Self-Compassion for Healthcare Communities (SCHC )

Healthcare professionals, therapists, teachers/educators, caregivers, first responders, leadership

Self-Compassion Training for Healthcare Communities (SCHC), also known as Self-Compassion in Action, is a 6-hour healthcare adaptation of Mindful Self-Compassion. This training aims to improve well-being and personal resilience in healthcare professionals or other caring professionals (e.g., teachers, family caregivers, etc.) by teaching mindful self-compassion skills to deal with distressing emotional situations as they occur at work and at home.

• Agency/Affiliation: Center for Mindful Self-Compassion
• Website: https://centerformsc.org/pages/schc
• Email: lisa@centerformsc.org

The goals of Self-Compassion for Healthcare Communities (SCHC) are:

• Describe the key components of self-compassion and mindfulness and how they can be integrated into your role as a healthcare professional.
• Explain the difference between empathy and compassion and utilize strategies to avoid emotional exhaustion.
• Practice techniques to increase self-compassion at work and everyday life.
• Practice at least one skill from each session to care for yourself emotionally while caring for others who are experiencing difficulty

The essential components of Self-Compassion for Healthcare Communities (SCHC) include:

• Understanding the definition, physiology, and practice of Self-Compassion
• Establishing a practice of Self-Compassion, while integrating Self-Compassion with Mindfulness
• Understanding burnout in the context of caregiving and self-compassion
• Understanding our own compassion voice and motivating ourselves with Fierce Self-Compassion
• Self-Compassion and Resilience: working with difficult emotions in the context of healthcare providing
• Reconnecting to core values of self-compassion and caregiving

Recommended Intensity

Six 1-hour sessions or two 3-hour sessions

Recommended Duration

6-weeks

Delivery Settings

This program is typically conducted in a(n):

• Community-based Agency / Organization / Provider
• Hospital
• Outpatient Clinic
• Virtual (Online, Smartphone, Zoom, Telephone, Video, etc.)

Homework

This program does include a homework component.

This program does require some reading outside of sessions, recommended practices, but no submitted or reviewed/graded material.

Resources Needed to Run Program

The typical resources for implementing the program are:

Personal device with high-speed internet access, microphone, speakers, and a webcam, Zoom account, private space to attend sessions, headphones or earbuds if in a shared space.

Prerequisite/Minimum Provider Qualifications

Information not provided by program representative.

Manual Information

There is not a manual that describes how to deliver this program.

Training Information

There is training available for this program.

Training Contact

Training Type/Location:

All training is provided via virtual/online training or through private contract organization with healthcare providers or organizations.

Number of days/hours:

Details were not provided by program representative.

Pre-Implementation Materials

There are no pre-implementation materials to measure organizational or provider readiness for Self-Compassion for Healthcare Communities.

Formal Support for Implementation

There is formal support available for implementation of Self-Compassion for Healthcare Communities as listed below:

Email, tech support, evaluation support.

Fidelity Measures

There are no fidelity measures for Self-Compassion for Healthcare Communities.

Implementation Guides or Manuals

There are implementation guides or manuals for Self-Compassion for Healthcare Communities as listed below:

A participant handbook is offered upon registration and will be shared via the trainer of this program. This handbook is not publicly available.

Implementation Cost

There are no studies of the costs of Self-Compassion for Healthcare Communities.

Research on How to Implement the Program

Research has not been conducted on how to implement Self-Compassion for Healthcare Communities.

What is included in the Relevant Published, Peer-Reviewed Research section?

• Neff, K. D., Knox, M. C., Long, P., & Gregory, K. (2020). Caring for others without losing yourself: An adaptation of the mindful self‐compassion program for healthcare communities. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 76(9), 1543–1562. https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.23007

  Type of Study: Study 1: Pretest–posttest study with a nonequivalent control group (Quasi-experimental); Study 2: One-group pretest–posttest study

  Sample:

  Age — Study 1: 28–65 years (Mean=42.95 years); Study 2: 27–60 years (Mean=37.57 years)

  Participants: Study 1: 58; Study 2: 23

  Race/Ethnicity — Study 1: 64% White, 16% Asian American, 16% Latino, and 5% Other Ethnicities; Study 2: 74% White, 17% Latino, 4% Asian American, and 4% Other

  Gender — Study 1: 86% Female; Study 2: 96% Female

  Status — Participants were healthcare professionals.

  Location/Institution: Large children's hospital in an urban setting in the Southwestern United States

  Summary:

  The purpose of the study was to report two studies that examined the efficacy of the Self‐Compassion for Healthcare Communities (SCHC) program for enhancing wellbeing and reducing burnout among healthcare professionals. Participants in Study 1 were put into either the SCHC intervention group or a waitlist control group. Participants in Study 2 all took part in the SCHC program. Measures utilized for Study 1 include the Self‐Compassion Scale, the Cognitive and Affective Mindfulness Scale—Revised, the Compassion Scale, the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS), the Professional Quality of Life Scale and the Personal Distress Subscale from the Interpersonal Reactivity Index. Measures utilized for Study 2 include the Cognitive and Affective Mindfulness Scale—Revised, the Compassion Scale, the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale, the Professional Quality of Life Scale, and the Maslach Burnout Inventory. Results indicate that in Study 1, SCHC significantly increased self‐compassion and wellbeing. All gains were maintained for three months. Results indicate that in Study 2 in addition to enhancing wellbeing, SCHC significantly reduced secondary traumatic stress and burnout. Changes in self‐compassion explained gains in other outcomes, and initial levels of self‐compassion moderated outcomes so that those initially low in self‐compassion benefitted more. Limitations for Study 1 include the lack of randomization of participants, follow-up was for the intervention group only and, due to the lack of an active control group, cannot be sure that the benefits of group participation were actually attributable to the content of the SCHC program. Limitations for Study 2 include the lack of a comparison group.

  Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: None.

• Bluth, K., Lathren, C., Silbersack Hickey, J. V. T., Zimmerman, S., Wretman, C. J., & Sloane, P. D. (2021). Self‐compassion training for certified nurse assistants in nursing homes. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 69(7), 1896–1905. https://doi.org/10.1111/jgs.17155

  Type of Study: Other quasi-experimental

  Sample:

  Age — Mean=49 years

  Participants: 30

  Race/Ethnicity — 83% Black/African American

  Gender — 96% Female

  Status — Participants were certified nursing assistants (CNAs).

  Location/Institution: Three mid-size, non-profit nursing homes (NHs) in North Carolina

  Summary:

  The purpose of the study was to examine the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary outcomes of self-compassion training to address CNA stress and well-being. Participants were taught either Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) or Self-Compassion for Health Care Communities (SCHC). Measures utilized include the Job Satisfaction Scale (JSS), the Approach to Dementia Questionnaire (ADQ), the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), the PROMIS Depression Scale-Short Form (PROMIS-DSF), the Maslach Burnout Inventory – Human Services Scale (MBI-HSS), and the Self-Compassion Scale-Youth. Results indicate that attendance and program satisfaction were high, and attrition was low for both training formats. Self-compassion was significantly improved at all time periods. Limitations include the small sample size, the lack of a control group, and it is unclear if these results are generalizable to CNAs across all types of NHs.

  Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: 3 and 6 months.

• Franco, P. L., & Christie, L. M. (2021). Effectiveness of a one day self-compassion training for pediatric nurses’ resilience. Journal of Pediatric Nursing, 61, 109–114. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pedn.2021.03.020

  Type of Study: Pretest–posttest study with a nonequivalent control group (Quasi-experimental)

  Sample:

  Age — Mean=38.33–46.05 years

  Participants: 48

  Race/Ethnicity — 41 White, 5 Latino, and 2 Black

  Gender — 43 Female and 5 Male

  Status — Participants were healthcare professionals.

  Location/Institution: Urban pediatric hospital in central Texas

  Summary:

  The purpose of the study was to understand if attending a one-day workshop format of the Self Compassion for Healthcare Communities (SCHC) program would improve pediatric nurses’ resilience, well-being, and professional quality of life. Participants were nurses who attended the SCHC training and nurses who did not attend the SCHC training. Measures utilized include the Self‐Compassion Scale, the Cognitive and Affective Mindfulness Scale (CAMS), the Compassion Scale, the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS), the Professional Quality of Life Scale, and the Resiliency Activation and Decompression and Job Engagement Scale. Results indicate that participants in the SCHC intervention exhibited significant increases in self-compassion, mindfulness, compassion to others, resilience and compassion satisfaction, and significant decreases in burnout, anxiety, and stress compared to the nonintervention group. Limitations include the lack of randomization of participants, follow-up was conducted for the intervention group only, and the small sample size.

  Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: None.

• Note: The following study was not included in rating Self-Compassion for Healthcare Communities on the Scientific Rating Scale.

  Delaney, M. C. (2018). Caring for the caregivers: Evaluation of the effect of an eight-week pilot Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) training program on nurses’ compassion fatigue and resilience. PloS One, 13(11), Article e0207261. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0207261

  Summary:

  The purpose of the study was to examine the effects of Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) [now called Self-Compassion for Healthcare Communities (SCHC)] training intervention on nurses’ compassion fatigue and resilience and participants’ lived experience of the effect of training. Participants were assigned to the MSC training intervention. Measures utilized include the Neff 26-item Self-compassion scale, Freiburg Mindfulness inventory, ProQOL Version 5 Professional Quality of Life Scale: Compassion Satisfaction and Fatigue Version, and Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale 25 item (CD-RISC 25). Results indicate that overall participants’ reported scores showed an increase for self-compassion, mindfulness, compassion satisfaction and resilience. Whereas reported scores in both of the negative aspects of compassion fatigue, secondary traumatic stress and burnout decreased. The qualitative emergent themes corroborated the quantitative findings and expanded the understanding about how MSC on the job practices enhanced nurses’ coping. Limitations include the small sample size, lack of a control group, high attrition rate, and lack of follow up. Note: This article was not used in the rating process due to the lack of a control group.

• Gardiner, P., Pérez-Aranda, A., Bell, N., Clark, D. R., Schuman-Olivier, Z., & Lin, E. H. (2025). Self-Compassion for Healthcare Communities: Exploring the effects of a synchronous online continuing medical education program on physician burnout. Journal of Continuing Education in the Health Professions 45(2), 119–-127. https://doi.org/10.1097/CEH.0000000000000574

• Knox, M. C., & Franco, P. L. (2022). Acceptability and feasibility of an online version of the Self-Compassion for Healthcare Communities program. Psychology, Health & Medicine, 28(7), 1709–1719. https://doi.org/10.1080/13548506.2022.2094428

• Neff, K. D., Knox, M. C., Long, P., & Gregory, K., (2020). Caring for others without losing yourself: An adaptation of the mindful self-compassion program for healthcare communities. Journal of Clinical Psychology. 76(9), 1543–1562. https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.23007