References

Beaumont E. A compassionate mind training model for healthcare practitioners and educators. Healthcare Counselling and Psychotherapy Journal. 2016; 16:(3)22-27

Beaumont E, Hollins Martin CJ. A narrative review exploring the effectiveness of Compassion Focused Therapy. Counselling Psychology Review. 2015; 30:(1)21-32

Beaumont E, Durkin M, Hollins Martin CJ, Carson J. Compassion for others, self-compassion, quality of life and mental well-being measures and their association with compassion fatigue and burnout in student midwives: a quantitative survey. Midwifery. 2016a; 34:239-244 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.midw.2015.11.002

Beaumont E, Hollins Martin CJ. Heightening levels of compassion towards self and others through use of compassionate mind training. British Journal of Midwifery. 2016b; 24:(11)3-12

Bishop V. Clinical supervision in practice, 2nd Ed. Basingstoke (UK): Palgrave-Macmillan; 2007

Cloitre M, Shevlin M, Brewin CR The International Trauma Questionnaire: Development of a self-report measure of ICD-11 PTSD and Complex PTSD. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica. 2019; 138:(6)536-546 https://doi.org/10.1111/acps.12956

Davies S, Coldridge L. No man's land: an exploration of the traumatic experiences of student midwives in practice. Midwifery. 2015; 31:858-864 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.midw.2015.05.001

Depue RA, Morrone-Strupinsky JV. A neurobehavioral model of affiliative bonding: implications for conceptualizing a human trait of affiliation. Behavioral and Brain Sciences. 2005; 28:313-349

Ferrari M, Hunt C, Harrysunker A, Abbott MJ, Beath AP, Einstein DA. Self-compassion interventions and psychosocial outcomes: a meta-analysis of RCTs. Mindfulness. 2019; 10:1455-1473 https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-019-01134–6

Gibbs G. Learning by doing: a guide to teaching and learning methods.London: Further Education Unit; 1988

Gilbert P. Social mentalities: a biopsychosocial and evolutionary reflection on social relationships. In: In Baldwin M (ed). New York, NY: Guilford; 2005

Gilbert P. The Compassionate Mind.London: Constable; 2009

Gilbert P. The origins and nature of compassion focused therapy. British Journal of Clinical Psychology. 2014; 53:(1)6-41 https://doi.org/10.1111/bjc.12043

Gilbert P, Catarino F, Duarte C The development of compassionate engagement and action scales for self and others. Journal of Compassionate Health Care. 2017; 4:(1) https://doi.org/10.1186/s40639-017-0033-3

Gilbert P, Clark M, Hempel S, Miles JNV, Irons C. Criticising and reassuring oneself: an exploration of forms, styles and reasons in female students. British Journal of Clinical Psychology. 2004; 43:31-50 https://doi.org/10.1348/014466504772812959

Grafton E, Gillespie BM, Henderson S. Resilience: the power within. Oncology Nurse Forum. 2010; 37:698-705 https://doi.org/10.1188/19.ONF.338-347

Helsing D, Howell A, Kegan R, Lahey LL. Putting the development in professional developing understanding and overturning of educational leaders immunities to change. Harvard Educational Review. 2008; 78:(3)437-465 https://doi.org/10.17763/haer.78.3.888l759g1qm54660

Irons C, Beaumont E. The compassionate mind workbook: a step-by-step guide to cultivating your compassionate self.London: Constable Robinson; 2017

Karatzias T, Murphy P, Cloitre M Psychological interventions for ICD-11 complex PTSD symptoms: systematic review and meta-analysis. Psychological Medicine. 2019; 1-15 https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291719000436

Keltner D, Cowen AS. Self-report captures 27 distinct categories of emotion bridged by continuous gradients. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 2017; 114:(38)e7900-e7909 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1702247114

Key S, Marshall H, Hollins Martin CJ. The Scottish clinical supervision model for midwives. British Journal of Midwifery. 2019; 27:(10)655-663 https://doi.org/10.12968/bjom.2019.27.10.655

Kirby JN. Compassion interventions: the programs, the evidence, and implications for research and practice. Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, and Practice. 2016; 90:(3)432-455 https://doi.org/10.1111/papt.12104

Kim JJ, Parker SL, Doty JR, Cunningham R, Gilbert P, Kirby JN. Neurophysiological and behavioural markers of compassion. Scientific Reports. 2020; 10 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-63846-3

Klimecki O, Singer T. Empathic distress fatigue rather than compassion fatigue? Integrating findings from empathy research in psychology and social neuroscience. In: Oakley B, Knafo A, Madhaven G, Wilson DS (eds). New York: Oxford University Press; 2012

Leaviss J, Uttley L. Psychotherapeutic benefits of compassion-focused therapy: an early systematic review. Psychological Medicine. 2015; 45:927-945 https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291714002141

MacBeth A, Gumley A. Exploring compassion: a meta-analysis of the association between self-compassion and psychopathology. Clinical Psychology Review. 2012; 32:545-552 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2012.06.003

Neff KD. The development and validation of a scale to measure self compassion. Self and Identity. 2003; 2:223-250 https://doi.org/10.1080/15298860390209035

