A Self-Compassion Group Intervention for Patients Living With Chronic Medical Illness: Treatment Development and Feasibility Study
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Self-compassion is a psychological skill associated with good mental health and adjustment to illness in the second half of life, but to date, few self-compassion-based interventions have been developed specifically for use in midlife and older adult cohorts. The purpose of this study was to develop and test the feasibility of a 4-week group self-compassion-based intervention designed to improve self-report and biological markers of well-being in midlife and older adult patients living with chronic illness. METHODS: Treatment development drew on existing literature, expert input, and qualitative interview data. Eight patients in outpatient treatment for a chronic illness were recruited from a rehabilitation hospital (during September and October 2017 and again during February and March 2018) to test feasibility. Participants attended a 1-hour group self-compassion-based intervention once per week for 4 weeks. Feasibility was assessed on 6 domains. Measures of well-being and heart rate variability (HRV), an index of nervous system functioning, were also collected. RESULTS: Recruitment was feasible and occurred within the expected time frame. Attendance at sessions was high (84.4%), with no dropouts. Participants found that the intervention was acceptable, rating sessions as enjoyable (6.8/7) and relevant to daily life (6.6/7). There were no adverse events. Secondary analysis revealed pre-post improvements for some well-being outcomes, such as a significant reduction in depressive symptoms (Hedges' g = -1.18, 95% CI, -0.18 to -2.16). CONCLUSIONS: A 4-session group self-compassion-based intervention was found to be feasible and acceptable to midlife and older adult patients in treatment for a chronic illness. A larger, randomized pilot trial is needed to explore the efficacy of this intervention. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ANZCTR) identifier: ACTRN12619000709145.
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The integration of compassion-based components in psychological interventions in the IBD population may be beneficial and has been proven effective in other chronic conditions.
“The integration of compassion-based components in psychological interventions in this population may thus be beneficial and has been proven effective in other chronic conditions (Brown et al., 2019; Gooding et al., 2020).”
From Randomized controlled trial of an Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and compassion-based group intervention for persons with inflammatory bowel disease: the LIFEwithIBD intervention (2024) · cites this paper as Brown et al., 2019
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Hodgetts, J., McLaren, S., Bice, B., & Trezise, A. (2020) · Aging & Mental Health · doi:10.1080/13607863.2020.1824207 · Cited by 40 · see citing works
“…interventions among older adults are in their infancy, with recent pilot studies indicating a significant reduction in depressive symptoms among midlife and older adults with chronic illness (Brown et al., 2019) and older adults with dementia (Craig, Hiskey, Royan, Poz, & Spector, 2018).”
BackgroundTrindade, I. A., Pereira, J., Galhardo, A., Ferreira, N. B., Lucena-Santos, P., Carvalho, S. A., Oliveira, S., Skvarc, D., Rocha, B. S., Portela, F., et al. (2021) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2021.699367 · Cited by 20 · see citing works
Cultivating Self-Compassion to Improve Mental Health in Autistic Adults
Cai, R. Y., & Brown, L. (2020) · Autism in Adulthood · doi:10.1089/aut.2020.0034 · Cited by 19 · see citing works
“68 Through Dr. Brown’s clinical practice working with a range of clinical populations, she has found that self-compassion-based exercises can be beneficial to support emotion regulation and overall well-being.”
Self-citationPosa, S., Wasilewski, M. B., Mercer, S. W., Simpson, S., Robinson, L. R., & Simpson, R. (2022) · International Journal of Rehabilitation Research · doi:10.1097/mrr.0000000000000542 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
Ferreira, C., Pereira, J., Skvarc, D., Oliveira, S., Galhardo, A., Ferreira, N. B., Lucena-Santos, P., Carvalho, S. A., Matos-Pina, I., Rocha, B. S., et al. (2024) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1367913 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
Othman, S., Steen, M., & Abdelnasser, N. (2025) · Aging & Mental Health · doi:10.1080/13607863.2025.2476653 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Wang, H., Ding, J., Liu, G., Sun, G., Zhang, X., Xiao, W., Cai, Y., & Lin, A. (2025) · Frontiers in Medicine · doi:10.3389/fmed.2025.1630034 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Ferreira, C., Pereira, J. L., Matos‐Pina, I., Skvarc, D., Galhardo, A. B., Ferreira, N. B., Carvalho, S. A., Lucena‐Santos, P., Rocha, B. S., Oliveira, S. M., et al. (2024) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1369577 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Self-Compassion and Positive Aging
Brown, L. (2023) · Mindfulness in behavioral health · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-22348-8_7 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Self-citationSelf-Compassion and Chronic Medical Conditions
Finlay‐jones, A. L., Boggiss, A. L., & Serlachius, A. S. (2023) · Mindfulness in behavioral health · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-22348-8_19 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Kabirinasab, Y., Bahrainian, S. A., Ahi, G., & Mansouri, A. (2024) · Journal of Psychological Science · doi:10.61186/jps.23.142.209
Le, K. N., COELHO, C. A., Feinn, R., & Fiszdon, J. M. (2026) · JMIR Research Protocols · doi:10.2196/86329
“This sample size was determined to be reasonable to allow for ongoing refinements to the treatment protocol as feedback is obtained from successive participants and is consistent with sample sizes used in other such treatment development trials [76].”
- Authors
- Brown, L., Karmakar, C., Flynn, M., Motin, M. A., Palaniswami, M., Celano, C. M., Huffman, J., & Bryant, C.
- Affiliations
- Harvard University (US)
- Deakin University (AU)
- The University of Melbourne (AU)
- Corresponding author
- Brown, Lydia
- ORCID
- Venue
- The Primary Care Companion For CNS Disorders
- Publisher
- Physicians Postgraduate Press, Inc
- Published
- 2019-09-26
- Volume
- 21
- Issue
- 5
- ISSN
- 2155-7772 (ISSN-L)
- 2155-7780
- OpenAlex
- W2976023447
- Cited by
- 12
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 2
- FWCI
- 1.17
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- The Primary Care Companion For CNS Disorders (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- RMIT Research Repository (RMIT University Library) (submittedVersion)
- Figshare (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Health, psychology, and well-being
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction
- Keywords
- self-compassion, group intervention, chronic disease, middle-aged and older adults, feasibility, well-being, depressive symptoms, heart rate variability, rehabilitation hospital patients, treatment development
- MeSH terms
- Aged, Chronic Disease, Empathy, Feasibility Studies, Female, Heart Rate, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care, Patient Acceptance of Health Care, Personal Satisfaction, Psychotherapy, Group, Self Concept
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