Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) with Veterans: a Program Evaluation
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ORIGINAL PAPER
Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) with Veterans: a Program Evaluation John Greg Serpa 1,2
&
Christine P. Bourey 1 & Ghislene N. Adjaoute 1 & Jessica M. Pieczynski 1
Accepted: 13 September 2020 # This is a U.S. government work and not under copyright protection in the U.S.; foreign copyright protection may apply 2020
Abstract Objectives This pilot study explores the impact of Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) in veterans. Self-compassion, the capacity to hold one’s suffering with kindness and a wish to alleviate it, is associated with improvements in well-being. Veterans have more medical conditions than non-veterans and higher prevalence rates of severe pain. Acceptability of the intervention with veterans is assessed along with the impact of MSC on the physical, mental, and social health of the participants. Methods A racially diverse, predominantly male group of veterans (n = 80) were assessed pre- and post-MSC group with the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) to evaluate physical, mental, and social health. Measures of self-compassion, happiness, self-report medication usage, and a global assessment of improvement measure were also included. Qualitative responses to the MSC program were also solicited and reviewed. Results Engagement with MSC was high (74% completion rate) and 96% of treatment completers rated their participation in the intervention as positive. Completers demonstrated small to medium effect size increases in self-compassion, happiness, and social role satisfaction, 95% CIs (− 6.13, − 2.65), (− 2.62, − 1.06), and (− 4.28, − 1.05), and decreases in depression, anxiety, fatigue, and pain interference, 95% CIs (0.44, 4.13), (0.57, 4.84), (0.43, 3.71), and (0.13, 2.70). In exploratory analyses related to pain, veterans taking pain medication reported a significant decrease in use (χ2(2, N = 47) = 24.30, p < .001). Conclusions These results are suggestive of the positive effects of the MSC intervention to veterans, but await a randomized controlled trial to establish its effectiveness in this population. Keywords Compassion . Mindfulness . Pain management . Self-compassion . Veterans
Scientific interest into compassion has proliferated in the past two decades along with the development of compassion-based interventions (Kirby et al. 2017). Interest in the use of compassion and mindfulness-based interventions in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), the nation’s largest healthcare system, has reflected this growth. In a large national survey of utilization and acceptability of Complementary and Integrative Health (CIH) interventions in VHA, mindfulness was one of the most widely used approaches with high effectiveness ratings from veterans (Goldberg et al. 2019). Yet, in this national survey, a majority of veterans (78%) were accessing mindfulness training outside of VHA. While mindfulness- and compassion-based interventions are closely
* John Greg Serpa [email protected] 1
VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, 11301 Wilshire Blvd, Building 220, Ro
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