Participation in an integrative healing retreat for families that have children with special health care needs improves the self-efficacy of parents

The purpose of this study was to assess changes in the self-efficacy of parents who have children with special health care needs (SHCN) after participation in a one-week integrative healing retreat. Two summer retreats were held in Tucson, AZ; seven families participated in 2010 and seven participated in 2011. Before and immediately after the retreat, parents completed a 10-item self-efficacy scale adapted for this population to measure their confidence in their ability to obtain help, communicate with their child/partner, manage their child's condition and cope with stress. More than 50 alternative and complementary health practitioner volunteers provided each family member with group and individual therapies each day of the retreat. The most common therapies provided during the retreat were massage therapy, craniosacral therapy, and equine therapy. Parents also participated in a variety of group sessions, including mother and father support groups, nutritional counseling, health coaching, and reiki training. Paired t-tests revealed that in both years, parents' self-efficacy improved significantly from 34.1 to 41.6 (p=.002) in 2010 and 30.4 to 42.4 (p<.001) in 2011. With the new skills and knowledge that parents gained during the retreat combined with the compassionate care of the integrative healing practitioners, parents seemed to feel more confident in their ability to both handle the stress of being a parent of a child with SHCN and to also care for their child and themselves. Future retreats should continue to focus on increasing self-efficacy for parents, children with SHCN, and their siblings in a supportive environment.