Stress
Can online self-compassion training cut stress in psychologists?
Open access · cc by · source: Europe PMC
A short web-based course in mindful self-compassion lowered stress and burnout symptoms in working psychologists compared with a wait-list, and people who became less harsh on themselves improved most.
Study at a glance
- Design
- RCT — Individually randomised wait-list controlled trial; pre-post measures analysed with intention-to-treat mixed linear models
- N
- N=101 · 101 randomised (52 intervention, 49 wait-list); post-test completed by 40 in the intervention group and 41 in the control group
- Population
- Practicing psychologists in Sweden recruited through a closed Facebook group, almost all women
- Outcome
- Perceived stress (PSS) and burnout symptoms (SMBQ) as primary outcomes; self-compassion (SCS) and mindfulness (FFMQ) as secondary
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Key findings
Compared with the wait-list, the trained group improved on every measure. Gains in self-compassion were large, gains in mindfulness and reductions in self-coldness were moderate, and reductions in stress and burnout were smaller, with the weakest effects on physical fatigue. Self-coldness was more strongly related to stress and burnout than the positive self-compassion items, and decreases in self-coldness tracked decreases in burnout. Gains in mindfulness explained an extra 16.1% of the variance in stress reduction beyond changes in self-compassion.
Methodology
The researchers randomly assigned 101 practicing psychologists in Sweden to a 6-week online program or to a wait-list. The program asked for about 15 minutes of guided practice a day, mixing standard mindfulness exercises such as body scans with loving-kindness and self-compassion exercises. Everyone completed questionnaires on stress, burnout, self-compassion and mindfulness before and after, and the authors also split the self-compassion scale into a 'self-compassion' part and a 'self-coldness' (self-judgement, isolation, over-identification) part.
Limitations
The control group simply waited, so expectancy and attention effects cannot be separated from the specific self-compassion content; the authors call for an active control such as a plain mindfulness program. All outcomes were self-reported, there was no long-term follow-up, and almost all participants were women recruited through social media, so results may not generalise to men or to less motivated staff. The analyses linking change in self-coldness to change in burnout are correlational, and compassion toward patients was never measured.
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