CFT: Investigating its MoC for transdiagnostic distress in OAs.
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Compassion Focused Therapy: Investigating its effect on mechanisms of change during treatment for transdiagnostic distress (anxiety, low mood, and anger) within the older adult population.
IRAS ID
333325
Contact name
Aysel Denli
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
The University of Edinburgh
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
N/A, N/A
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 10 months, 2 days
Research summary
Paul Gilbert developed Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT) in the early 21st century as a form of psychotherapy. CFT is designed to help individuals with complex psychological conditions, particularly those who struggle with high levels of shame and self-criticism. Older adults, who often face various physical, cognitive, social, and interpersonal challenges, can benefit from CFT as they are more vulnerable to these issues.
CFT has been found to be effective in addressing a range of mental health problems. Nevertheless, most of the research supporting its efficacy has been conducted with younger adults, typically aged between 20 and 50. Older adults are underrepresented in clinical trials due to factors like accessibility, trust, stigma, and funding limitations.
This current project aims to fill the gap in the existing literature by investigating how CFT works for older adults experiencing transdiagnostic distress. It seeks to understand the mechanisms of change in therapy for this age group and hopes to encourage more research involving older adults in the future.
The study will use a single-case design to model this change within individual participants and in the context of the therapy. The study will therefore aim to recruit 12 participants. Participants for this study will be recruited from Lothian Older Peoples Psychology Services (LOPPS) who will be individuals on a waiting list to receive one-to-one psychological therapy. Participants will be asked to complete measures throughout the course of therapy to help identify what the process of change may be for older adults attending LOPPS for psychological therapy.
Participants will be asked to complete four set of questionnaires at five different time points (baseline, first therapy session, mid-stage of therapy, end of therapy and four-week follow-up). They will also be asked to complete weekly session-by-session self-report questionnaires at the start of their therapy sessions.
REC name
London - Central Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
24/PR/0318
Date of REC Opinion
19 Apr 2024
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion