An Evaluation of a Mind-Body Medicine Training Program for Parole Services Division Staff

The goal of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a mind-body medicine training program on parole services staff. The main questions it aims to answer are: * Will participation in the training increase resilience; empathy; the belief that one can cope with difficult situations; and decrease symptoms of depression, stress, anxiety, and burnout? * What is the personal and professional impact of the training program? Sixty staff members of the Indiana Department of Correction Parole Services Division will do the following: * Attend an initial 4-day mind-body medicine training. Mind-body techniques taught in the training include: meditation; a breathing exercise; biofeedback; guided imagery; expressing oneself through drawings and writing; movement to reduce stress; and family trees to explore family dynamics. * Attend a 2-day practicum. The 2-day practicum will teach staff the ways in which they can share the skills they have learned one-on-one with parolees and families of parolees. * Attend 4 biweekly sessions of 2-hour group consultation sessions. The consultations will support the use of the mind-body skills with the parolees. Participants will also do the following: * Fill out standardized questionnaires online before and after the training program in order to measure changes in resilience; empathy; the belief that one can cope with difficult situations; and symptoms of depression, stress, anxiety, and burnout. * Fill out an additional online questionnaire three months after the consultation sessions to determine how trainees are using the mind-body skills in their work. * Participate in an online group interview to determine how trainees are using the skills and how the training has affected them personally and professionally.