Exploring the impact of a compassion-focused therapy training course on healthcare educators

Abstract

Background: Stress, and particularly burnout, is a major problem among healthcare workers and can lead to high staff turnover and low patient/client satisfaction. Objective: To explore the impact of 3-day compassion-focused therapy training on those delivering education to healthcare students. The underpinning premise was that the training course could potentially be replicated through the participants’ work with students embarking on a career within the helping professions. Design: Mixed-methods study, with the qualitative findings being presented in this paper. Setting: Training course was delivered in one higher education institution in England. Methods: In total, 44 healthcare lecturers attended the course, with 6 taking part in a reflective focus group. Findings: The analysis highlighted four main themes: reassurance and increased knowledge, increased compassion towards others, self-compassion and empathy, and blocks to compassion. Conclusion: Findings add to previous quantitative research findings showing that participants who undertook training were able to engage with their compassionate self and consider the importance of showing compassion towards the self and others in healthcare education.