Addressing holistic health and work empowerment through a body-mind-spirit intervention program among helping professionals in continuous education: A pilot study.

To examine the effectiveness of a body-mind-spirit (BMS) intervention program in improving the holistic well-being and work empowerment among helping professionals in continuous education. Forty-four helping professionals, who were in their first-year part-time postgraduate study, participated in the present study. All participants attended a 3-day BMS intervention program which emphasized a holistic approach to health and well-being. Ratings on their levels of physical distress, daily functioning, affect, spirituality, and psychological empowerment at work were compared before and immediately after the intervention. Participants reported significantly lower levels of negative affect and physical distress, and were less spiritually disoriented after the intervention. Enhanced levels of daily functioning, positive affect, spiritual resilience, and tranquility were also reported. Results also suggested that participants were empowered at work, and specifically felt more able to make an impact on work outcomes. The 3-day BMS intervention program produced a positive and measurable effect on participants' holistic well-being and empowerment at work. Educators in related fields could incorporate holistic practices into the curriculum to better prepare the future practitioners, leading to better outcomes both to the professionals themselves and their clients or patients.

Underlying spirituality and mental health: the role of burnout.

OBJECTIVE: This study investigated the effects of burnout on the relationship between spirituality and mental health among healthcare workers in Hong Kong. METHODS: Using a cross-sectional design, 312 healthcare workers (mean age=38.6, SD=9.9; 77.7% females) in a mental rehabilitation institution completed a self-administered questionnaire on anxiety, depression, burnout, and daily spiritual experiences. Multivariate regressions were used to test the effects of burnout on the relationships between daily spiritual experiences and anxiety and depression. RESULTS: After adjusting for age, education level, marital status, and staff ranking, higher levels of daily spiritual experience were associated with lower levels of burnout (ß=-0.22, p<0.01), depression (ß=-0.68, p<0.01), and anxiety (ß=-0.05, p<0.01). Burnout was found to have a significant partial mediating effect on the relationship between daily spiritual experiences and depression (z=-2.99, p<0.01), accounting for 37.8% of the variation in depression. Burnout also completely mediated the relationship between daily spiritual experiences and anxiety (z=-3.06, p<0.01), accounting for 73.9% of the variation in anxiety. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggested that the association between spirituality and mental health is influenced by the level of burnout, thereby supporting the role of burnout as a potential mediator. Moreover, day-to-day spiritual practice was found to be potentially protective against burnout and mental health problems. Future interventions could incorporate spirituality training to reduce burnout so as to improve the well-being of healthcare workers.