Caregiver Training in Mindfulness-Based Positive Behavior Supports (MBPBS): Effects on Caregivers and Adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

Singh et al. (2016) ran a 7-day mindfulness camp for caregivers in group homes. The adults they served had intellectual or developmental disabilities.

The camp taught Mindfulness-Based Positive Behavior Supports, or MBPBS. Staff learned to pause, notice urges, and pick calm responses instead of quick restraints.

After the week-long training, physical restraints dropped. Staff stress, injuries, and turnover also went down. The agency even saved money.

The same calm skills spread to how caregivers treated the residents. Adults with IDD showed fewer behavior crises.

McAdam et al. (2005) did something similar eleven years earlier. They trained staff to write and run PBS plans for adults with IDD. Most clients showed lasting drops in problem behavior. Singh’s work adds mindfulness to that recipe.

Erath et al. (2020) packed behavioral skills training into a single-day workshop. Their staff reached near-perfect fidelity after a few hours. Singh needed seven days, but both studies show brief group training can change adult-caregiver behavior.

Almén et al. (2020) cut caregiver stress with a short self-management plan. Singh got the same stress drop, yet used mindfulness and caregiver coaching instead of self-monitoring.

If you run a group home, you can copy this 7-day model. One week of mindfulness and PBS training can replace heavy restraint use with calm support. Staff stay safer, residents stay calmer, and budgets breathe easier. Try opening your next staff meeting with two minutes of guided breathing and build from there.