Self-help for stress and burnout without therapist contact: An online randomised controlled trial

Interventions designed to reduce stress and burnout may be costly and access is limited. This study examined the effectiveness of a self-help book, using Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) to target stress and burnout in a randomised controlled online trial without any therapist contact. Partic...

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Published inWork and stress Vol. 32; no. 2; pp. 189 - 208
Main Authors Hofer, Patrizia D., Waadt, Michael, Aschwanden, Regula, Milidou, Marina, Acker, Jens, Meyer, Andrea H., Lieb, Roselind, Gloster, Andrew T.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Abingdon Taylor & Francis Ltd 03.04.2018
Subjects
Acceptance and commitment therapy
Burnout
Contact stresses
Cost analysis
Emotional regulation
Flexibility
Health education
Health insurance
Health promotion
Internet
Intervention
Mental depression
Occupational health
Occupations
Psychological assessment
Psychological flexibility
Public health
Randomization
Self help
Stress
Stress management
Therapists
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Summary:Interventions designed to reduce stress and burnout may be costly and access is limited. This study examined the effectiveness of a self-help book, using Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) to target stress and burnout in a randomised controlled online trial without any therapist contact. Participants were recruited through a newsletter of a health insurance company. Participants (N = 119) who reported at least moderate levels of stress were randomly assigned to an immediate intervention (n = 61) or a waitlist group (n = 58). Measures before and after the intervention assessed stress, burnout (primary outcomes), depression, well-being, emotion regulation (secondary outcomes) and ACT-specific constructs. Compared to the waitlist group, participants in the immediate intervention group reported lower stress and burnout and higher psychological flexibility at post-assessment. Effects between groups were large for stress (d = 0.9), moderate to large for burnout (d = 0.5-0.8) and large for psychological flexibility (d = 0.8). All primary and most secondary outcomes and ACT processes continued to improve in the 3-month-follow-up period. Results suggest that an ACT self-help book without any therapist contact is effective in reducing stress and burnout for various occupations. Thus, it may provide a cost-effective public health intervention for reducing stress and burnout.
ISSN:0267-8373
1464-5335
DOI:10.1080/02678373.2017.1402389