Promoting introspection in teacher training through Vital House: a digital program to support mental health

Aim: To explore preliminary signals of change associated with a digitalized educational innovation—The Vital House (La Casa Vital)—on psychological flexibility and introspection among prospective secondary-school teachers in Spain, with the broader goal of promoting mental health competencies relevant to adolescent well-being. Methods: A total of 82 students enrolled in a Master’s program in teacher training at a Spanish public university participated in a 10-session intervention over 2.5 months (approximately 20 hours total). The Vital House model, a metaphorical representation of personal identity through “rooms” symbolizing life roles, was adapted into a digital format. Each room included interactive resources designed to address key psychosocial variables, including self‑efficacy, emotional regulation, and cognitive defusion. Participants reflected on their learning histories and the influence of significant figures, including teachers, on adult identity. Pre- and post-intervention measures assessed components of the ACT Hexaflex model (ad-hoc questionnaire) and introspective capacity (Self-Reflection and Insight Scale-Short Form). Results: Paired-sample analyses indicated pre–post differences on five of six ACT processes: values (p = 0.048), mindfulness (p = 0.014), self-as-context (p < 0.001), cognitive defusion (p = 0.034), acceptance (p = 0.019), and on introspective capacity (p = 0.008). Effect sizes were in the small‑to‑moderate range, with Cohen’s d values ranging from 0.22 (small) to 0.42 (moderate). These findings should be interpreted cautiously given the design. Conclusions: In this pilot‑level, single‑group study, Vital House showed preliminary indications of promise for enhancing psychological flexibility and introspection in teacher training. However, the absence of a control/comparison group, the potential influence of concurrent course content, maturation, historical events, and repeated‑testing effects, as well as the lack of post‑intervention follow‑up, limit causal inference and claims about durability. Future controlled studies with follow‑up are warranted to evaluate efficacy, mechanisms, and maintenance, and to assess scalability across educational contexts.