Carvalho, S. A., Gillanders, D., Forte, T., Trindade, I. A., Pinto-Gouveia, J., Lapa, T., Valentim, A., Santos, E., Paciência, J., Guiomar, R., & Castilho, P. (2022). Self-compassion in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for chronic pain: A pilot study. Scandinavian Journal of Pain, 22(3), 631-638. https://doi.org/10.1515/sjpain-2021-0214
Objectives
Evidence shows that Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is an empirically supported psychological approach for chronic pain (CP) management. Although self-compassion is not explicitly a target of ACT, it seems to be one mechanism of change in ACT for CP. However, research is lacking on the benefits of including explicit self-compassionate exercises in ACT for CP. The current study pilot tested a Compassionate ACT 8-session group program (COMP.ACT; n=9), as well as an ACT-only 8-session group program (ACT; n=7), in a sample of women with CP.
Methods
The current study follows a quasi-experimental design, and conducts Reliable and Significant Change analyses comparing pre- to post-intervention scores of self-report measures.
Results
No differences were found between conditions at baseline, nor between completers and drop-outs. Although preliminary, results showed COMP.ACT led to greater clinical improvements in depression and anxiety, while ACT led to greater improvements in stress and uncompassionate self-responding. Reliable and Significant Change analysis showed that some participants improved significantly (in psychopathological symptoms, valued living and uncompassionate self-responding) in both conditions, while the majority did not change significantly.
Conclusions
More research is needed to conclude whether explicit self-compassion exercises are useful in ACT for CP. Limitations and implications are further discussed.