Compassionate Mind Training for Teachers (CMT-T) (UFSergipe)

Evaluation of the Effectiveness and Feasibility of Compassionate Mind Training for Teachers (CMT-T)

Literature has reported the emergence of various mental disorders in teachers at this level, including common mental disorders (CMDs) such as depression and anxiety, leading to increased job turnover and detrimental to the teaching-learning process. To prevent and promote mental health in this professional population, compassion-based interventions have proven effective, especially in situations of distress, by reducing fears of compassion and self-criticism, considered preventive factors for depressive and anxiety disorders. Given the growing evidence of the benefits of compassion for mental health, and the prevalence of common mental disorders in elementary school teachers, aggravated by the new coronavirus pandemic, this project aims to evaluate the effectiveness and feasibility of Compassionate Mind Training for Teachers (CMT-T) on the mental health of elementary school teachers in the public education system in the city of Aracaju.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Depression Anxiety Disorder; Self-criticism
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Compassionate Mind Training for Teachers (CMT-T)

Detailed Description

In school settings, compassion-centered approaches have the potential to improve psychological well-being for all community members, including students, staff, parents, and teachers, by prioritizing the caring motivational system . This highlights the need to incorporate these programs into teacher training and schools. This recommendation is supported by international guidelines for promoting health and well-being, issued by organizations such as the United Nations General Assembly. In the European Union, and in countries such as Portugal, there are official government recommendations that emphasize the importance of fostering health literacy and socio-emotional skills in school settings, aiming for health and psychological well-being. Given the recognition of the problems arising from negative indicators involving teachers' mental health, evidence is found in different countries of interventions based on compassion and mindfulness, with effective results among teaching staff .

Within the scope of compassion, the Compassionate Schools Research Initiative has implemented and evaluated the effectiveness of Compassionate Mind Training for Teachers (CMT-T), a six-session program based on the original version of CMT, in schools in Portugal and the United Kingdom. In the United Kingdom, the CMT-T program was implemented with 70 teachers and support staff, and the results indicated a positive evaluation of the practices and their usefulness in dealing with emotional difficulties. After participating, the teachers in this study also showed lower levels of self-criticism and increased self-compassion. In Portugal, two studies demonstrated the effectiveness of CMT-T on mental health indicators, reducing fear of compassion, and reducing self-criticism among teachers. The first was an uncontrolled pilot study with elementary school teachers. Post-intervention measures indicated an increase in flows (participants' compassion for others and compassion directed toward themselves) and a reduction in depression and stress levels. Furthermore, when self-criticism was controlled, there was a decrease in levels and an increase in job satisfaction and self-esteem among the participants.

Following the pilot study, a randomized, longitudinal clinical trial in Portugal, conducted with 55 elementary school teachers in the experimental group and 40 teachers in the control group, indicated that participants in the CMT-T program had improved indicators of self-compassion, compassion for others, and affection, as well as decreased fears of compassion, anxiety, depression, and self-criticism, with medium to large effect sizes. The same study indicated that, after three months of intervention, teachers in the experimental group maintained the same results, with the exception of self-compassion, and the program's feasibility results demonstrated that the modules on cultivating the calming system and developing a compassionate mind were the most helpful for the participants . Therefore, the results presented by the studies in the United Kingdom and Portugal highlight the importance of reducing self-criticism and fears of self-compassion to improve mental health outcomes, such as anxiety and depression, in elementary school teachers.

Finally, CMT-T represents an intervention modality suitable for Basic Education teachers in Brazil, to face the contemporary difficulties of school environments, by proposing a shift from the predominance of motivational systems based on threat and competition to a motivational set related to affiliation/compassion, with positive potential for promoting the mental health of basic level educators, such as depression and anxiety. Furthermore, given the growing evidence of the benefits of compassion for mental health and the prevalence of common mental disorders among basic education teachers , aggravated by the new coronavirus pandemic , it is timely to investigate the effectiveness and feasibility of Compassionate Mind Training for teachers (CMT-T) on the mental health of Basic Education teachers in Brazil, specifically in the public education system of the city of Aracaju.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 40
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Brazil
  • Sergipe
    • São Cristóvão, Sergipe, Brazil, 49100-000
      • Federal University of Sergipe

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:a) of both sexes; b) teachers from the state and municipal elementary and secondary schools in the city of Aracaju, Sergipe; c) teachers performing their professional activities in the classroom; d) professionals available to participate in the sessions proposed by the program.

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Exclusion Criteria:serious psychiatric problems (e.g., psychotic disorders, major depression, bipolar disorder, suicidal ideation, borderline personality disorder, and substance abuse)

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Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Prevention
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Compassionate Mind Training for Teachers (CMT-T); The Compassionate Mind Training for Teachers (CMT-T) Program is a compassionate mind training program aimed at teachers and conducted in a group structure, spread over six weeks, lasting approximately two hours. The characteristics presented in the program are derived from other studies, using the same protocol with teachers, in the United Kingdom and Portugal , which demonstrated the effectiveness and feasibility of the program.	Behavioral: Compassionate Mind Training for Teachers (CMT-T); In each module, in addition to the presentation of the theoretical constructs to be worked on, participants will be invited to perform experiential exercises, compassion and mindfulness practices, and work in small groups to share their experiences. Following this, an assembly will be held with the participants. The experimental group will be led by two members of the team: a doctoral psychologist and a master's student. They will facilitate the group, conduct the experiences and practices, present the content, and stimulate discussion in the plenary session. Everyone will strictly follow the CMT-T manual. The CMT-T team will inform participants that they will be available between modules should any participant have any questions or concerns about the session content.
No Intervention: Group B; This group will not receive the intervention

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Viability	will be assessed according to the following criteria from Bowen et al. (2009), a system adopted in CMT viability assessment programs.	From enrollment to the end of treatment in 6 weeks.
Self-criticizing/Attacking and Self-Reassuring Scale	A 22-item self-report measure that assesses how someone thinks and reacts when dealing with failures or mistakes, developed by the leading theorist of CFT.	From enrollment to the end of treatment in 18 weeks.
Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale	A 21-item scale that independently measures three subscales corresponding to symptoms of anxiety, depression, and stress. . Each item refers to the degree to which the respondent experienced a symptom during the last week (previous week), assessed on a 4-point Likert scale between 0 (does not apply to me) and 3 (applies to me a lot, or most of the time). Scores for depression, anxiety, and stress are computed by summing the scores.	From enrollment to the end of treatment in 18 weeks.
Burnout Clinical Subtype Questionnaire	This instrument consists of 12 items, distributed across three factors, to assess burnout profiles: frantic, underchallenged, and exhausted. These three subscales are measured on a 7-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree), so scores are calculated by the sum of the items divided by the number of items.	From enrollment to the end of treatment in 18 weeks.

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Universidade Federal de Sergipe
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Karine David Andrade Santos, Teacher, Universidade Federal de Sergipe

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): October 9, 2025
• Primary Completion (Actual): February 13, 2026
• Study Completion (Actual): February 16, 2026

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: July 16, 2026
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 16, 2026
• First Posted (Actual): July 21, 2026

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): July 21, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 16, 2026
• Last Verified: September 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Other Study ID Numbers: 7.115.189; 176567/2023-2 (Other Grant/Funding Number: National Council for Scientific and Technological Development.)

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