Brief mindfulness training for Canadian public safety personnel well-being

Abstract

The body of research demonstrating the psychological and physiological benefits of mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) is robust and spans decades, yet its adaptation for a population at significantly higher-than-average risk of negative health outcomes, operational stress injuries, moral injury, and burnout is in its infancy. Failing to address these risks has costs not just for the well-being of public safety professionals (PSPs), but for their families, their agencies, and their communities. Public safety work requires a high standard of ethical decision-making and compassionate contact with the communities served. The public safety oversight of agency, government, and training institutes must prepare its professionals to deliver exemplary levels of service as well as establish trauma-competent training and support frameworks that are evidence-based to protect PSP well-being. Remedying historically ineffective training with evidence-based models not only addresses the complexity of operational stress injuries (OSIs) but also the needs of social justice reform. Canada’s contribution to the body of research using evidence-based MBIs for PSP well-being is scarce. This literature review informs leaders, policymakers, change agents, and researchers not only of the need for such critical research in Canada, but of its current state and important considerations for its design. The efficacy of MBI is discussed, evaluating recent quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods studies towards charting a brief MBI (bMBI) logistically deliverable, attentive to the PSP cultural context needs and barriers, and which facilitates sustainable skill-building in attention, awareness, and compassion.

Barriers and bridges: Exploring the introduction of meditation and mindfulness training into Canadian policing

“…Research into the health and wellness outcomes of mindfulness training for police employees has progressed significantly in the past 5 years (Fleischmann et al, 2022;Stevenson, 2022;Withrow et al, 2023). For example, early pilot and feasibility studies were conducted which involved police participation in mindfulness-based intervention training programs.…”

“…More specifically, the current study explores the introduction of meditation and mindfulness training into Canadian police organizations. Much like the growing interest in mindfulness for other professions (Dhiman, 2021;Reina et al, 2022;Urrila, 2022b), interest in mindfulness for the well-being of police employees is also on the rise (Fleischmann et al, 2022;Stevenson, 2022;Sylven, 2023b;Withrow et al, 2023). However, a gap currently exists in the research literature on how best to introduce these mental practices into Canadian police organizations.…”

Mindful of authority: A snapshot of the meditation and contemplative practices of some Canadian Commissioned Police Officers

“…Interest in MBIs in the context of Canadian policing has recently begun to grow (Stevenson, 2022). In the United States, initial pilot and feasibility studies using mindfulness-based resiliency training (MBRT) reported benefits for high-risk professionals, including police, particularly related to reduced aggression, burnout, and sleep disturbance, and increased dispositional mindfulness, resilience, and emotional regulation (Bergman et al, 2016;Christopher et al, 2016;Eddy et al, 2021;Kaplan et al, 2017).…”

“…With this statistic in mind, the response rate of approximately 2 % of all Commissioned Officers was very low. Potential limitations to this study that may have influenced willingness to participate include: a request from a researcher outside of the police service; a single recruitment e-mail; and traction in Canada (Stevenson, 2022). With this in mind, another suggestion from the results of this study is that police organizations incorporate these training programs early in an employee's service.…”

“…Research on the potential benefits of mindfulness, meditation, and other forms of contemplative practice for the workplace has grown exponentially in the last decade (Donaldson-Feilder et al, 2019;Good et al, 2016;Shahbaz & Parker, 2021). In Canada, where calls have been made to do more to understand and support the mental wellness of first responders (Carleton et al, 2018;Ricciardelli et al, 2018;Krakauer et al, 2020;Rinkoff, 2022;Tam-Seto, 2022), the benefits of meditation and mindfulness training for enhancing the well-being of police officers is beginning to be understood (Stevenson, 2022). However, little is known about Canadian police officers' current use of meditation and other related contemplative practices.…”