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A Qualitative Investigation of the Experience of Mindfulness Training Among Police Officers

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Abstract

The primary objective of this study was to qualitatively assess the experience of mindfulness-based resilience training (MBRT) among police officers. MBRT is an 8-week intervention designed to enhance police officer resilience in the context of acute and chronic stressors inherent to policing. MBRT has demonstrated preliminary efficacy in decreasing aggression, burnout, alcohol use, sleep disturbance, and improving cortisol reactivity, psychological flexibility, and non-reactivity. Participants (n = 5) were police officers who completed an individual semi-structured interview post-MBRT. A coding schema was developed to identify and categorize participant responses, and then applied the final coding framework to all participant interviews. Results revealed perceived improvements in intrapersonal and interpersonal functioning, benefits of MBRT, and strategies for overcoming potential barriers to mindfulness practice. These preliminary qualitative results are consistent with quantitative psychological and physiological MBRT outcomes and provide further support for MBRT feasibility and acceptability.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to acknowledge the law enforcement personnel in this study and their families for the commitment to public service at the risk of personal safety.

Funding

Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Center for Complementary & Integrative Health of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number R21AT008854. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

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  1. School of Graduate Psychology, Pacific University, Forest Grove, OR, USA

    Ashley Eddy, Aaron L. Bergman, Josh Kaplan, Richard J. Goerling & Michael S. Christopher

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  1. Ashley Eddy
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Correspondence to Ashley Eddy.

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Conflict of Interest

Lt. Goerling is the owner and founder of the Mindful Badge Initiative (Mindful Badge LLC), a consulting firm located in Oregon which provides mindfulness training to first responders.

Ethical Approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the Pacific University Institution Review Board (project #089-15) and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Appendix: Interview Protocol

Appendix: Interview Protocol

  • Were there aspects of the training you found to be most helpful?

  • Were there aspects of the training you found to be less helpful?

  • What were the biggest obstacles to completing the course?

  • Has the training led to any changes you have noticed in your day-to-day life?

  • Has the training led to any changes you have noticed at work?

  • Are there any changes that people around you commented on as a result of the training?

  • Were there any changes in the relationship you had with the other group members over the course of the training?

  • Do you have any suggestions on how we might improve the training?

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Eddy, A., Bergman, A.L., Kaplan, J. et al. A Qualitative Investigation of the Experience of Mindfulness Training Among Police Officers. J Police Crim Psych 36, 63–71 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11896-019-09340-7

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