UTRGV MHRC trained promotores (community health workers (CHW)) in the psychological flexibility intervention in English and Spanish. Over two Saturdays in September, UTRGV MHRC trained community health workers both in English and Spanish, in the Mindful Mother’s Journey intervention. The Mindful Mother’s Journey is designed to celebrate and support the strength and resilience of women through pregnancy and motherhood. It offers a structured approach, through four sessions, to managing the unique stresses faced by women during this transformative time.
Built on insights from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), the workbook sessions aim to increase psychological flexibility. The core goal is to help mothers embrace life’s inevitable challenges with mindfulness, openness, and a commitment to their personal values. This resource is designed for active self-management and self-discovery. It moves beyond simply reading, providing practical exercises and reflections that help users apply the ACT framework to their daily lives. By prioritizing their mental, emotional, and physical health, users are making a crucial investment not only in themselves but in the well-being of their entire family. The workbook encourages mothers to be patient and gentle with themselves as they navigate the joys and challenges of this life stage.
The training for Community Health Workers (CHWs) was delivered across two full Saturdays (16 hours total) and facilitated by a four-member instructional team (two behavioral health clinicians, one research psychologist, and one director of special programs). This interdisciplinary team trained a cohort of six Community Health Workers (CHWs) in both English and Spanish. The training combined didactic instruction, experiential learning, modeling, and skills-based practice to build both knowledge and competency.
Day 1 began with a foundational focus, including pre-training assessments (e.g., AAQ-II, Self-Compassion, and comfort and confidence ratings), followed by didactic sessions introducing the core concept of psychological flexibility and the Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) framework. CHWs engaged in experiential practice by applying the ACT Matrix to their own lives, and discrimination training was incorporated using case examples to deepen conceptual understanding. The afternoon session focused on intervention skills. CHWs received didactic instruction on agenda-setting, fidelity checklists, and research-related data collection procedures. They were also introduced to the first session of the Mindful Mother’s Journey protocol, with emphasis on the key topics and tasks within each quadrant of the ACT Matrix, the evidence-based skills that promote psychological flexibility, and the structured homework assignments designed to help mothers integrate learning into daily life.
Day 2 focused on experiential learning and demonstration of sessions 2, 3, and 4 of the intervention. CHWs were first introduced to the screening survey for mothers in the study, then engaged in supervised, timed peer-to-peer role plays, rotating between delivering, observing, and providing structured feedback using fidelity checklists. These experiential activities were complemented by expert modeling, where the ACT trainers, D. George and J. Garza, demonstrated each session of the intervention. The final segment of training included competency assessment, additional practice, and an open Q&A session to reinforce confidence and clarify skills. Post-training assessments (AAQ-II, Self-Compassion, knowledge, comfort, confidence, and training satisfaction) were administered to evaluate training outcomes. Through this blended approach anchored in didactic teaching, experiential practice, modeling, and fidelity monitoring, CHWs developed the necessary knowledge, practical skills, and confidence to implement the Mindful Mother’s Journey with fidelity and cultural responsiveness.