Neff KD, Kirkpatrick KL, Rude SS. Self-compassion and adaptive psychological functioning. Journal of Research in Personality. 2007; 41,139-154 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2006.03.004

NHS England. A-EQUIP a model of clinical midwifery supervision. 2017. https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/a-equip-midwifery-supervision-model.pdf (accessed 11 December 2020)

Standards of proficiency for midwives.London: NMC; 2019

Paterson C, Chapman J. Enhancing skills of critical reflection to evidence learning in professional practice. Physical Therapy in Sport. 2013; 14:(3)133-138 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ptsp.2013.03.004

Proctor B. Supervision: a cooperative exercise in accountability. In: Marken M, Payne M (eds). Leister (UK): National Youth Bureau and Council for Education and Training in Youth and Community Work; 1988

Raab K. Mindfulness, self-compassion, and empathy among health care professionals: a review of the literature. Journal of Health Care Chaplaincy. 2014; 20:(3)95-108 https://doi.org/10.1080/08854726.2014.913876

Schanche E, Stiles TC, Mccullough L, Svartberg M, Nielsen GH. The relationship between activating affects, inhibitory affects, and self-compassion in patients with Cluster C personality disorders. Psychotherapy. 2011; 48:293-303 https://doi.org/10.1037/a0022012

Seery MD, Holman EA, Silver RC. Whatever does not kill is: cumulative lifetime adversity, vulnerability and resilience. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 2010; 99:1025-1041 https://doi.org/10.1037/a0021344

Sheen K, Slade P, Spiby H. An integrative review of the impact of indirect trauma exposure in health professionals and potential issues of salience for midwives. Journal of Advanced Nursing. 2014; 70:729-743 https://doi.org/10.1111/jan.12274

Professional Quality of Life: compassion satisfaction and fatigue Version 5 (ProQOL). 2009. https://proqol.org/ProQol_Test.html (accessed 11 December 2020)

Tennant R, Hiller L, Fishwick R The Warwick and Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale (WEMWBS): development and UK validation. Health and Quality of Life Outcomes. 2009; 5:(63)1-13 https://doi.org/10.1186/1477-7525-5-63

Turesky EF, Gallagher D. Know thyself: coaching for leadership using Kolb's experiential learning theory. The Coaching Psychologist. 2011; 7:(1)5-14

Van Dam NT, Sheppard SC, Forsyth JP, Earleywine M. Self-compassion is a better predictor than mindfulness of symptom severity and quality of life in mixed anxiety and depression. Journal of Anxiety Disorders. 2011; 25:123-130 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2010.08.011

Wallbank S, Woods G. A healthier health visiting workforce: findings from the Restorative Supervision Programme. Community Practitioner. 2012; 85:(11)20-23

World Health Organization. The ICD-11 for mortality and morbidity statistics. 2018. https://icd.who.int/browse11/l-m/e (accessed 11 December 2020)

Clinical incident
compassion
trauma
Compassionate Mind Training
midwives

Teaching Compassionate Mind Training to help midwives cope with traumatic clinical incidents

02 January 2021
Professional
02 January 2021
Volume 29 · Issue 1

Abstract

Compassionate Mind Training (CMT) is taught to cultivate compassion and teach midwives how to care for themselves. The need to build midwives' resilience is recognised by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), who advocate that mental health coping strategies be embedded into the midwifery curriculum. In this respect, CMT can be used as a resilience-building method to help midwives respond to self-criticism and threat-based emotions with compassion. The underpinnings of CMT involve understanding that people can develop cognitive biases or unhelpful thinking patterns, co-driven by an interplay between genetics and the environment. Within this paper, the underpinning theory of CMT and how it can be used to balance psychological threat, drive, and soothing systems are outlined. To contextualise the application to midwifery practice, a traumatic incident has been discussed. Teaching CMT has the potential to improve professional quality of life, and reduce midwife absence rates and potential attrition from the profession.

Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT) and Compassionate Mind Training (CMT) aim to help people cultivate compassion for self and others. CFT was created to help people respond to self-criticism and shame with compassion and self-supportive inner voices (Gilbert, 2005; 2009; 2010; 2014). CFT is a psychotherapy used in therapeutic settings (Kirby, 2016), and CMT is a programme of contemplative and body-based practices that can be used in non-clinical populations to help people cultivate compassion (Gilbert, 2005; 2009; 2014).

Over the past 10 years, there has been an expanding body of evidence to support the use of CMT to alleviate mental health difficulties and promote wellbeing (Beaumont and Hollins Martin, 2015; Leaviss and Uttley, 2015; Karatzias et al, 2019). In response, CMT is now being implemented in hospitals, prisons, schools, universities and businesses, which makes it appropriate for midwives to now consider its use.

Register now to continue reading

Thank you for visiting British Journal of Midwifery and reading some of our peer-reviewed resources for midwives. To read more, please register today. You’ll enjoy the following great benefits:

What's included

  • Limited access to our clinical or professional articles

  • New content and clinical newsletter updates each month

Register
Or continue by

Signing in with your registered email address

Clinical incident
compassion
trauma
Compassionate Mind Training
midwives