MINDBODYSTRONG© for Healthcare Professionals
Overview
MINDBODYSTRONG© is an evidence-based manualized mindfulness-integrated cognitive behavioral skills-building program designed specifically for healthcare professionals. Tailored specifically for clinicians and tested through clinical trials and intervention studies, the program has been shown to foster resilience, reduce burnout, stress, anxiety, and depression, and improve healthy lifestyle behaviors and beliefs through 7 structured weekly sessions followed by skills-building activities. A self-paced digitalized version is also available for health systems.
How is MINDBODYSTRONG© delivered?
Program Content and Structure
MINDBODYSTRONG© contains all of the key concepts and skills in cognitive-behavioral therapy and helps individuals understand how their thought patterns affect their emotions and behaviors. The 7 sessions include the following topics: identifying unhelpful thinking patterns; catching, checking and changing unhelpful automatic thoughts and beliefs; stress and coping strategies; problem-solving; healthy goal setting; sleep hygiene; emotional regulation, communication skills; and self-esteem boosters.
Facilitators who complete a 4-hour educational training workshop deliver the program in 7 weekly sessions, each lasting approximately 30–45 minutes. The program can be delivered in small groups, a classroom, or 1:1 delivery in person or through a virtual platform. Training to become a facilitator can be completed on-line at www.cope2thrive.com.
Each of the 7 MINDBODYSTRONG© sessions is followed by skills-building activities that help clinicians put the content from the sessions into active practice, so the skills become habits.
Target Audience
Designed for healthcare professionals—nurses, physicians, pharmacists, allied health clinicians, advanced practice nurses and educators as well as health sciences students.
Evidence of Effectiveness
· Outcomes in RCTs and Intervention Studies
Findings from clinical trials and intervention studies with healthcare professionals have shown that MINDBODYSTRONG© reduces depression, anxiety, stress and burnout, and improves healthy lifestyle behaviors and beliefs immediately following the intervention and sustains them for up to 6 months.
Why Health Systems Should Invest in MINDBODYSTRONG©
Improves Mental Health and Healthy Behaviors, and Decreases Burnout
Clinicians experience significantly higher rates of depression, burnout, anxiety, suicide than the general population. The National Academy of Medicine highlights the urgent need for interventions.
Strong evidence from randomized controlled trials demonstrates MINDBODYSTRONG’s© ability to reduce mental health symptoms and improve workplace satisfaction, which ultimately decreases turnover.
Enhances Patient Safety & Care Quality
Clinician well-being is strongly associated with healthcare quality, safety and patient outcomes. Burnout, stress, depression and anxiety correlate with increased medical errors and compromised quality of care.
Improving mental health and resilience helps ensure safer, more engaged clinicians.
Return on Investment (ROI) via Retention & Reduced Turnover
Higher job satisfaction and well-being support staff retention—a critical cost-saver in healthcare settings.
Health systems investing in evidence-based well-being programs often see a reduction in recruitment/training costs and absenteeism.
Accreditation & Organizational Prestige
Implementation aligns with ANCC accreditation standards.
Shows proactive commitment to workforce well-being, strengthening reputation and fulfilling organizational wellness benchmarks.
Scalable, Facilitator-Driven Strategy
Delivered by trained internal staff, averaging ~30–45 minutes/per week and easily integrated into existing wellness, orientation or residency programs.
Summary
MINDBODYSTRONG© equips clinicians with practical mindfulness and cognitive-behavioral tools, establishing protective factors and fostering resilience, while demonstrably reducing mental health and burnout metrics. For health systems grappling with workforce challenges, regulatory pressures, and the imperative to deliver high-quality, safe patient care at lower costs, this program offers a well-tested, scalable solution that supports both the human and economic capital of healthcare delivery.
References
Hoying J, Terry A, Kelly S, Melnyk BM. (2023). A cognitive-behavioral skills building program improves mental health and enhances healthy lifestyle behaviors in nurses and other hospital employees. Worldviews on Evidence-Based Nursing, 20(6):542-549. doi: 10.1111/wvn.12686. Epub 2023 Oct 28. PMID: 37897217.
Melnyk BM, Davidson JE, Mayfield C, Zisook S, Tucker S, Hsieh AP, Cooper A, Gray-Bauer R, Hoying J, Cuccia AF, Tan A. (2024). A study protocol for the modified interactive screening program plus MINDBODYSTRONG© RCT: A mental health resiliency intervention for nurses. PLoS One, 19(6):e0303425. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0303425. PMID: 38843149; PMCID: PMC11156330.
Price DM, Figueroa N, Macera-DiClemente L, Wintermeyer-Pingel S, Riley P, Tschannen D. (2023). Thinking, Feeling, Behaving: Using the MINDBODYSTRONG® Intervention to Improve Nurse Well-being Using a Virtual Format. Journal of Nursing Administration. 2023 Jun 1;53(6):337-343. doi: 10.1097/NNA.0000000000001293. Epub 2023 May 12. PMID: 37184457.
Sampson, M., Melnyk, B.M., & Hoying, J. (2019). Intervention Effects of the MINDBODYSTRONG© Cognitive Behavioral Skills Building Program on Newly Licensed Registered Nurses' Mental Health, Healthy Lifestyle Beliefs and Job Satisfaction. Journal of Nursing Administration. 49(10), 487-95.
Sampson, M., Melnyk, B.M., & Hoying, J. (2020). The MINDBODYSTRONG© Intervention for New Nurse Residents: 6 Month Effects on Mental Health Outcomes, Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors and Job Satisfaction. Worldviews on Evidence-Based Nursing, 17(1), 16-23.