Guest:
Christina Lightner, PhD, CRNP, WHNP-BC, CNE (she/her) is an Assistant Teaching Professor and Coordinator of Academic Wellness at the Penn State University Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing. She is an advocate for personal health and well-being and aims to inspire others to live their best life. Dr. Lightner integrates wellness into the College environment through her leadership, connections with faculty and staff, and offering student support. She is a Registered Nurse and Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner – Board Certified (WHNP-BC) in Pennsylvania and has 16 years of experience as a nurse and teacher in labor and delivery, women’s health, maternal-child nursing, and simulation coordination. She is a National League for Nursing Certified Nurse Educator (CNE®), a trained facilitator for the Creating Opportunities for Personal Empowerment program, and a Mental Health First Aider. Dr. Lightner earned her Associate Degree in Nursing and Bachelor of Science in Nursing degrees from Penn State University, a Master of Science in Nursing with a major in Women’s Health from the University of Cincinnati, and a Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing from Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
Episode Transcript:
Lindsey Whissel Fenton: Would you say the same thing to a friend that you say to yourself? I'm Lindsey Whissel Fenton with 12 Degrees on WPSU. Self-talk might seem small, but it can shape how we handle stress, setbacks, and other hard situations. Reshaping that self-talk is a core part of MINDSTRONG, a program developed at Penn State's Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing. In this episode, I'm going to talk with my 12 Degrees podcast co-host, Dr. Christina Lightner, who's also an assistant teaching professor at Penn State, about what research reveals about how we can build resilience and support mental health through simple, evidence-based strategies like reframing, emotional regulation, and positive self-talk. Let's start big picture: what is MINDSTRONG?
Christina Lightner: MINDSTRONG is a manualized seven-week cognitive behavioral therapy program. So, cognitive behavioral therapy has that triangle; how we think affects how we feel and how we feel affects how we behave. And all of them can impact each other. And MINDSTRONG takes us a step further into developing skills around that. So, for example, a student who is having a negative thought like "I'm failing," they can frame that into something like "This is hard, but I'm learning." So it's about building mental habits that promote healthier responses to stress.
Lindsey Whissel Fenton: In your study about the MINDSTRONG program, nearly all participants, I think it was 96%, were using at least one healthy behavior a year later. What do you think helped make these lessons stick?
Christina Lightner: So, I think it was the combination of relevance, reflection, and timing. And the skills are immediately applicable. And I think the repeated practice helps build muscle memory over time.
Lindsey Whissel Fenton: The most used skills were positive thinking and self-talk. Why do you think those are the two that rose to the top?
Christina Lightner: Positive thinking and self-talk are skills that are easily accessible. So, you don't need a whole lot of resources. It's just about awareness.
Lindsey Whissel Fenton: And on the flip side, sleep and nutrition didn't score as high in terms of implementation, especially over time. What are the barriers there and how might we better support behavior change in those areas?
Christina Lightner: So, sleep and nutrition are often the first things to go when people start to feel overwhelmed. But there are also structural barriers. So, to support behavior change we can look at system-level solutions. It's about trying to promote valuing rest and nutrition and not just productivity.
Lindsey Whissel Fenton: What lessons from MINDSTRONG could help the rest of us?
Christina Lightner: We don't need to be in healthcare to benefit from the core strategies of MINDSTRONG. Practicing that positive self-talk, identifying unhelpful or negative thought patterns, and creating space for emotional processing can be beneficial for everyone.
Lindsey Whissel Fenton: If someone listening wanted to bring a program like MINDSTRONG to their school or organization, where should they start?
Christina Lightner: Starting with a champion can be very helpful. So, someone who's deeply involved in wellness and is willing to do the work. And then partnering with someone who's done it before can also be very helpful. So, they can say, “This worked for us. This didn't work for us.” So, you don't need to reinvent the wheel.
Lindsey Whissel Fenton: That was Dr. Christina Lightner, an assistant teaching professor at Penn State and one of the co-hosts of our 12 Degrees podcast. Her research focuses on emotional wellness and how cognitive skill building can help students manage stress and build lasting, healthy habits. This interview is part of 12 Degrees, a program and podcast from WPSU in collaboration with the Penn State Nese College of Nursing. Learn more at wellness-dot-psu-dot-edu. I’m Lindsey Whissel Fenton, WPSU
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This is a clip from a longer conversation. To listen to the full episode, visit:
