An intervention based in mindfulness practices promotes emotion regulation and stress reduction in teachers

Introduction: Several studies report high levels of stress and burnout in teachers, but few studies analyze interventions that seek to alleviate this problem. Objective: A mindfulness-based intervention was carried out with the objective to promote awareness, emotion self-regulation, and stress reduction in teachers. Material and methods: Weekly meetings were held addressing these issues in a theoretical and practical way. Initial and final states of perceived stress, and positive and negative affect were assessed, using the Perceived Stress Scale, and the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule. Furthermore, teachers carried out written records of the performed practices, detailing their processes. Results: When evaluating pre-postintervention changes, significant differences were found in both scales. After the intervention, stress decreased and there was an increase in positive emotions and a decrease in negative ones. Likewise, teachers became more aware of the impact that their psycho-emotional state has on the relationship with their students. Conclusions: This mindfulness based intervention could favor not only teachers health but also improve intersubjective interactions with their students.