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Kind warriors: A qualitative study of a compassion‐based intervention for children
Author(s) -
Karr Jordan,
Roberson Cyrell,
Tiura Michael
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
counselling and psychotherapy research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.38
H-Index - 32
eISSN - 1746-1405
pISSN - 1473-3145
DOI - 10.1002/capr.12266
Subject(s) - compassion , psychological intervention , thematic analysis , psychology , intervention (counseling) , anxiety , clinical psychology , focus group , qualitative research , psychotherapist , psychiatry , social science , marketing , sociology , political science , law , business
Background Compassion‐based interventions support participants in cultivating greater compassion for the purposes of improving their psychological functioning and well‐being. Meta‐analytic findings indicate that compassion‐based interventions may decrease symptoms of anxiety and depression in adults, but few studies have examined the feasibility of using compassion‐based interventions to support elementary‐aged students. Aim The purpose of this study was to collect detailed descriptions of participants’ interactions during a compassion‐based group intervention targeting internalising symptoms. Given the intervention's focus on compassion cultivation, we concentrated on participants’ responses to negative emotions and analysed how these interactions evolved over the whole intervention. Method Ethical approval was secured prior to the beginning of the study. Five fourth‐grade students participated in the 10‐week intervention. All of the group sessions were audio‐recorded. On each occasion that a participant expressed a negative emotion, the corresponding audio‐recording was revisited and a segment of that recording was transcribed. Transcripts were anonymised and subject to thematic analysis. Findings Three major themes were identified from the analysis of transcripts: (a) a culture of compassion and humour, (b) experiential learning and (c) conflicting values. Conclusion Findings suggested participants gained familiarity with affiliative states by practising skills learned in the group. The data also revealed a need to improve the cultural humility of the intervention. The study was limited by the role of the first author who both facilitated the intervention and led the qualitative analysis. However, the findings offer important insights for researchers and practitioners hoping to design or deliver compassion‐based interventions with children.