Abstract
Numerous recent studies have shown that COVID-19 and the accompanying mandated lifestyle changes have resulted in significant negative effects on people’s mental health. To meet the increased need for mental health support, while also maintaining physical safety, a variety of telehealth services have been created or expanded. A body scan mindfulness program is an intervention that can easily be modified to be offered virtually. This study was designed to determine if a virtual body scan mindfulness exercise, with participants’ holding their dog or a pillow/blanket, could reduce their stress and anxiety as well as that of the facilitators. Significant differences in pre/post-State Anxiety Assessment scores for participants and facilitators were found. These results are discussed within the framework of the human animal bond and the potential of this form of intervention as a useful virtual tool for participants and facilitators alike.
Highlights
The 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has had a devastating global health impact
As of March 25, 2021 hundreds of millions of people have been infected with the virus and millions have died (COVID-19 Map - Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center, 2021)
A number of recent studies have shown that COVID-19 and the accompanying mandated lifestyle changes have resulted in significant negative effects on mental health (Brooks et al, 2020; Pieh et al, 2020a,b; Shigemura et al, 2020)
Summary
The 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has had a devastating global health impact. As of March 25, 2021 hundreds of millions of people have been infected with the virus and millions have died (COVID-19 Map - Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center, 2021). COVID-19 has created the need for sudden, dramatic lifestyle changes that include physical distancing (often referred to as “social distancing”) and reduced contact with other people (CDC, 2020b) While these steps are seen as vital in the efforts to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus, they have had significant consequences on people’s short- and long-term mental health and wellbeing (Galea et al, 2020). Christopher and Maris (2010) suggested that using mindfulness in clinical training programs can enrich the physical and psychological wellbeing of trainees and potentially limit burnout Despite these positive effects, offering a body scan mindfulness intervention virtually has not yet been evaluated (The Lancet Psychiatry, 2021), and there remains limited research looking at the benefits of a mindfulness intervention for clinicians. We hypothesized that facilitators of the mindfulness exercise would enjoy the intervention more and feel more connected to participants who completed the exercise with their dog compared to those who completed the exercise with a pillow or blanket
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