“Given the low cost and ease of access—from mothers’ own workplaces, homes, or even while traveling—such virtual groups might be considered a useful model to be explored further in future work with mothers.”

National Academies of Science, Engineering & Medicine

2019, p. 282

Toward Fostering Resilience on a Large Scale: Connecting Communities of Caregivers

ABSTRACT: In interventions for at-risk children, Tom Dishion strongly exhorted programs that are short term, cost-effective, and delivered in families’ own communities, just as resilience researchers underscore the need for programs that provide ongoing support for children’s primary care-givers, and are implementable on a large scale. Presented here are preliminary results on a short-term intervention for mothers, the Authentic Connections Virtual Groups…
Read More

Authentic Connections Groups: A Pilot Test of an Intervention Aimed at Enhancing Resilience Among Nurse Leader Mothers

BACKGROUND: Nurse leaders who are mothers are at significant risk for experiencing stress, burnout, and occupational fatigue. Authentic Connections (AC) Groups is an intervention shown to be effective for fostering resilience among at-risk moms, including physicians; however, it has not previously been tested with nurse leaders. Aims: Our aims were to test the feasibility and acceptability of the AC Groups intervention with nurse leader mothers…
Read More

Fostering Resilience among Mothers under Stress: “Authentic Connections Groups” for Medical Professionals

ABSTRACT: We report on effects of an intervention to foster resilience among professional women at high risk for stress and burnout: health care providers (physicians, PhD clinicians, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners) who are mothers. Methods: Between February and November 2015, 40 mothers on staff at the Mayo Clinic, Arizona, were assigned randomly to either 1) 12 weekly 1-hour sessions of a structured, relational supportive intervention, the Authentic Connections...
Read More