None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of a brief 2-hour Compassionate Mind Training intervention on self-criticism, wellbeing, parenting practices, as well as child behaviour. It is designed to assist parents/caregivers with children from 3 to 9 years of age in fostering their child’s development, by adopting more compassionate orientations of mind towards their parenting style. The study will evaluate the benefits of a brief parenting intervention by incorporating physical and mental skills that cultivate compassion, such as grounding, rhythmic breathing, mindfulness, and developing more compassionate ways of relating to the self and others.
Interventions
Compassion-Focused Therapy aims to help individuals with self-criticism and emotional distress (Gilbert, 2014). Previous research suggests that even brief programs may be effective in helping alleviate stress and suffering and promoting wellbeing (Leaviss & Uttley, 2015; Gilbert & Maratos, 2017). Compassion-focused therapy (CFT) was developed by Professor Paul Gilbert from the Centre for Compassion Research and Training at the University of Derby, UK. The theoretical underpinning of CFT draws up
Compassion-Focused Therapy aims to help individuals with self-criticism and emotional distress (Gilbert, 2014). Previous research suggests that even brief programs may be effective in helping alleviate stress and suffering and promoting wellbeing (Leaviss & Uttley, 2015; Gilbert & Maratos, 2017). Compassion-focused therapy (CFT) was developed by Professor Paul Gilbert from the Centre for Compassion Research and Training at the University of Derby, UK. The theoretical underpinning of CFT draws upon evolutionary psychology, attachment theory, and applied psychology processes from neuroscience and social psychology. The Compassionate Mind Training (CMT) program is comprised of one brief 2-hour seminar, which will focus on practices including: (1) a soothing rhythm breathing practice ; (2) a practice focused on creating friendly facial expressions and voice tones as part of compassion; (3) a practice aimed to develop mindfulness and increase attention to one's current mental state; (4) a practice aimed to develop the sense of a compassionate self that is based upon feelings of wisdom, strength and commitment to be supportive and helpful to self and others; (5) an imagery practice aimed to develop a compassionate image of another mind that has caring intent towards the self; and (6) a practice aimed to develop a compassionate self that has caring intent towards the self and how to use compassion focusing to work with self-criticism and life difficulties. Ultimately, the proposed research will establish whether such a brief 2-hour intervention is beneficial to participants in terms of their wellbeing, parenting style, and child's behaviour (in comparison to a wait-list control sample drawn from the same population). The brief nature of the CMT intervention is significantly more cost-effective compared to manualised parenting and/or therapeutic interventions; thus, allowing the possibility of dissemination to greater numbers of parents at any given time, and opens up the possibility of population-level effects that are consistent with the public health model of prevention, in addition to treatment. The CMT group seminar will be delivered in-person by Dr James Kirby (Clinical Psychologist and UQ lecturer) at facilities provided by UQ's School of Psychology, St Lucia (Brisbane). At the group seminar, all participants will be provided with workbooks and access to audio recorded meditations to help facilitate independent practice of CMT. A practice diary will also need to be completed, which asks participants to reflect on their experience in the 2 weeks after attending the seminar.
Sponsors
Dr James Kirby
Study design
Allocation
Randomised controlled trial
Intervention model
Other
Primary purpose
Educational / counselling / training
Masking
Open (masking not used)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
16 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
Inclusion criteria for participants will be that parents/caregivers must: - Have at least one child between the ages of 3 and 9 years. - Demonstrate a level of self-criticism towards their own parenting style. - Be concerned about their child's social, emotional, and/or behavioural functioning.
Exclusion criteria
Exclusion criteria will be: - An inability to attend the 2-hour session. - Experiencing or affected by severe mental illness. - Not willing to complete questionnaires or be randomised. - Parents who have accessed or completed a parenting program within the previous 6 months. - Parents who have previously completed the "Mindful Self-Compassion" program (Germer & Neff). - Parents who do not meet the minimum threshold for self-reported self-criticism towards their parenting, and level of concern about their child's social, emotional, and/or behavioural functioning.
Outcome results
None listed