Introduction: Physician burnout is a common problem for which self-compassion training has shown positive effects. In this program evaluation, we explore the effects of a synchronous online continuing medical education program (Self-Compassion for Healthcare Communities, SCHC) to improve physician burnout and related outcomes.
Methods: The SCHC program was delivered online via Zoom and consisted of six 1-hour weekly sessions to enhance self-compassion and well-being.
We addressed construct validity and explored the relationship between self-compassion and compassion for others using the two main current operationalizations of compassion (Neff's and the Sussex-Oxford Compassion Scales, SOCSs). Relationships with psychological distress and wellbeing, and potential differences in the association between self-compassion and compassion for others by level of psychological distress and wellbeing were also explored. Participants ( = 811) completed the Spanish adaptations of the Self-Compassion Scale (SCS), the Compassion Scale (CS), the SOCSs (for the self/others), the Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale (SWEMWBS), and the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21 (DASS-21).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis study examined the efficacy of adding a remote, synchronous, group, videoconference-based form of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) or behavioral activation therapy for depression (BATD) to treatment-as-usual (TAU) in 234 patients with chronic low back pain (CLBP) plus comorbid depressive symptoms. Participants were randomly assigned to ACT, BATD, or TAU. Compared to TAU, ACT produced a significant reduction in pain interference at posttreatment (d = .
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMindfulness-, compassion-, and acceptance-based (i.e., "third wave") psychotherapies are effective for treating chronic pain conditions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUniversity students constitute a population that is highly vulnerable to developing mental health problems, such as distress. The role of different variables associated with the development of states of stress has been studied in order to identify potential risk and protective factors. This study explored whether mindfulness, self-compassion, and experiential avoidance, while controlling for specific sociodemographic and academic variables, were potential significant protective or risk factors explaining perceived stress in a sample of 589 Spanish university students (81.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAims: To evaluate the effectiveness of eHealth interventions to reduce stress and promote mental health in healthcare professionals, and to compare the efficacy of different types of programs (guided vs. self-guided; 'third-wave' psychotherapies vs. other types).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: A sizeable proportion of Brazilian Primary Care (PC) providers suffer from common mental disorders, such as anxiety and depression. In an effort to cope with job-related distress, PC workers are likely to implement maladaptive strategies such as experiential avoidance (EA). The Acceptance and Action Questionnaire (AAQ-II) is a widely used instrument that evaluates EA but has shown questionable internal consistency in specific populations.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Depression affects millions of people all over the world and implies a great socioeconomic burden. Despite there are different effective evidence-based interventions for treating depression, only a small proportion of these patients receives an appropriate treatment. In this regard, information and communication technologies (ICTs) can be used with therapeutic aims and this can contribute to make interventions more accessible.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: The primary aim of this study was to analyse the efficacy of a 'mindful eating' programme for reducing emotional eating in patients with overweight or obesity.
Method: A cluster randomized controlled trial (reg. NCT03927534) was conducted with 76 participants with overweight/obesity who were assigned to 'mindful eating' (7 weeks) + treatment as usual (TAU), or to TAU alone.
