The effectiveness of smartphone compassion training on stress among Swedish university students: A pilot randomized trial

Andersson, Christina; Bergsten, Katja Lindert; Lilliengren, Peter; Norbäck, Kajsa; Rask, Karin; Einhorn, Stefan; Osika, Walter

doi:10.1002/jclp.23092

Cited by 16 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 98 publications

(102 reference statements)

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“…Acknowledging and exploring the role the inner critic plays, and trying to meet the critic's needs by responding with a compassionate mind is an important cornerstone in CFT [2,5,24]. Using an app based on the CFT model appeared to initiate greater self-awareness, self-kindness, and self-compassion, and helped participants work toward befriending their self-critic, which supports the findings of Andersson et al [25], who found that compassion training via a smartphone application improved levels of self-compassion.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 53%

“…This study is the first to examine how a 28-day course, introducing new aspects of the CFT model each day, might be helpful. Another study that quantitatively evaluated the effectiveness of a CFT smartphone app found the app improved levels of self-compassion [25]. This paper reports on the qualitative aspect of the study.…”

Section: The Projectmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…With the advent of mobile technology, various smart phone apps have been created with the intention of boosting wellbeing. Research suggests that self-guided apps may be helpful in reducing symptoms associated with psychological distress, and may boost wellbeing, mindfulness, and selfcompassion [25][26][27].…”

Section: Self-help Appsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A Qualitative Study Exploring the Impact the Self-Compassion App Has on Levels of Compassion, Self-Criticism, and Wellbeing

Beaumont¹,

McAndrew²,

Irons³

2022

OBM Integr Complement Med

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Self-guided, smartphone apps may be helpful in reducing symptoms associated with psychological distress and may boost wellbeing, and levels of compassion. To our knowledge this is the first study to examine the impact a 28-day app based on Compassion Focused Therapy and Compassionate Mind Training has on participant’s levels of compassion, wellbeing, and self-criticism. The Self-Compassion App includes exercises, meditations, quotes, a daily wisdom, and audios, all of which aim to help individuals develop compassion for themselves, experience compassion from others, and be more compassionate to other people. The aim of the study was to explore participants’ experiences of the app, including ease of use, preferred sessions, barriers, as well as perceived impact on well-being, self-compassion, and self-criticism. Nine members of staff and eight students from The University of Salford took part in two focus groups; one for staff and one for students approximately four-six weeks after use of the app. The analysis highlighted eight themes: (1) Thinking of my experiences differently (2) Soothing the threat: Managing the three systems (3) Stop, reflect, and befriend the self-critic (4) Looking after me: The therapist within (5) Fears, Blocks, and Resistances (6) Looking back at the good things in life (7) Gender of Therapist (8) An ap(p)t App. Following use of the app, participants reported that they were more supportive of themselves, connected with their compassionate self, befriended their inner critic, experienced gratitude, and in times of personal struggles, reminded themselves that the present moment was an opportunity for compassion to be applied. The COVID-19 pandemic had, and continues to have, a negative impact on the mental health of many people. Therefore considering interventions that utilise technology with the aim of boosting wellbeing, levels of compassion, and reducing self-criticism is imperative.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 53%

Section: The Projectmentioning

confidence: 95%

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A Qualitative Study Exploring the Impact the Self-Compassion App Has on Levels of Compassion, Self-Criticism, and Wellbeing

Beaumont¹,

McAndrew²,

Irons³

2022

OBM Integr Complement Med

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“…In recent years, new forms of online interventions based on self-compassion meditation and self-compassion writing therapy for patients with mental illness have been developed and have demonstrated positive effects. The intervention time is also getting shorter [6 weeks ( Finlay-Jones et al, 2017 ; Rodgers et al, 2018 ; Andersson et al, 2020 ), 4 weeks ( Mak et al, 2018 , 2019 ; Beshai et al, 2020 ), 3 weeks ( Albertson et al, 2015 ; Toole and Craighead, 2016 ), 2 weeks ( Kelman et al, 2018 ; Stevenson et al, 2019 ; Halamová et al, 2020 , 2021 ; Schnepper et al, 2020 ; Seekis et al, 2020 ), and 1 week ( Shapira and Mongrain, 2010 ) or less ( Galla, 2016 )]. For example, Albertson et al (2015) randomized participants to either an intervention group (meditation via podcast) or a waitlist control group.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A WeChat-based self-compassion training to improve the treatment adherence of patients with schizophrenia in China: Protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Dong

et al. 2022

Front. Psychol.

