Improving physical and mental health in frontline mental health care providers: Yoga-based stress management versus cognitive behavioral stress management

The need for brief, low-cost, easily disseminable, and effective interventions to promote healthy lifestyles is high. This is especially true for mental health providers. The authors developed two studies to compare the impacts of Cognitive Behavioral Stress Management (CBSM) and Yoga-Based Stress Management (YBSM) interventions for health care professionals. Study 1 offered an 8-week YBSM intervention to 37 mental health care participants and collected health data pre- and post. Study 2 offered YBSM and CBSM classes to 40 randomly assigned mental health care providers and collected mental and physical health data at four time points. In Study 1, using t tests, the YBSM intervention affected a number of mental and physical well-being indices pre to post. In Study 2, using linear mixed modeling, YBSM and CBSM groups both improved significantly (p <.05) in fruit and vegetable intake, heart rate, alcohol consumption, relaxation and awareness, professional quality of life, compassion satisfaction, burnout, depression, and stress levels. There was a group by time effect for coping confidence (CBSM increased more, p <.05, F = 4.34), physical activity (YBSM increased more, p <.05, F = 3.47), overall mental health (YBSM increased more, p <.10, F = 5.32), and secondary traumatic stress (YBSM decreased more, p <.10, F = 4.89). YBSM and CBSM appear to be useful for health care professionals’ mental and physical health. YBSM demonstrates some benefit above and beyond the extremely well studied and empirically supported CBSM, including increased physical activity, overall mental health, and decreased secondary traumatic stress benefits.