Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT) group for persistent pain
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Exploring individuals experiences of a compassion focused therapy (CFT) group for people suffering from persistent pain: A mixed methods feasibility study
IRAS ID
214826
Contact name
Hannah Gooding
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Plymouth
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 10 months, 1 days
Research summary
The current research is a feasibility study to explore whether a compassion-focused therapy (CFT) group is a helpful intervention in the management of an individual’s persistent pain. People with persistent pain are often offered a pain management programme (PMP) as part of their care plan. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) principles often underpin PMP’s and there is a good evidence base to show this is an effective way of working (British Pain Society, 2013b). However, more recent systematic reviews suggest that although treatment design of CBT based PMP’s has improved, treatment outcomes have become less favourable (Veehof, Oskam, Schreurs & Bohlmeijer, 2011). CFT offers an alternative view of pain encouraging the person to be alongside their experience of pain and respond to it using skills of compassion they have learnt (Gilbert, 2009; Gilbert, 2010a). It considers the levels of shame and self-criticism a person may have and how this may impact upon the person’s affect regulation system (Gilbert, 2009). Patients from the Pain Management Rehabilitation Team at RD&E hospital will be assigned to either a waiting list control or to the CFT group. It is hypothesised that the CFT pain group will lower a person’s level of depression, anxiety and stress, lower their level of self-criticism, increase their ability to self-reassure and increase their acceptance of their persistent pain. Effect sizes from these measures will be compared with existing CBT PMP literature. Participants in the CFT group will also be invited to take part in a research interview to explore people’s experiences, from a realist perspective, of being in the group and how it has impacted their lives. This will be analysed using an interpretative phenomenological analysis (Willig, 2001). It is hoped that the research will add to the existing literature and develop alternative approaches to be used in future PMP’s.
REC name
London - Camden & Kings Cross Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/LO/2054
Date of REC Opinion
21 Nov 2016
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion