Participant background characteristics (N = 8).

Healthcare staff can encounter empathy distress, burnout, and trauma, often responding with self-criticism rather than self-compassion, yet there remains limited evaluation of compassion-focused interventions for staff with mental health difficulties. This study qualitatively evaluated a compassion-focused therapy (CFT) group intervention offered to National Health System (NHS) staff with mental health difficulties and high self-criticism. A qualitative design using semi-structured interviews was used. Eight staff who attended a 12-week CFT group were interviewed about their experiences learning key CFT concepts, group-based learning, the intervention’s impact on their well-being, and suggestions for improvement. Reflexive thematic analysis was conducted. Participants found the group beneficial, emphasising the development of group safeness, which fostered connection and vulnerability through shared NHS and caregiver identities. CFT content was seen as highly relevant, addressing self-criticism, while helping participants label personal experiences and enhancing self-awareness. The group format fostered a shared understanding of human suffering, reduced feelings of isolation and widened participants’ perspectives through interpersonal learning. Participants reported acquiring skills to support their well-being, with some noting overall emotional improvement. Challenges included emotionally triggering content, highlighting the need for tailored support. Suggestions included smaller group sizes, flexible content delivery to meet individual and group needs, and additional support such as one-on-one sessions or booster sessions. Protected time from work, more information about the group process, and clear expectations were recommended to enhance group safeness and reduce initial hesitation. Group-based CFT was described as acceptable and beneficial, offering preliminary evidence for its potential to support NHS staff with mental health difficulties and pervasive self-criticism. Larger, mixed-method evaluations are recommended to explore the intervention’s broader impact and mechanisms.

医疗从业人员常会遭遇共情耗竭、职业倦怠与创伤，且往往以自我苛责而非自我关怀应对上述困境，但目前针对存在心理健康问题的医护人员所开展的关怀导向干预措施，相关评估仍较为匮乏。本研究采用质性研究方法，针对为存在心理健康问题且自我苛责程度较高的英国国民保健署（National Health Service, NHS）员工开展的关怀取向治疗（Compassion-Focused Therapy, CFT）团体干预进行了评估。研究采用半结构化访谈的质性研究设计，对8名参与了为期12周CFT团体干预的医护人员进行访谈，内容涵盖其学习核心CFT理念的经历、团体式学习体验、干预对其心理健康福祉的影响，以及对干预方案的改进建议。本研究采用反思性主题分析方法开展数据分析。参与人员均认为该团体干预具有积极价值，他们着重提及团体安全感的构建——通过共享NHS从业者与照护者身份，促进了成员间的联结与情感袒露。CFT相关内容被认为极具针对性，可有效应对自我苛责问题，同时帮助参与者厘清自身的个人经历并提升自我觉察能力。团体形式推动成员对人类苦难形成共同认知，通过人际学习减少了孤立感，并拓宽了参与者的认知视野。参与人员表示，他们掌握了可用于维护自身心理健康福祉的技能，部分参与者还提及自身整体情绪状态有所改善。研究同时发现了部分挑战：干预内容可能引发情绪触发反应，这凸显了提供个性化支持的必要性。参与者提出的改进建议包括缩小团体规模、采用灵活的内容呈现方式以适配个体与团体需求，以及增设额外支持环节（如一对一咨询或强化巩固课程）。此外，建议保障医护人员的脱产参与时间、提供更多关于团体流程的信息，并明确参与预期，以进一步强化团体安全感，减少参与者初期的参与顾虑。研究表明，基于团体形式开展的CFT具有可接受性与应用价值，为其用于帮助存在心理健康问题及普遍自我苛责倾向的NHS员工提供了初步实证依据。未来建议开展更大规模的混合方法研究，以进一步探索该干预措施的更广泛影响与作用机制。