Single Case Evaluation of a Mindfulness-Based Mobile Application with a Substance Abuse Counselor

Abstract

We implemented an exploratory A-B single case research design with a phenomenological lens to analyze journal entries to assess the effectiveness of a 12-week mindfulness-based mobile intervention to reduce burnout and increase mindfulness and self-compassion. Our participant was one 55-year-old White woman employed as a substance abuse counselor at a medium sized treatment facility in a midwestern state. We collected three weeks of baseline data followed by a 12-week intervention using the Calm © app and collected self-reported scores on the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory, Freiburg Mindfulness Inventory, and the Self-Compassion Scale across baseline and intervention phases. Data analyses using the Percentage of Data Exceeding the Median provide preliminary evidence that using the Calm © app across 12 weeks may decrease levels of burnout and increase levels of mindfulness but provided no evidence for increased self-compassion. We provide suggestions for substance abuse counselors and discuss the limitations and future research recommendations.