Holistic Wellness Model Research Articles

Meaning and Wellness: A Comparative Psychobiography on Helen Suzman and Beyers Naudé.

This comparative psychobiographical study provides an in-depth exploration of meaning in the lives of two extraordinary individuals, Helen Suzman and Beyers Naudé. A comparison of the construction of meaning, as an important aspect of wellness within the holistic wellness model, is given for these South African anti-apartheid activists. Suzman (1917–2009) dedicated her career to opposing apartheid policy as a parliamentary politician. Naudé (1915–2004) was a renowned public figure dedicated to social justice in his role as a theologian. The holistic wellness model views the Neo-Adlerian life task of spirituality as crucial to ascribing meaning to life events, acknowledging multiple potential sources of meaning. The differences and similarities pertaining to the domains of meaning-making of these two subjects are explored. The subjects, who differed regarding biographical variables, were found to share a common sense of purpose within the same socio-political milieu. The study findings confirm that commitment to diverse sources of meaning and generativity are central to meaningfulness. This comparative psychobiographical study contributes to the eugraphic exploration of the meaning-making processes of these exemplary individuals.

Introduction to the special issue: Complementary medicine and integrative health approaches to trauma therapy and recovery.

The popularity of complementary and integrative health (also complementary integrated health; CIH) approaches has significantly increased in recent years. According to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH), part of the National Institutes of Health, about 1 in 3 adults and 1 in 9 children used CIH approaches to healing. Some reports estimate that the use of CIH approaches will continue to increase (Clarke et al., 2015) as these therapies are cost effective and also due to the difficulties in finding trained mental health professionals (Simon et al., 2020). For the purpose of this special issue, we use the NCCIH's definition of CIH as "a group of diverse medical and health care systems, practices, and products that are not presently considered to be part of conventional medicine" (Barnes et al., 2004, p. v). However, the integration of these therapies into the health system has not followed the same pattern despite the fact that patients report the need to discuss CIH therapies with their doctors or are actually using them (de Jonge et al., 2018; Jou & Johnson, 2016; Stapleton et al., 2015). This inability to keep up with the demand or patients' preference is possibly due to providers' lack of understanding and/or knowledge of these therapies, as well as scientific skepticism (Ali & Katz, 2015; Fletcher et al., 2017). Using data from the 2012 National Health Interview Survey, Jou & Johnson (2016) identified patterns of CIH use in the United States and reasons for patients' nondisclosure of the use of these therapies. Patients' fear of disclosure due to perceived skepticism or disapproval from their provider was frequently attributed as a cause of patients' nondisclosures to providers about the use of these therapies (Eisenberg et al., 2001; Jou & Johnson, 2016; Thomson et al., 2012). The arrival of patient-centered care models is beginning to shift the ways we understand the patient's role in treatment engagement. Patient-centered approaches often emphasize the use of preventative and holistic wellness models that go beyond the use of evidence-based treatments. This approach also seeks to be culturally responsive, which is a key factor in addressing health disparities in the United States (American Psychological Association [APA], 2019). The Institute of Medicine, in its report on CIH therapies, highlighted the importance of engaging patients in their own care, including having a decision about therapeutic options (Bondurant et al., 2005). Likewise, the Race and Ethnicity Guidelines in Psychology (APA, 2019) recommend psychologists engage the patient's cultural beliefs, or what Kleinman called the "explanatory belief model" (Kleinman, 1978)- for example, by "aim[ing] to understand and encourage indigenous/ ethnocultural sources of healing within professional practice" (APA, 2019, p. 24). (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Comparing successful aging, resilience, and holistic wellness as predictors of the good life

