‘Being kinder to myself ’: a prospective comparative study, exploring post-trauma therapy outcome measures, for two groupsof clients, receiving either CognitiveBehaviour Therapy or Cognitive BehaviourTherapy and Compassionate Mind Training

Background/Aims/Objectives: This prospective, comparative outcome study was designed to contrast therelative impact of differing therapeutic interventions for trauma victims, carried out by the same therapist.Methods/Methodology: A non-random convenience sample (N=32) of participants, referred for therapyfollowing a traumatic incident, were randomly assigned to receive up to 12 sessions of either CognitiveBehaviour Therapy (CBT), or CBT coupled with Compassionate Mind Training (CMT). A repeatedmeasures design was used and data was analysed using analysis of variance. Data was gathered pre-therapyand post-therapy, using three self-report questionnaires (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale; Impact ofEvents Scale; the Self-Compassion Scale).Results/Findings: Results supported two of the three original hypotheses. Participants in both conditionsexperienced a highly statistically significant reduction in symptoms of anxiety, depression, avoidantbehaviour, intrusive thoughts and hyper-arousal symptoms post-therapy. Participants in the combined CBTand CMT condition developed statistically significant higher self-compassion scores post-therapy than theCBT-only group [F(1,30)=4.657, p≤.05]. There was no significant difference between treatment groups.Discussion/Conclusions: The results suggest that CMT may be a useful addition to CBT for clients sufferingwith trauma-related symptoms. In conclusion, high levels of self-compassion are linked to a decrease in anxietyand depression and trauma-related symptoms.Keywords: trauma; cognitive behaviour therapy; compassionate mind training; counselling psychology