The adolescent stage of development is particularly challenging. Because of the biological, cognitive, and social transitions of adolescence, this stage of development is seen as an important time for interventions promoting well-being (Steinberg, 1999). Recent research suggests that self-compassionate teens experience greater psychological health than those without self-compassion (Neff & McGehee, in press). To date, however, there have been no self-compassion interventions targeted at the adolescent population. This dissertation is a pilot study investigating the development, implementation and assessment of a self-compassion intervention for an adolescent population. The intervention took the form of a weekend “Self-Compassion Retreat” for high-school students, ages 14-17. Over a two day period, 17 subjects participated in the intervention focused on helping the students to understand and begin to incorporate the three dimensions of self-compassion – self kindness, common humanity and mindfulness. The intervention attempted to deepen student understanding of self-compassion by focusing on experiential and contemplative learning strategies (Kabat-Zinn, 1997; Hart, 2004). The 17 students were introduced to the concept of self-compassion through presentations, small group and contemplative exercises as well as individual interviews. The self-compassion intervention was assessed by testing participants along five different dimensions: self-compassion, depression, anxiety, social connectedness, and happiness at three different time points. The intervention was also assessed through individual interviews following the intervention. Though the quantitative results from the pilot study yielded no significant data for the current sample, the qualitative data provided promising information for future interventions aimed at increasing self-compassion. / text

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Thesis (M.A.)--The Master's College, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 129-132).

Thesis (M.A.)--The Master's College, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 129-132).

Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is one of the most common anxiety disorders, with lifetime prevalence rates of 3 to 13% (Statistics Canada, 2015). SAD is characterized by excessive fear of being negatively judged or scrutinized by others in social or performance situations (Cox, Fleet, & Stein, 2004). Previous research has demonstrated a relationship between SAD and self-compassion, and SAD and mindfulness. People with SAD show lower levels of self-compassion compared to healthy controls (Werner et al., 2012), and some research (Neff and Germer, 2013) has indicated that self-compassion can be taught as a skill to enhance levels of self-compassion and overall well-being. As well, mindfulness is a related concept that has been linked to SAD; those with SAD tend to see improvement to their symptoms with mindfulness-based interventions (e.g., Koszycki et al., 2016). Self-compassion and mindfulness are related but distinct constructs that are thought to influence a variety of mental health outcomes. However, few studies have evaluated these constructs concurrently in the context of mental health. The current study examined associations between trait mindfulness, self-compassion and clinical variables in 136 patients with at least moderately severe social anxiety disorder (SAD). Bivariate correlations revealed that higher ratings of self-compassion and facets of mindfulness were associated with less severe social anxiety and depressive symptoms and better functioning and self-esteem. Self-compassion emerged as the strongest predictor of SAD outcomes in regression models. Mediation analysis found that the mindfulness facet Describe served as an indirect mediator in the relationship between self-compassion and severity of clinician-rated social anxiety symptoms. Self-compassion emerged as a mediator between each facet of mindfulness and severity of self- and clinician-rated social anxiety symptoms. Overall, findings from this preliminary cross-sectional study suggest that self-compassion may be a robust indicator of SAD outcomes, and that the ability to label one’s experience may partially explain the self-compassion–SAD symptom relationship. Implications for further SAD research are discussed.

The nature of sport competition involves athletes being compared and ranked based on athletic ability, with athletes invariably confronted by potential threat of subjective and objective failure within their sport context. Given this circumstance and the extraordinary amount of pressure athletes often experience, developing an ability to be kind towards oneself in the face of perceived failure could be an important part of sport training. This study evaluated the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of a 4-week self-guided online self-compassion program for athletes. Eighty competitive athletes who participate in time-based sports were recruited from sport organizations and randomly assigned to either a 4-week self-compassion program or a wait-list control. Participants in both groups completed pre- and post-study self-report measures of self-compassion, mindfulness, general anxiety, sport-related anxiety, and perceived sport performance. Objective athletic performance was obtained through performance logs. Results indicated that the self-compassion program was of interest to sport organizations and athletes. However, attrition was high and there were challenges with program adherence. Linear mixed model analyses revealed that relative to the wait-list control, participants in the self-compassion group demonstrated significantly greater improvement in overall levels of self-compassion, the self-compassion element of common humanity, and the mindfulness facet Observe. No significant differences between the groups were found for measures of anxiety and perceived and objective sport performance. Factors influencing compliance with online self-compassion programs such as participant readiness and fears of self-compassion are explored. Program efficacy, study limitations, and directions for future research are also discussed. While the self-compassion program is feasible, challenges in program adherence need to be addressed in future studies. Future research should continue formulating the concept of self-compassion in sport to reflect the needs and interests of athletes, consider including several formats and methods of program delivery, add a motivational component to address barriers to participation and program adherence, and work in collaboration with sport coaches and teams.

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No description available.

Bakgrund: Medkänsla är en hörnsten i omvårdnad. En del av att visa medkänsla är att dela andra personers lidande. Vid compassion fatigue förlorar sjuksköterskan förmågan att visa medkänsla och får därmed svårt att möta lidande. Compassion fatigue har en negativ inverkan på sjuksköterske- och patientrelationen såväl som sjuksköterskans egna fysiska och psykiska hälsa samt förändrar hur sjuksköterskan ser på sin roll och på yrket. Syftet med litteraturstudien var att belysa sjuksköterskans upplevelse av compassion fatigue. Metod: En litteraturstudie genomfördes med kvalitativ ansats och tio artiklar inkluderades i resultatet. Databassökningarna gjordes i databaserna Cinahl och Pubmed. SBU:s granskningsmall för kvalitativ forskningsmetod användes vid kvalitetsgranskningen och för analysen användes Popenoes manual för dataanalys av litteraturstudier. Resultat: Två kategorier framkom: Compassion fatigue på arbetet och compassion fatigue under ledig tid samt nio subkategorier: tömd på energi, känslor av otillräcklighet, sorg vid patienters bortgång, förlorad medkänsla i mötet med patienten, förändringar av den professionella rollen, förändrad syn på sjuksköterskeyrket, gränsen mellan arbete och fritid suddas ut, trötthet i själen och mindre energi för personliga relationer. Konklusion: Vid compassion fatigue upplever sjuksköterskan att tillvaron förändras och hälsan försämras. När sjuksköterskor inte förmår möta sitt eget lidande förlorar de förmågan att möta och lindra patienters lidande och förmågan att visa medkänsla försvinner. När förmågan att visa medkänsla går förlorad kan patienters smärta och stress öka samt patienters hälsa försämras. / Background: Compassion is a cornerstone of nursing. Part of showing compassion is sharing the suffering of others. When affected by compassion fatigue the nurse loses the ability to show compassion. Compassion fatigue has a negative impact on the nurse and patient relationship as well as the nurse's own physical and mental health and changes how the nurse views her role and the profession.Aim: the aim of the literature review is to illuminate the nurse’s experience of compassion fatigue. Method: A literature review was conducted with a qualitative approach and ten articles were included in the results. The database searches were made in the databases Cinahl and Pubmed. SBU's review template for qualitative research methods was used in the quality review and for the analysis Popenoe´s manual for data analysis of literature studies was used. Result: Two categories emerged: Compassion fatigue at work and compassion fatigue during free time as well as nine subcategories: depleted of energy, feelings of inadequacy, grief at the death of patients, loss of compassion in the meeting with the patient, changes in the professional role, changed view of the nursing profession, blurring of the boundary between work and leisure, fatigue of the soul and less energy for personal relationships. Conclusion: For the nurse experiencing compassion fatigue the existence changes and health deteriorates. When nurses are unable to face their own suffering, they lose the ability to face and alleviate patients' suffering and feel compassion. When nurses' ability to show compassion is lost, patients' pain and stress can increase, and patients' health deteriorate.

Les psychologues travaillant avec une clientèle qui a vécu des traumatismes sont susceptibles d’expérimenter de la fatigue de compassion (FC) associée à leur travail thérapeutique, mais peuvent également en tirer des aspects positifs tels que la satisfaction de compassion (SC) et la croissance post-traumatique vicariante (CPTV). L’ensemble de ces phénomènes est très peu exploré chez la population spécifique des psychologues, particulièrement au Québec. De plus, certains facteurs tels que le genre du psychologue ou le type de traumatisme traité semblent avoir une influence sur le développement de la FC, de la SC et de la CPTV, mais l’influence de ces variables a reçu peu de validation empirique dans l’étude de ces phénomènes. La présente étude exploratoire visait donc à évaluer les niveaux de FC, de SC et de CPTV chez les psychologues québécois travaillant avec des personnes traumatisées et à vérifier la variation de ces niveaux en fonction de variables indépendantes telles que le genre du psychologue, son âge, ses années d'expérience, son niveau de formation, le recours à la supervision, la proportion de patients traumatisés, le type de traumatisme traité, l'histoire traumatique personnelle du psychologue, l’orientation professionnelle ainsi que la formation spécifique au traitement du trauma. Un questionnaire sociodémographique, le Professionnal Quality of Life (ProQOL-V) ainsi que le Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI) ont été administrés à 54 psychologues québécois travaillant avec des personnes traumatisées afin de mesurer le niveau de FC, de SC et de CPTV. Les associations entre les variables indépendantes et la FC, la SC et la CPTV ont été mesurées par des tests t, des ANOVA ainsi que des analyses de régression. Les niveaux de FC et de SC chez les psychologues québécois de l’échantillon sont comparables aux études recensées auprès de psychologues d’autres populations, alors que le niveau de CPTV se situe légèrement en dessous du niveau recensé dans une étude comparable. Les facteurs importants qui sont associés à des niveaux plus élevés de CPTV sont la présence d’une histoire traumatique personnelle, le travail dans le réseau public (versus en cabinet privé) ainsi que le fait de ne pas avoir reçu de formation spécifique au traitement du trouble de stress post-traumatique. Quant à la SC, les facteurs importants qui sont associés à un niveau plus élevé sont un âge plus élevé, plus d’années d’expérience, moins de patients traités pour un trauma relié à la maladie et moins d’heures de supervision par mois. Finalement, une seule variable est clairement identifiée comme significative pour la modulation de la FC, soit le taux de patients traumatisés traités par le psychologue. Cependant, la faible puissance statistique résultant du petit échantillon laisse présager que d’autres variables pourraient être significativement en lien avec les niveaux de CPTV, de SC et de FC, mais cela ne pourra être confirmé ou infirmé que par des recherches futures menées auprès d’un échantillon plus large. Des recommandations au niveau de la prévention, de la sensibilisation et de la psychoéducation peuvent être tirées de cette recherche.