ABSTRACTObjectives: The purpose of the study was to compare the relative contributions of Rowe and Kahn’s definition of successful aging (SA), resilience, and the holistic wellness paradigm for predicting happiness, life satisfaction, and self-rated physical health in late life.Method: A cross-sectional research design was used to survey 200 residents across 12 senior housing sites. Criteria with strong psychometric properties representing the three constructs were operationalized using hierarchical regression within the context of relevant control variables to compare the relative strengths of the three paradigms for predicting measures of quality of life.Results: In this study, 8.5% of the sample met modified criteria for SA and were used as a comparison group with those who did not meet the criteria. Overall, holistic wellness and resilience predicted happiness, life satisfaction, and physical health better than SA alone. When predicting happiness and life satisfaction, race and holistic wellness were significant predictors. Age and holistic wellness were the best predictors of self-rated physical health.Conclusion: The criteria underlying SA poorly predicted happiness, life satisfaction, and self-rated physical health compared to the resilience and holistic wellness models. The results suggest that definitions of aging well are complex and require greater nuance. The findings have important implications for clinicians seeking translatable theoretical models that are amenable to practice with older adults, especially for those living in independent senior housing communities.

"I Find that What I Do Is at Total Odds..." Holistic Wellness in a Woman Leader Working in a Male- dominated Engineering Profession

To explore holistic wellness in depth, single, longitudinal case studies are needed. This article explores the holistic wellness of a woman leader in the male-dominated profession of Engineering, based on the holistic wellness model (HWM). The article focuses on the question of how holistic wellness is constructed by this outstanding individual working in the challenging Australian Engineering field.The study is grounded in Dilthey's modern hermeneutics and applies a single case study design using an in-depth interview, conversations on a regular basis and observation over a period of 18 months.Findings show that the woman leader, working in the male-dominated global Australian global Engineering profession, builds and bases her holistic wellness on life tasks (work and leisure, self-direction, spirituality, friendship and love) and life forces (family, religion, community and business and industry) which are part of the holistic wellness model. Life tasks and life forces support her as she tackles challenges in life, and provide her with the coping mechanisms she needs as a woman leader in Engineering.

Using a Dance/Movement Therapy-Based Wellness Curriculum: An Adolescent Case Study

This study examined the relationship between an adolescent female’s overall wellness, defined by quality of life, and her participation in a dance/movement therapy (DMT)-based holistic wellness curriculum. The curriculum focused on the topics of nutrition, mindfulness, movement, body image, and friendships. Research indicates that the curriculum topics, holistic wellness models, and DMT are each relatively effective for work with adolescent females, but their combination had yet to be explored using the format of the current study. Quantitative and qualitative data were gathered using the Youth Quality of Life-Research Version, as well as parent surveys and session transcriptions. Themes emerging from these data suggest that through engagement with the curriculum the participant increased knowledge about herself and how her body functioned, and that the use of DMT was appropriate in this particular situation. Future in-depth research with groups and different populations is warranted.

Relationship Between Nature Relatedness and Holistic Wellness: An Exploratory Study

Nature relatedness has been explored from interdisciplinary perspectives and found to be related to greater well‐being. However, nature relatedness has not been incorporated into counseling‐based holistic wellness models. This study of the relationship between nature relatedness and wellness provides implications for wellness theory, counseling practice, and research.

EcoWellness: The Missing Factor in Holistic Wellness Models

A growing body of multidisciplinary literature has delineated the benefits that natural environments have on physical and mental health. Current wellness models in counseling do not specifically address the impact of nature on wellness or how the natural world can be integrated into counseling. The concept of EcoWellness is presented as the missing link in wellness models and counseling. Integrating EcoWellness in counseling provides new and potentially powerful interventions to enhance wellness across the life span.

