Selah Trial of Stress Interventions for Clergy: Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction, Daily Examen, and Stress Inoculation

"Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) teaches several different kinds of meditation. MBSR is offered as an online course through Duke Integrative Medicine and is based on the national model first developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn at the University of Massachusetts. It includes exercises in awareness of breath, body scans, walking meditation, choiceless open awareness, Loving Kindness Meditation, and bringing awareness to the present moment. The MBSR Distance Learning course consists of 8 weekly sessions via video conference and includes meditation instruction, periods of guided practice, and group discussion."

"The Daily Examen is a simple but powerful prayer used by Jesuits every day. It takes only 10-15 minutes and can be used to reflect on positive emotions, move past negative emotions, and align one's work with God's work. The Examen directs the person praying to focus on a five-step routine:~1. Become aware of God's presence;~2. Give thanks to God for everything in your life;~3. Review the events of the day guided by the Holy Spirit;~4. Look at what went well or wrong in the past day; if at fault, ask God for forgiveness; and~5. Look toward tomorrow - what one thing should you do? Listen to what God is telling you."

This intervention includes a combination of stress inoculation and general stress reduction activities focused on physiology, with exercises that bypass the brain and work directly on the body to mitigate the symptoms of stress. This system is based on Stress Inoculation Training, which uses breathing to prepare people in advance for stressful episodes and recovery skills for following such episodes. The techniques include a variety of breathing, blood flow, and tension control methods, as well as ways to conduct deep tissue massage on oneself to release muscle tension. The awareness aspect involves understanding stress biology and learning to spot the symptoms of stress in oneself and others.