摘要：Prison system staff are exposed to high levels of stress, which can result in the development of mental disorders and reduced work efficiency in the long run. Therefore, it is important to develop prevention programs and explore their effectiveness and acceptability to prison staff, because this population is reluctant to admit difficulties. Mindfulness-based programmes have proven useful in working with different populations. The aims of this study were to investigate acceptability, appropriateness, quality of delivery, programme reach and implementation outcomes of the Stress-Focused Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy Programme with prison staff. Employees (N=36) from four penal institutions in Croatia participated in eight two-hour group workshops over two months. Before the course, immediately after the course and two months after the course, questionnaires were used to measure the dimensions of mindfulness, general psychopathology, and stress and burnout. At the end of the course, different aspects of course implementation quality were examined. The results showed that the staff was highly involved in the course, satisfied with the course and found it useful. Upon course completion, they reported being more observing and less judging, and less prone to respond automatically to their experiences (dimensions of mindfulness), having fewer problems and symptoms, greater well-being and functioning, as well as lower levels of stress and burnout. All changes were maintained during the follow-up period.
