An exploration of self-compassion within healthcare professionals

This portfolio thesis comprises of three parts: a systematic literature review, an empirical report and supporting appendices.Part one is a systematic literature review in which empirical papers investigating the effectiveness of interventions for cultivating self-compassion in healthcare professionals are reviewed. A systematic database search identified fifteen studies to be reviewed. A narrative synthesis of the findings pertaining to effectiveness is provided alongside a review of the methodological quality of the research in this area. The clinical implications for healthcare services and directions for future research are also discussed.Part two is an empirical paper combining qualitative and quantitative methodologies to explore compassion amongst healthcare professionals. The quantitative component sought to investigate whether the presence of occupational stressors and threats impacts on healthcare professionals’ ability to give compassion to others at work, and whether self-compassion and organisational compassion may moderate this relationship. In addition, thematic analysis was employed to investigate the most prominent troubles that healthcare professionals experience in relation to their work. The findings are discussed in relation to theory and implications for clinical practice and future research.Part three comprises the appendices supporting the systematic literature review and the empirical paper, but also includes a reflective statement focussing on the research process

The influence of self-compassion on perceived responsibility and shame following acquired brain injury

Primary objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of perceived personal responsibility for an acquired ABI (ABI) on shame, and whether self-compassion moderates this relationship. We hypothesized that people who perceived themselves to be responsible for their injury would have high levels of shame and poorer recovery outcomes.Research design: A mixed-methods design was employed using both standardized measures and a series of open questions.Methods and procedures: 66 participants with ABI were included in the analysis. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, correlations, multiple regression, and thematic analysis.Main outcomes and results: Significant relationships were found between self-compassion, shame, anxiety, and depression, but perceived responsibility for ABI was not correlated with any examined variables. Due to issues with the measurement of responsibility, it was not possible to complete all proposed forms of analysis. The thematic analysis revealed the ways participants’ injuries affected their perceived level of functioning, its consequences for sense of self, shame, and self-compassion.Conclusions: This study concluded that people with ABI might experience shame with respect to the injury’s impact on functioning. Study limitations and implications for providing therapeutic interventions such as Compassion Focused Therapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy are discussed

The role of the right hemisphere in semantic control: A case-series comparison of right and left hemisphere stroke.

Semantic control processes guide conceptual retrieval so that we are able to focus on non-dominant associations and features when these are required for the task or context, yet the neural basis of semantic control is not fully understood. Neuroimaging studies have emphasised the role of left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) in controlled retrieval, while neuropsychological investigations of semantic control deficits have almost exclusively focussed on patients with left-sided damage (e.g., patients with semantic aphasia, SA). Nevertheless, activation in fMRI during demanding semantic tasks typically extends to right IFG. To investigate the role of the right hemisphere (RH) in semantic control, we compared nine RH stroke patients with 21 left-hemisphere SA patients, 11 mild SA cases and 12 healthy, aged-matched controls on semantic and executive tasks, plus experimental tasks that manipulated semantic control in paradigms particularly sensitive to RH damage. RH patients had executive deficits to parallel SA patients but they performed well on standard semantic tests. Nevertheless, multimodal semantic control deficits were found in experimental tasks involving facial emotions and the 'summation' of meaning across multiple items. On these tasks, RH patients showed effects similar to those in SA cases - multimodal deficits that were sensitive to distractor strength and cues and miscues, plus increasingly poor performance in cyclical matching tasks which repeatedly probed the same set of concepts. Thus, despite striking differences in single-item comprehension, evidence presented here suggests semantic control is bilateral, and disruption of this component of semantic cognition can be seen following damage to either hemisphere

Word on the street: children and young people’s views on using local streets for play and informal recreation

This report forms part of the research for Playday, which is coordinated by Play England, working in partnership with Play Wales, Play Scotland and PlayBoard Northern Ireland. Playday is a national campaign, which celebrates children’s right to play and where thousands of children and young people get out and play at locally organised events. The theme of Playday 2007 ‘Our streets too!’ highlights the need for change, so that children, young people and their families can feel confident about playing in streets and areas near their homes all year round. The campaign also highlights that play-friendly streets offer huge benefits to the whole community. This report is based upon a qualitative study of children and young people’s experiences - good and bad - of using their local streets and wider neighbourhoods for play and informal recreation. Focus groups with children in eight locations took place in England and Wales to find out how children use their streets for play - and what they feel prevents or restricts their use of public space for enjoyment. The research for this campaign has four parts, which when read in conjunction, provides a valuable insight into how children and young people enjoy the immediate public realm – and worryingly – how their play and informal recreation is becoming increasingly restricted. The data contained in this document, helped shape a wider quantitative survey of children and adults’ perceptions of street play and informal recreation conducted by ICM. ICM also conducted an additional qualitative study with adults; the findings are contained in the document Attitudes towards street play. The fourth component of this research is a review of third-party studies and literature entitled Street Play: A literature review, which was produced by Play England’s policy and research department

Shame, self-discrepancies, and adjustment after acquired brain injury

ABSTRACTObjectives: To explore the relationship between shame and self-discrepancies and the extent that thesefactors predict adjustment after an acquired brain injury (ABI).Method: 62 participants with an ABI completed the following self-report qualitative questionnaires: theHospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, the Quality of Life after Brain Injury Scale, the Internalized ShameScale, and the Head Injury Semantic Differential Scale – III. Data was analyzed using correlations, repeatedANOVA, and multiple regression models.Results: A significant self-discrepancy was found between the present self and the pre-injury self, with thepresent self-being rated more negatively. This self-discrepancy was found to be positively correlated toshame, and these two variables were found to predict adjustment (emotional distress and quality of life).Conclusions: Shame and self-discrepancies both appear to play a crucial role in adjustment following anABI. However, the relationship between shame and self-discrepancies needs more consideration tounderstand how these variables may interact to predict adjustmen

Peer support groups after acquired brain injury: a systematic review

Background: Peer support groups can be a way to obtain support, problem solve, and widen social networks. However, there has been no systematic literature review examining the evidence for the use ofpeer support groups after an acquired brain injury (ABI).Objective: This review sought to systematically evaluate the evidence for (1) the psychosocial effectiveness, and (2) the experience of peer support groups in adults who had experienced ABIs.Methods: The systematic literature search was conducted across the following four databases: PsycINFO, PsycARTICLES, MEDLINE, and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) in October 2019. The mixed methods appraisal tool was used to examine the quality of the research.Results: 13 papers were included in this review. Limited evidence was found for the psychosocial effectiveness of peer support groups in ABI, although the experience of partaking in a peer support group was largely found to be positive. The benefits and helping factors of taking part in a peer support group can be summarized as: being connected, interacting with others, and providing and receiving support.Conclusions: The findings of this review suggest that peer support groups could be a promising intervention to support individuals and promote adjustment following an ABI

Students' participation in collaborative research should be recognised

Letter to the editor