Exploring Undergraduate Nursing Students’ Experiences of Engaging With a Dialectical Behavior Therapy-Skills Group Intervention: Findings of a Thematic Analysis

Study Background Nursing students often have high levels of stress leading to negative consequences for academic performance and overall well-being. Novel strategies are needed to help students manage stress. Purpose To explore students’ experiences with an evidence-based intervention—Dialectical Be...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Canadian journal of nursing research 2021-03, Vol.53 (1), p.39-46
Main Authors: Beanlands, Heather, McCay, Elizabeth, Wang, Angel, Aiello, Andria, Schwind, Jasna, Martin, Lori Schindel, Mina, Elaine Santa, Rose, Donald, Fredericks, Suzanne, Newman, Kristine
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adaptation, Psychological
Behavior modification
Dialectical Behavior Therapy
Education, Nursing, Baccalaureate
Educational evaluation
Group therapy
Humans
Nursing education
Occupational stress
Qualitative Research
Students
Students, Nursing
Teenagers
Writing
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Summary:Study Background Nursing students often have high levels of stress leading to negative consequences for academic performance and overall well-being. Novel strategies are needed to help students manage stress. Purpose To explore students’ experiences with an evidence-based intervention—Dialectical Behavior Therapy-Skills Group (DBT-SG). Methods We conducted a mixed-methods study to pilot test a DBT-SG intervention, modified for use with undergraduate nursing students. Qualitative data collected as part of this study included focus groups and written responses on a study questionnaire. Thematic analysis of these data was undertaken to explore how students experienced the intervention. The results of this analysis are reported here. Results Five themes were uncovered: experiencing stress and de-stressing, feeling accepted and validated, acquiring skills, shifting perspectives, and enhanced well-being. Conclusions Our findings suggest that by engaging with DBT-SG, nursing students felt accepted and validated, acquired a variety of skills to cope with stress, as well as developed new perspectives, such as the value of practicing self-care, which contributed to enhanced well-being. Future research could build on these results by further exploring how to best create accepting and validating learning environments where students are encouraged to develop interpersonal relationship skills and enact self-care to further support their well-being and professional development.
ISSN:0844-5621
1705-7051
DOI:10.1177/0844562119896487