A mindfulness-based psychoeducation program as a social work intervention for women victims of spousal violence

Spousal violence, the most common type of violence against women, is a significant public health issue that can seriously affect women's quality of life and functionality by causing various psychological distress. Providing psychosocial services and support through various interventions is necessary to protect and maintain the psychological health of women victims of violence. Clinical social workers can alleviate women's psychological distress and contribute to improving their quality of life by using mindfulness-based interventions, which are relatively more effective, shorter in duration, and less costly compared to other approaches. In this context, the aim of this thesis is to implement a mindfulness-based psychoeducation (MBP) program tailored for women victims of spousal violence, to examine whether the intervention produces a significant change in women's levels of stress and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and to explore women's experiences with the intervention offered. This mixed-methods study adopted a randomized pretest-posttest control group design. Participants (n=31) were randomized to receive an eight-week MBP intervention (n=16) or to be in the control group (n=15). For quantitative data, the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5) were used as measurement tools for pretest-posttest assessments. For qualitative data, an Individual Interview Form consisting of open-ended questions was utilized after the intervention. Independent t-tests and ANCOVA tests were performed using SPSS for quantitative data analysis, while MAXQDA was used for qualitative data analysis. Following the implementation of MBP, statistically significant reductions were observed in participants' stress and PTSD symptoms, along with positive developments in terms of serenity, awareness, well-being, self-compassion, and effective interpersonal communication skills among women as qualitative findings. Other qualitative findings are also summarized. In conclusion, MBP had positive effects on women victims of violence, and further research on MBP in this field is expected to greatly enhance clinical social work studies.