BMC Nurs
November 2022
Background: The World Health Organization has formally recognized that healthcare professionals are at risk of developing mental health problems; finding ways to reduce their stress is mandatory to improve both their quality of life and, indirectly, their job performance. In recent years, particularly since the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, there has been a proliferation of online interventions with promising results. The purpose of the present study is twofold: to test the effectiveness of an online, self-guided intervention, MINDxYOU, to reduce the stress levels of healthcare workers; and to conduct an implementation study of this intervention.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Environ Res Public Health
July 2022
Fibromyalgia patients often experience anxiety and depressive symptoms; however, validated interventions show only limited efficacy. This pilot study analyzed the effects of a 16-session version of attachment-based compassion therapy (ABCT-16) for improving anxiety and depressive symptomatology, as well as self-compassion and decentering, in 11 fibromyalgia patients. Scales were assessed at four time points: baseline, after sessions 8 and 16, and 3.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe aim of this study was to compare meditators and non-meditators in terms of their tendency to have peak experiences and their dream lucidity, while examining the associations between these outcomes and some related variables such as non-dual awareness, mindfulness facets and absorption. In this cross-sectional study, 237 participants from general Spanish population completed an online survey that included questions related to the study aim, along with the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ), the Non-dual Embodiment Thematic Inventory (NETI), the Tellegen Absorption Scale (TAS) and the Lucidity and Consciousness in Dreams Scale (LUCID). Of the total, 110 participants were identified as meditators and 127 as non-meditators.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Environ Res Public Health
April 2022
Gambling has become a routine form of entertainment for many young people. The aim of this study was to describe the gambling behavior that university students are developing in Aragon, Spain, and to analyze whether these habits are more common among students of sports science, on the assumption that they are more likely to have a higher exposure to betting company marketing. A cross-sectional design was applied, with data collected on advertising exposure, gambling habits and experiences, and opinions on the impact of gambling and its regulation from 516 undergraduate students from the University of Zaragoza.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMost programmes developed to reduce aggressive attitudes among teenagers are based on cultivating nonviolence, a construct that has been related to compassion and, more indirectly, mindfulness. This study aims at testing the efficacy of 'Unlearning', a mindfulness and compassion-based programme, for reducing aggressive attitudes in adolescents. A sample of 164 students from three high schools in Zaragoza (Spain) participated in the study.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: Evidence suggests the efficacy of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) to prevent depression relapse and decrease depressive symptoms during the acute phase. However, the effectiveness of MBCT in real-world heterogeneous samples treated in clinical health settings, including primary care, has received little attention. This study had two aims: (1) to evaluate the effectiveness of MBCT delivered in primary care considering pre-treatment depression scores and (2) to explore the role of participants' characteristics on symptom improvement.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDepress Anxiety
November 2021
Objectives: To study the effectiveness of attachment-based compassion therapy (ABCT) for reducing affective distress in a sample of outpatients with depressive, anxiety, or adjustment disorders, and to explore its mechanisms of action.
Methods: This randomized controlled trial involved the assessment time points of pretreatment, posttreatment and 6-month follow-up. A total of 90 patients from three mental health units in Castellón, Spain, were recruited and randomly assigned to "ABCT + treatment as usual (TAU)," "Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) + TAU" or "TAU" alone.
Objectives: To evaluate the efficacy of a mindfulness-based programme (MBP) for reducing stress in university students and its action mechanisms and to explore the capacity of virtual reality (VR) exposure to enhance adherence to the intervention.
Methods: This randomized controlled trial (RCT) involved assessment time points of baseline, posttreatment, and 6-month follow-up. A total of 280 students from two Spanish universities were randomly assigned to 'MBP', 'MBP + VR', or 'Relaxation' (active controls).
Aims: To explore the relationship between mindfulness, self-compassion and psychological flexibility, and the burnout subtypes in university students of the Psychology and Nursing degrees, and to analyse possible risk factors for developing burnout among socio-demographic and studies-related characteristics.
Design: Cross-sectional study conducted on a sample of 644 undergraduate students of Nursing and Psychology from two Spanish universities.
Methods: The study was conducted between December 2015 and May 2016.
'Third-wave' psychotherapies have shown effectiveness for treating psychopathological symptoms such as anxiety and depression. There is burgeoning interest in examining how these therapies' core constructs produce their therapeutic benefits. This study explores the hypothetical mediating effect of resilience in the impact of mindfulness and self-compassion on anxiety and depressive symptoms.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Environ Res Public Health
December 2020
Fibromyalgia (FM) is a heterogeneous and complex syndrome; different studies have tried to describe subgroups of FM patients, and a 4-cluster classification based on the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire-Revised (FIQR) has been recently validated. This study aims to cross-validate this classification in a large US sample of FM patients. A pooled sample of 6280 patients was used.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The study explores the association between pain and functional impairment in patients with partially remitted MDD, considering both clinician and patient reported outcomes.
Methods: Multicenter, observational, and cross-sectional study, with 583 outpatients with partially remitted MDD. Measures of pain intensity (VAS), functional impairment (SOFAS), depressive symptomatology (HAM-D6), and remission from MDD and functional status from a patient-centered perspective (RDQ) were collected.
Objectives: The goal of this study was to identify central sensitization-related symptom severity subgroups in a large multicountry sample composed of patients with chronic pain and pain-free individuals using the Central Sensitization Inventory (CSI).
Methods: A large, pooled international (N = 8 countries) sample of chronic pain patients plus healthy subjects (total N = 2,620) was randomly divided into two subsamples for cross-validation purposes. First, a hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) was performed using CSI item-level data as clustering variables (test sample; N = 1,312).