Psychosomatic and physical responses to a multi-component stress management program among teaching professionals: A randomized study of cognitive behavioral intervention (CB) with complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) approach

The present study aims to assess psychosomatic and physical responses to a multi-component stress management program with the use of CAM and CB approaches among teaching professionals in Hong Kong. A random controlled trial (RCT) was used to compare between CB group (n = 26) and the CAM-CB group (n = 30). Interventions were administered for 1.5 h once a week for eight consecutive weeks. A self-administered questionnaire including perceived stress scale (PSS) and frequency of psychosomatic symptoms were measured at baseline (T1), immediate after the program (T2), and 4 weeks after the program (T3). Physical parameters were measured at T1 and T2. A reduction of 23% in PSS was observed in the CB group, while the CAM-CB group yielded 18% reductions in PSS from T1 to T3 [F(2,108) = 3.099; p = .049]. No significant interactions were observed in the frequency of psychosomatic symptoms and physical parameters. However, a significant downward time trend was observed (p