Effects of a mindfulness course on helping professionals in training: Examining levels of perceived stress, mindfulness, and self-compassion

This study focused on the effects of a six-week mindfulness course on college students intending to enter a helping profession (e.g. nursing, social work, counseling, psychology, and teaching). The 31 participants ranged in age from 21 to 54 with a mean age of 29.26 years. There were 27 females and 4 males. The participants enrolled in a one to three credit course on mindfulness that included six weekly sessions of mindfulness training. The training utilized meditation, yoga, a body scan exercise, and qi gong. The participants completed the Perceived Stress Scale, the Mindful Awareness Attention Scale, and the Self-Compassion Scale. Perceived stress significantly decreased between pre-intervention and post-intervention and stayed stable between post-intervention and follow-up. Mindfulness significantly increased between pre-intervention and post-intervention and significantly increased between post-intervention and follow-up. Self-compassion significantly increased between pre-intervention and post-intervention and stayed stable between post-intervention and follow-up. Implications for future research and practice are explored.