Pilot study of a compassion meditation intervention in chronic pain
Heather L Chapin, Beth D Darnall, Emma M Seppala, James R Doty, Jennifer M Hah, Sean C Mackey
Journal of Compassionate Health Care October 8, 2014 DOI: 10.1186/s40639-014-0004-x (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Pilot clinical trial with within-subjects wait-list control period Pilot study Qualitative Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 12 |
| Population | Chronic pain patients (predominantly female) |
| Intervention | Compassion cultivation intervention |
| Duration | 9-week intervention |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Citations | 58 |
| Key findings | Patients had significantly reduced pain severity and anger and increased pain acceptance after the compassion cultivation intervention, with corroboration from significant others. |
Abstract
The emergence of anger as an important predictor of chronic pain outcomes suggests that treatments that target anger may be particularly useful within the context of chronic pain. Eastern traditions prescribe compassion cultivation to treat persistent anger. Compassion cultivation has been shown to influence emotional processing and reduce negativity bias in the contexts of emotional and physical discomfort, thus suggesting it may be beneficial as a dual treatment for pain and anger. Our objective was to conduct a pilot study of a 9-week group compassion cultivation intervention in chronic pain to examine its effect on pain severity, anger, pain acceptance and pain-related interference. We also aimed to describe observer ratings provided by patients’ significant others and secondary effects of the intervention. Pilot clinical trial with repeated measures design that included a within-subjects wait-list control period. Twelve chronic pain patients completed the intervention (F = 10). Data were collected from patients at enrollment, treatment baseline and post-treatment; participant significant others contributed data at the enrollment and post-treatment time points. In this predominantly female sample, patients had significantly reduced pain severity and anger and increased pain acceptance at post-treatment compared to treatment baseline. Significant other qualitative data corroborated patient reports for reductions in pain severity and anger. Compassion meditation may be a useful adjunctive treatment for reducing pain severity and anger, and for increasing chronic pain acceptance. Patient reported reductions in anger were corroborated by their significant others. The significant other corroborations offer a novel contribution to the literature and highlight the observable emotional and behavioral changes in the patient participants that occurred following the compassion intervention. Future studies may further examine how anger reductions impact relationships with self and others within the context of chronic pain.
Comparable studies
Other non-randomized and open-label trials on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction in Relation to Quality of Life, Mood, Symptoms of Stress, and Immune Parameters in Breast and Prostate Cancer Outpatients Early-stage breast and prostate cancer patients | 2003 | Pre-post intervention study | n = 59 |
| Exploring self‐compassion and empathy in the context of mindfulness‐based stress reduction (MBSR) Community sample | 2010 | Pre-post intervention study | |
| Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Lowers Psychological Distress In Medical Students Second-year medical students | 2003 | Prospective nonrandomized cohort-controlled study | n = 302 |
| Intensive meditation training, immune cell telomerase activity, and psychological mediators. Retreat participants and matched controls | 2011 | Controlled trial with wait-list control group | n = 60 |
| The Effectiveness of Mindfulness Training for Children with ADHD and Mindful Parenting for their Parents Children aged 8-12 with ADHD and their parents | 2011 | Within-group waitlist controlled trial | n = 22 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 9
- Compassion and Loving-Kindness Meditation: An Overview and Prospects for the Application in Clinical Samples Harvard Review of Psychiatry July 1, 2018
- Experience of compassion-based practice in mindfulness for health for individuals with persistent pain. British Journal of Pain February 23, 2024
- Differential Effects of Meditation States on Neural Pain Processing in Novice and Long-Term Meditators Mindfulness April 1, 2026
- Efficacy of Cognitively-based compassion training for Veterans with chronic pain with psychological Comorbidity: Protocol for a randomized clinical trial. Contemporary Clinical Trials Communications June 1, 2026
- Outcome Expectancies, Effects, and Mechanisms of Brief Training in Mindfulness Meditation vs. Loving-Kindness Meditation vs a Control Condition for Pain Management: A Randomized Pilot Study. Journal of Pain & Palliative Care Pharmacotherapy September 1, 2024
and 4 more in the library
Cites 14
- Open hearts build lives: Positive emotions, induced through loving-kindness meditation, build consequential personal resources. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology October 27, 2008
- Loving-kindness and compassion meditation: potential for psychological interventions. Clinical Psychology Review July 26, 2011
- Regulation of the Neural Circuitry of Emotion by Compassion Meditation: Effects of Meditative Expertise PLoS One March 25, 2008
- Loving-kindness meditation increases social connectedness. Emotion October 1, 2008
- Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy, and Zen Meditation for Depression, Anxiety, Pain, and Psychological Distress Journal of Psychiatric Practice July 1, 2012
and 9 more in the library