Intercare, Mindfulness and Compassion Based Intervention for Parental Burnout

The interventions is an adaptation of an 8-week program called Mindfulness and Compassion based Intercare program designed to reduce burnout. The adaptation includes a parental burnout risk and resource balance framework, focusing on factors such as parental perfectionism, low emotional intelligence, lack of parenting practices, excess parental responsibilities, lack of co-parental support, and lack of social support. The program consists of 8 modules with practical and theoretical activities and daily tasks that require 10-30 minutes. The modules cover topics such as mindfulness, coping with stress, empathy, and self-care. Formal meditation practices include body exploration, sitting, movement, walking, eating, acceptance, compassion, and gratitude. The program also includes descriptions and motivation for practices related to identifying values that promote parenting, time management, attentive parenting techniques, and emotional management.

On a weekly basis, participants will receive reminder emails highlighting specific risk factors associated with parental burnout. These risk factors include parental perfectionism, low emotional intelligence, lack of parenting practices, excessive responsibilities, and lack of support. Each week, the reminder email will cover a different topic, providing participants with relevant information.

Every week, participants will receive two reminder emails: one with a list of activities to complete during the week and another containing information about parental burnout. This approach aims to support participants in staying engaged with the program.

The participants will have the option to join a WhatsApp group with 25 other members from the specific group to receive daily greetings, group support, and have general doubts resolved.

As part of the mindfulness intervention, participants are required to write in a journal every day with the purpose of cultivating awareness of bodily sensations, emotions, thoughts, and impulses. Each week, the journaling topic focuses on a different area, including pleasant experiences, unpleasant experiences, needs and resources, communication difficulties, and sharing resources. In contrast, the control group's journaling activity involves free writing about everyday issues, thoughts, and ideas.

Participants receive a 10 and 20-minute relaxation exercise guide called the Jacobson Progressive Relaxation, which they are expected to practice daily.