PROMOTING TEACHER EFFECTIVENESS THROUGH A HOLISTIC WELLNESS MODEL

Research was conducted to determine if a holistic wellness model could promote teacher effectiveness with 54 teacher interns at a Mississippi campus. The purpose of this research was to determine whether holistic wellness as defined by creative self, coping self, social self, essential self, and physical self as measured by the 5F-Wel can be used to predict teacher effectiveness as measured by the STAI. The research question proposed for this study was: Is there a relationship between wellness as measured by the Five Factor Wellness Inventory and effective teaching as measured by the STAI? The research design was correlational. A convenience sample of voluntary participants among the 54 teacher interns was used. The predictor variables were the second order factor scores on the 5F-Wel. These factors are creative self, coping self, social self, essential self, and physical self. The dependent variable was the overall formative score on the Student Teacher Assessment Instrument (STAI). Effective teacher research supported the Student Teacher Assessment Instrument as a viable measure of teacher effectiveness. The results obtained show the predictor variables included in the multiple linear regression analysis did not predict teacher effectiveness as measured by the STAI at an accuracy greater than chance. A statistically significant relationship between the predictor variables and dependent variable was not found. Specifically, wellness as measured by the second order factors on the 5F-Wel did not predict teacher effectiveness as measured by the STAI in this study. Recommendations were to replicate this study using similar methodology in other geographical locations. Being that guidelines of state universities are of unison, it can be assumed that dissimilarities exist among the individual programs. Therefore, replicating this study at another university could provide dissimilar results or possibly indentify a specific characteristic from an intern population that would benefit from a holistic wellness model. Key words: teacher efficacy, teacher wellness, holistic wellness, student teacher.

Wellness of children in Israel and the United States: A preliminary examination of culture and well-being

Several studies have stressed the importance and relevance for understanding the impact of culture in shaping adolescents’ world and well-being. This study was undertaken as a preliminary cross-cultural examination of wellness in two samples including 629 children in the United States and 240 children in Israel. The Indivisible Self, an evidence-based, multidimensional, holistic wellness model by Myers and Sweeney was chosen as the conceptual foundation for the research. The two groups differed significantly on three of five second-order factors, with Israeli students scoring higher on Coping and Social Self factors and US students scoring higher on the Essential Self. Significant main effects were observed for differences in gender but not age. Follow-up analyses revealed age differences among the Israeli students on three factors (Creative, Essential, and Physical Self) plus Total Wellness, with younger students scoring higher, and gender differences among the US students on three factors. Implications for counseling services and for further research are discussed.

Development of a holistic wellness model for managers in tertiary institutions

Individuals struggle to attain optimal wellness and health levels due to unhealthy lifestyle behaviour. A holistic wellness model was developed in this study to provide a framework for a cross-sectional survey to assess the wellness behaviour and health risk levels of managers in two South African universities. A census was done on the total population of 324 and responses were received from 89 managers. The study employed descriptive and inferential statistical procedures to analyse the quantitative data. The findings suggested that the managers had high levels of wellness behaviour and low levels of health risks. Physical fitness and nutrition as well as medical self-care wellness behaviour levels were identified as weaknesses among managers, for which urgent interventions are required.

Developing A Holistic Wellness Model

The objective of the present study was the development of a holistic theoretical wellness model that served as frame of reference for the construction of a valid and reliable inventory that was considered suitable for the assessment of wellness of employees of a South African life insurance organisation. The 5 Factor Wellness Inventory was developed from existing proven wellness inventories. A non-random sample of 673 employees of the organisation concerned participated in a cross-sectional survey by completing the Inventory and a biographical questionnaire. Goodness of fit between the holistic wellness model and a data set derived from the application of the 5 Factor Wellness Inventory was determined empirically. The structural equation modelling statistics produced acceptable goodnessof- fit indices albeit with some scope for improvement. The Root Mean Square Error of Approximation indices supported acceptance of the holistic work-wellness model. The validity of the Inventory was also estimated.

Putting More Life Into Life Career Courses: The Benefits of a Holistic Wellness Model

Career and life planning courses are gaining popularity across university campuses. The authors outline curricula for career and life planning courses that integrate a holistic wellness approach with career development Curriculum and learning activities to enhance the life planning component of the course are included.

Adherence to a Wellness Model and Perceptions of Psychological Well‐Being

This study investigated the relationship between college students' perceived psychological well‐being and the quality of their lives on 5 variables associated with a 5‐factor holistic wellness model. The Wellness Evaluation of Lifestyle (Witmer, Sweeney, & Myers, 1993) and Memorial University of Newfoundland Scale of Happiness (Kozma & Stones, 1994) were completed by 155 undergraduate college students. Multivariate regression analysis revealed a significant relationship between 5 dimensions of wellness and both short‐term state and long‐term trait constructs of psychological well‐being. Subsequent univariate analysis found that students' ability to self‐regulate, identity with work, and friendships contributed the most to their psychological well‐being. Implications for college counseling centers and student development professionals are presented.