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BackgroundAt present, adherence to antipsychotic treatment is often poor, leading to the recurrence of symptoms. This increases the likelihood of the patient experiencing disability and thus increases the disease burden for the patient, their family, and society as a whole. However, to date, there is no clear evidence regarding the effect of medication adherence interventions on outcomes for patients with schizophrenia. Moreover, the traditional intervention methods are limited by manpower and resources in low- and middle-income countries. Recent studies have demonstrated that increasing a patient’s level of self-compassion may improve their treatment adherence. Online mental health care interventions have advantages in terms of feasibility and acceptability for patients with schizophrenia. In this regard, a WeChat-based self-compassion training protocol to improve patient treatment adherence was designed in this study and will be evaluated in the future to determine its impact on patients with schizophrenia.MethodsThe protocol for the randomized controlled trial (RCT) is based on the SPIRIT 2013 statement. This parallel RCT will aim to recruit 392 patients with schizophrenia who will be randomized at a 1:1 ratio into a 3-week intervention or control group. Both groups will receive routine care. The intervention group will also receive WeChat-based self-compassion training, which requires participants to complete three tasks every day, including a reading task, a meditation task, and a self-compassion journal task. The control group will receive WeChat-based psychological health education, which will only require participants to read positive articles about psychological health every day. Medication adherence, self-compassion, stigma, and social support will be measured at baseline (T0), immediately after the intervention (T1), and 3 weeks after the intervention (T2). Program feasibility will be evaluated throughout the course of the study, and acceptability will be measured immediately after the intervention (T1).Expected results:The intervention described here will address the barriers to accessing mental health care for people with schizophrenia, including patients’ desire for independent management, difficulty accessing providers, and concerns about privacy and stigma. The current study provides guidance for clinical nurses to carry out psychological intervention, with the ultimate aim of addressing the problems associated with a shortage of psychological professionals in low- and middle-income countries.

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“…In recent years, with the advent of apps and mobile technology, various online interventions have been created with the intention of cultivating mindfulness and compassion. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses have suggested that these interventions may be helpful in increasing mindfulness and self-compassion, whilst also reducing psychological distress [27][28][29]. Due to the social distancing restrictions in place because of the coronavirus outbreak, developing online interventions seems more relevant than ever.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Developing Self-Compassion Online: Assessing the Efficacy and Feasibility of a Brief Online Intervention

Northover¹,

Deacon²,

King³

et al. 2021

OBM ICM

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The aim of the study was to assess the efficacy and feasibility of a newly designed online self-compassion training programme for the general public. Two hundred and forty-nine participants were randomly assigned to have either immediate or delayed access to a four-week online self-compassion training programme. This programme was based on Compassionate Mind Training and was made up of psychoeducational sessions and in-between session practices and readings. Out of the 179 participants who completed the pre-intervention measures, 81 participants completed the waiting list control design (45.25%; 52 participants from the waiting list group and 29 from the intervention group) and 50 participants went on to complete the intervention (27.9%; i.e., combining the 21 participants from the waiting list group that completed the intervention with the 29 from the intervention group). Compared to the control group, participants in the intervention group showed statistically significant increases in self-compassion and well-being and significant decreases in uncompassionate attitude towards self, shame, self-criticism, depression, anxiety, stress, levels of fear of compassion and attachment avoidance and anxiety. These effects remained at a one month follow up (based on data from 31 participants who completed these measures). The number of sessions completed was significantly predicted by baseline levels of well-being. This study provides promising results for the use of online self-compassion interventions to improve the mental wellbeing of the general public. However, further research is now needed to help understand the barriers to engagement and to help tailor its format to better suit participants who disengaged.

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The effectiveness of smartphone compassion training on stress among Swedish university students: A pilot randomized trial

Cited by 16 publications

References 98 publications

A Qualitative Study Exploring the Impact the Self-Compassion App Has on Levels of Compassion, Self-Criticism, and Wellbeing

A Qualitative Study Exploring the Impact the Self-Compassion App Has on Levels of Compassion, Self-Criticism, and Wellbeing

A WeChat-based self-compassion training to improve the treatment adherence of patients with schizophrenia in China: Protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Developing Self-Compassion Online: Assessing the Efficacy and Feasibility of a Brief Online Intervention

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