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Research indicating high rates of chronic disease among some clergy groups highlights the need for health programming for clergy. Like any group united by similar beliefs and norms, clergy may find culturally tailored health programming more accessible and effective. There is an absence of research on what aspects clergy find important for clergy health programs. We conducted 11 focus groups with United Methodist Church pastors and district superintendents. Participants answered open-ended questions about clergy health program desires and ranked program priorities from a list of 13 possible programs. Pastors prioritized health club memberships, retreats, personal trainers, mental health counseling, and spiritual direction. District superintendents prioritized for pastors: physical exams, peer support groups, health coaching, retreats, health club memberships, and mental health counseling. District superintendents prioritized for themselves: physical exams, personal trainers, health coaching, retreats, and nutritionists. Additionally, through qualitative analysis, nine themes emerged concerning health and health programs: (a) clergy defined health holistically, and they expressed a desire for (b) schedule flexibility, (c) accessibility in rural areas, (d) low cost programs, (e) institutional support, (f) education on physical health, and (g) the opportunity to work on their health in connection with others. They also expressed concern about (h) mental health stigma and spoke about (i) the tension between prioritizing healthy behaviors and fulfilling vocational responsibilities. The design of future clergy health programming should consider these themes and the priorities clergy identified for health programming.

Accessible summary What is known on the subject? Mental health nurses provide care within an environment that is often threatening. The environment is often threatening because: (a) patients' needs are complex and highly emotional, (b) nurses often do not have the time and resources they would wish for and (c) caring for patients can be emotionally exhausting and distressing. Compassionate care involves providing a welcoming environment, promoting bidirectional compassion, providing training in compassion and creating supportive organizations. To date, there is no study evaluating compassion interventions for the high‐threat profession of mental health nursing and no study qualitatively evaluating compassion training and implementation. What the paper adds to existing knowledge? This study looked at what happens if compassion training delivered by the originator of Gilbert's model of compassion is given to mental health nurses. Nurses were interviewed 1 year later to see how relevant and useful the training was, and whether they had been able to use it in their daily work. Consistent with previous studies, the study found a reduction in professionals' self‐criticism and an increase in self‐compassion, which in this study extended to increased compassion and reduced criticism of colleagues and patients; and professionals applying the training directly to reduce patient self‐criticism. What are the implications for practice? Nurses felt that more training and supervision was needed to build the confidence to use the training regularly at work. They felt it had been difficult to use the training because of the threatening environment in which they worked. Nurses recommended that the whole organization would need the training to make it part of their everyday work. Abstract IntroductionCompassionate care involves providing a welcoming environment, promoting bidirectional compassion, providing training in compassion and creating supportive organizations. To date, there has not been a study evaluating compassion interventions for the high‐threat profession of mental health nursing. Neither has there been a study providing an in‐depth qualitative evaluation of training and implementation. The current study aims to address these gaps in the literature. AimThe aims were to evaluate Compassionate Mind Training‐CMT for mental health nurses and to assess implementation. MethodFocus groups were conducted (N = 28) 1 year later to evaluate CMT and implementation. ResultsContent analysis revealed four training themes: (a) Useful framework; (b) Thought‐provoking and exciting; (c) Appreciation of person‐centred approach; and (d) Need for ongoing training and supervision. Three implementation themes emerged: (a) Applied approach with patients and staff themselves; (b) Environmental challenges to implementation; and (c) Attitudinal challenges to implementation. DiscussionConsistent with previous studies, professionals experienced reduced self‐criticism and an increased self‐compassion, which extended to increased compass...

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