An exploration of the self to self, self to other, relationship.
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Exploring the relationship between shame, fear of compassion, and psychological inflexibility in responding to self-critical thoughts in individuals experiencing elevated levels of depressive symptomatology.
IRAS ID
299650
Contact name
Gillespie Steven
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Liverpool
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 9 months, 30 days
Research summary
There is a longstanding body of research which has focused on common mental health problems such as depression and the many well-established psychological therapies linked to its treatment (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 2013; National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, 2009). However, the underlying mechanisms which determine the effectiveness of such interventions are still widely disputed (Cuijpers et al., 2019).
There is increasing evidence which highlights an inherent shift towards more ‘process-based’ forms of psychotherapy (Hayes et al. 2018). Although growing in favour, further research is needed to strengthen the evidence for this transdiagnostic way of working.
The current study aims to address this issue by exploring the relationship between receiving compassion from self and others, psychological inflexibility in responding to self-critical thoughts and shame in individuals experiencing elevated levels of depressive symptomatology. It is hoped that the research will also serve to further establish the validity of The Forms of Responding to Self-Critical Thoughts Scale (FoReST) psychometric measure.
The research will be cross sectional in design and the sample will be taken from an adult population accessing NHS Primary Mental Health Care Services. Once choosing their preferred method of engagement, participants will be asked to provide informed consent, given an information sheet and asked to complete a set of questionnaire measures. The data will be entered into SPSS and Hierarchical Regression analyses will be performed where depression is regressed on by shame, fear of compassion and flexibility in responding to self-critical thoughts.
Participants will be provided debrief information regarding additional support services and the opportunity to contact the researcher via email for issues relevant to the research. Participants will be directed to their primary clinician to discuss any clinical issues arising during the research.
REC name
North West - Greater Manchester East Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
22/NW/0045
Date of REC Opinion
25 Mar 2022
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion