When depressed—be mindful of and kind to yourself: Self-compassion as mediator of change in a mindful depression treatment
Alice E. Buxton, Christine Hofheinz, Carina Remmers, Johannes Michalak
Psychotherapy Research February 21, 2023 DOI: 10.1080/10503307.2023.2179439 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Randomized controlled trial Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 81 |
| Population | Patients with current depression and work-related conflicts |
| Intervention | psychopharmacological treatment if necessary |
| Duration | Eight-week treatment; self-compassion measured at two-week intervals from before treatment until directly after treatment; depression assessed before, at mid-treatment, and after treatment |
| Topics | Depression |
| Citations | 5 |
| Key findings | Self-compassion (as a general factor) and two of its components (mindfulness of personal suffering and common humanity) increased and mediated the change in depressive symptoms over time in a mindfulness-based day hospital treatment. The authors state this provides preliminary support for self-compassion as a mediator of treatment effects on depression. |
Abstract
Objective Self-compassion as an outcome and potential mediator in mindfulness-based interventions has gained increased attention in the last years. However, most mediation studies had several methodological shortcomings which precluded robust conclusions regarding its mediating role. This randomized controlled study aimed to address these issues by assessing self-compassion, as proposed mediator and outcome, in a temporal sequence.Method Eighty-one patients with current depression and work-related conflicts were randomly assigned to either an eight-week mindfulness-based day hospital treatment (MDT-DH; n = 47; including psychopharmacological treatment if necessary) or a waitlist control condition including a psychopharmacological consultation (PCC; n = 34). The outcome, depression severity, was assessed before, at mid-treatment and after the treatment while the proposed mediator, self-compassion, was measured at two week-intervals from before treatment until directly after treatment. Within-person and between-person mediation effects were analysed using multilevel structural equation modelling.Results The results from the mediation models show that self-compassion (as a general factor) and two of its components (mindfulness of personal suffering and common humanity) increased and mediated the change in depressive symptoms over time.Conclusion This study provides preliminary support for self-compassion as a mediator of treatment effects on depression in a mindful depression treatment.
Comparable studies
Other randomized controlled trials on depression, most cited first.
Citations in the library
Cites 19
- Mindfulness Interventions Annual Review of Psychology September 30, 2016
- Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction for Health Care Professionals: Results From a Randomized Trial. International Journal of Stress Management May 1, 2005
- Teaching self-care to caregivers: Effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction on the mental health of therapists in training. Training and Education in Professional Psychology May 1, 2007
- Loving-kindness and compassion meditation: potential for psychological interventions. Clinical Psychology Review July 26, 2011
- Exploring self‐compassion and empathy in the context of mindfulness‐based stress reduction (MBSR) Stress and Health March 15, 2010
and 14 more in the library