Self-compassion training for specialist inpatient rehabilitation providers

Physiatrist, Sunnybrook Research Institute

This project will assess an online self-compassion course for rehabilitation providers. Rehabilitation is founded in a bio-psycho-social model and depends on effective relational care between healthcare providers and those receiving rehabilitative treatments. Compassionate care in rehabilitation is linked to better health outcomes for patients but caring for people with disabling long-term conditions requires rehabilitation providers to also be able to care effectively for themselves, as the risk of professional burnout is high. Wellness behaviours are believed to form the cornerstone of effective self-care for rehabilitation providers, but this has not been rigorously tested in research studies thus far. Robert’s research will assess the impact of an online self-compassion-based intervention for specialist inpatient rehabilitation providers in Toronto, Canada.He will assess the impact of the self-compassion intervention on measures of wellness, compassion, and burnout, and will explore rehabilitation provider perceptions of the links between self-compassion, burnout, and patient care.