bea8595
institution Kabale University
issn 2662-7671
language English
publishDate 2025-08-01
publisher BMC
record_format Article
series BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies
spelling doaj-art-c97ef71ac6f7467ebb6ecaef4bea85952025-08-20T04:01:47ZengBMCBMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies2662-76712025-08-0125111210.1186/s12906-025-05043-1A well-being promotion program increases self-compassion, active coping and emotion regulation among providers who work with children and familiesLiliana J. Lengua0Rebecca Calhoun1Ignatius Balinbin2Robyn Long3Katie Malloy Spink4Marie Angeles5University of WashingtonUniversity of WashingtonUniversity of WashingtonUniversity of WashingtonUniversity of WashingtonUniversity of WashingtonAbstract This study examined the effects of the REsilient Attitudes and Living for Professionals (REAL Pro) prevention intervention on the well-being of professionals who work with children and families. The program combines mindfulness and self-compassion practices with cognitive-behavioral tools that aim to promote improved stress management, emotion regulation and well-being, and was evaluated with early childhood (n = 87) and K-12 educators (n = 40), staff serving youth in out-of-school or after-school settings (n = 31), and medical providers (n = 35). Participants completed pre- and post-test assessments, reporting on measures of stress management (perceived stress, self-compassion), emotion regulation (dysregulation, active coping, denial), and well-being (flourishing, resilience, burnout, secondary trauma symptoms). Dependent sample t-tests were conducted, showing significant improvement from pre- to post-test in self-compassion, emotion regulation, active coping, and a trend toward increased resilience. Three-month follow-up in a small subset of the sample (n = 11) suggested potential delayed reduction in burnout and secondary trauma symptoms. Satisfaction surveys and qualitative data indicated high participant satisfaction with the program and that participants made use of and perceived benefits from the skills for themselves and their clients. The preventive intervention shows promise for providing professionals with tools for stress management and emotion regulation, with the potential for reducing burnout in providers working with children and families who tend to experience substantial work-related stress.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12906-025-05043-1Child and family providersMindfulnessSelf-compassionCopingEmotion regulationIntervention
spellingShingle Liliana J. Lengua
Rebecca Calhoun
Ignatius Balinbin
Robyn Long
Katie Malloy Spink
Marie Angeles
A well-being promotion program increases self-compassion, active coping and emotion regulation among providers who work with children and families
BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies
Child and family providers
Mindfulness
Self-compassion
Coping
Emotion regulation
Intervention
title A well-being promotion program increases self-compassion, active coping and emotion regulation among providers who work with children and families
title_full A well-being promotion program increases self-compassion, active coping and emotion regulation among providers who work with children and families
title_fullStr A well-being promotion program increases self-compassion, active coping and emotion regulation among providers who work with children and families
title_full_unstemmed A well-being promotion program increases self-compassion, active coping and emotion regulation among providers who work with children and families
title_short A well-being promotion program increases self-compassion, active coping and emotion regulation among providers who work with children and families
title_sort well being promotion program increases self compassion active coping and emotion regulation among providers who work with children and families
topic Child and family providers
Mindfulness
Self-compassion
Coping
Emotion regulation
Intervention
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s12906-025-05043-1
work_keys_str_mv AT lilianajlengua awellbeingpromotionprogramincreasesselfcompassionactivecopingandemotionregulationamongproviderswhoworkwithchildrenandfamilies
AT rebeccacalhoun awellbeingpromotionprogramincreasesselfcompassionactivecopingandemotionregulationamongproviderswhoworkwithchildrenandfamilies
AT ignatiusbalinbin awellbeingpromotionprogramincreasesselfcompassionactivecopingandemotionregulationamongproviderswhoworkwithchildrenandfamilies
AT robynlong awellbeingpromotionprogramincreasesselfcompassionactivecopingandemotionregulationamongproviderswhoworkwithchildrenandfamilies
AT katiemalloyspink awellbeingpromotionprogramincreasesselfcompassionactivecopingandemotionregulationamongproviderswhoworkwithchildrenandfamilies
AT marieangeles awellbeingpromotionprogramincreasesselfcompassionactivecopingandemotionregulationamongproviderswhoworkwithchildrenandfamilies
AT lilianajlengua wellbeingpromotionprogramincreasesselfcompassionactivecopingandemotionregulationamongproviderswhoworkwithchildrenandfamilies
AT rebeccacalhoun wellbeingpromotionprogramincreasesselfcompassionactivecopingandemotionregulationamongproviderswhoworkwithchildrenandfamilies
AT ignatiusbalinbin wellbeingpromotionprogramincreasesselfcompassionactivecopingandemotionregulationamongproviderswhoworkwithchildrenandfamilies
AT robynlong wellbeingpromotionprogramincreasesselfcompassionactivecopingandemotionregulationamongproviderswhoworkwithchildrenandfamilies
AT katiemalloyspink wellbeingpromotionprogramincreasesselfcompassionactivecopingandemotionregulationamongproviderswhoworkwithchildrenandfamilies
AT marieangeles wellbeingpromotionprogramincreasesselfcompassionactivecopingandemotionregulationamongproviderswhoworkwithchildrenandfamilies