Compassion-Focused Therapy for Chronic Pain

May 8, 2024 updated by: University of Edinburgh

How do Self-compassion and Psychological Flexibility Mediate Change in a Compassion-Focused Therapy Group for Chronic Pain?

This research aims to study how Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT) might work for people with chronic pain. People with chronic pain may feel shameful about their condition and this type of therapy aims to help people to view themselves and their difficulties in a kinder, less critical way (i.e. self-compassion). Currently, no research is available on the effectiveness of CFT in helping people with chronic pain.

Participants attending a CFT-incorporated Pain Management Programme will complete a battery of questionnaires at the start of the group (week 1), in the middle of the group (week 5) and at the end of the group (week 11).

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

Pain Management Programmes help people to manage their pain and improve quality of life, and this research will look into the processes by which this happens. This study will look at two psychological concepts: 'self-compassion' (kindness to self) and 'psychological flexibility' (willingness to tolerate difficult experiences in order to meet meaningful goals). These concepts help in understanding how people think about themselves in the context of pain.

Principle Research Question: Do self-compassion and psychological flexibility mediate change (anxiety/depression/well-being) in a Compassion-Focused Therapy group for adults with chronic pain?

Primary Outcome Measure: Strength of mediation effects

Sample Size:

[Reference 1] propose guidelines for recommended sample sizes in order to detect mediation effects with .8 power. These guidelines are informed by existing literature in the field. There is less robust research on self-compassion and chronic pain, therefore, this calculation is based on research in psychological flexibility and chronic pain.

[Reference 2] conducted correlational analyses on the processes of psychological flexibility following a group intervention based on ACT. These processes included acceptance of pain, mindfulness, psychological acceptance and values-based action (r values between 0.33 and 0.55). These positive correlations indicate that the group intervention was related to higher levels of psychological flexibility.

[Reference 3]'s review identified several studies that reported correlational effect sizes between acceptance, and depression/anxiety/daily functioning related to chronic pain (r = -0.58/-0.66/0.47 respectively). These negative correlations illustrate that higher levels of psychological flexibility were related to better outcomes.

Based on these correlational effect sizes, guidelines in [Reference 1] suggest that a sample size of 53-71 is required.

Analysis:

The analysis will focus on the proposed mediating factors (self-compassion and psychological flexibility) and how they explain the outcome of the CFT-incorporated group intervention. In order to study the processes of change, this study will measure change in mediators and outcomes over the course of the group.

In a mediation model, the effect of the independent variable (IV; CFT group) on a dependent variable (DV; outcome/change in symptoms) is conveyed through a third mediating variable. In order to be a mediator, a variable must change during the intervention, be associated with the intervention, and have an impact on the outcome.

In this study, it is hypothesised that self-compassion and/or psychological flexibility are the mediating variables that explain the influence of the group intervention on eventual outcome, i.e. the overall change in symptoms at the end of the group. Linear regression and nonparametric bias-corrected bootstrap, which corrects for skew in the data, will be applied to the data using SPSS, using the PROCESS macro. An effect of mediation will be indicated if the confidence interval does not contain zero.

Missing data will be handled using either the maximum likelihood or multiple imputation method, as recommended in literature.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
122

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • United Kingdom
    • Edinburgh City
      • Edinburgh, Edinburgh City, United Kingdom, EH9 2HL
        • Astley Ainslie Hospital

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Please note this study is only recruiting people who have been referred and accepted onto NHS Lothian's Pain Management Programme (part of the Lothian Pain Service at the Astley Ainslie Hospital).

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Fluency of English sufficient for participation in the group and completion of questionnaires
  • Aged 18+ (no upper age limit)
  • Ability to provide informed consent (as defined by the Five Statutory Principles of the Mental Capacity Act, Code of Practice, 2007)

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Active substance misuse
  • Active suicidality
  • Terminal illness
  • Inability to provide informed consent

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Health Services Research
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Compassion-Focused Therapy
Compassion-Focused Therapy 11 weeks of Compassion-Focused Therapy [based on "Compassion-Focused Therapy for Dummies" (Welford, 2016)]
Other: Compassion-Focused Therapy
Compassion-Focused Therapy 11 weeks of Compassion-Focused Therapy [based on "Compassion-Focused Therapy for Dummies" (Welford, 2016)]

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Strength of Self-Compassion as a mediator at Week 11
Time Frame: Week 1
Week 1
Strength of Psychological Flexibility as a mediator at Week 11
Time Frame: Week 1
Week 1

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Self-Compassion Scale (short form, SCS-SF; Neff, 2003)
Time Frame: [Time Frame: Week 1 (start), Week 5 (middle) and Week 11 (end) of group therapy]
Minimum score: 12; maximum score: 60; higher score indicates higher level of self-compassion
[Time Frame: Week 1 (start), Week 5 (middle) and Week 11 (end) of group therapy]
Multi-Dimensional Psychological Flexibility Inventory (short form, MPFI-SF; Rolffs et al., 2016)
Time Frame: [Time Frame: Week 1 (start), Week 5 (middle) and Week 11 (end) of group therapy]
Minimum score: 24; maximum score 144; higher score indicates higher level of psychological flexibility
[Time Frame: Week 1 (start), Week 5 (middle) and Week 11 (end) of group therapy]
The Brief Pain Inventory (short form, BPI-SF; Cleeland & Ryan, 1994)
Time Frame: [Time Frame: Week 1 (start), Week 5 (middle) and Week 11 (end) of group therapy]
Minimum score: 0; maximum score 110; higher score indicates greater level of pain severity and pain interference (severity max 40 / interference max 70)
[Time Frame: Week 1 (start), Week 5 (middle) and Week 11 (end) of group therapy]
The Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (SWEMWBS) (Tennant et al., 2007)
Time Frame: [Time Frame: Week 1 (start), Week 5 (middle) and Week 11 (end) of group therapy]
Minimum score: 7; maximum score: 35; higher score indicates greater level of wellbeing
[Time Frame: Week 1 (start), Week 5 (middle) and Week 11 (end) of group therapy]
The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) (Zigmond & Snaith, 1983)
Time Frame: [Time Frame: Week 1 (start), Week 5 (middle) and Week 11 (end) of group therapy]
Minimum score: 0; maximum score: 42; higher score indicates higher level of anxiety and depression (anxiety max 21 / depression max 21)
[Time Frame: Week 1 (start), Week 5 (middle) and Week 11 (end) of group therapy]

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
University of Edinburgh

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
NHS Lothian

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Su Tin, University of Edinburgh

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
February 27, 2018

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
March 31, 2019

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
May 31, 2019

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
November 6, 2017

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
March 19, 2018

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
March 20, 2018

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
May 9, 2024

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
May 8, 2024

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
May 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • S0815692

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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