At this journal club we will discuss the conceptualization of compassion, and the challenges and opportunities of measuring it.

The use of compassion and self-compassion in different interventions, often in clinical psychology, is on the rise, and the evidence for its beneficial effects is subsequently increasing.

This JC will include a presentation of the theoretical background of the “compassion concept”, and a conversation about different interventions and outcome measures, and the mechanisms underlying the effect of compassion interventions.

Prepare for a group discussion about how a definition of a “new” concept (e.g. Compassion) is made, and pros & cons of such definitions.

For example: What are the advantages and drawbacks of self-assessment scales versus observations/measurements of actual behavioral changes, and biomarkers, respectively. Be ready to discuss the different ways to use compassion in interventions, as well as the different methods to measure compassion and outcomes after compassion interventions.

Title of the article that will be discussed:

Strauss, C., Lever Taylor, B., Gu, J., Kuyken, W., Baer, R., Jones, F., & Cavanagh, K. (2016). What is compassion and how can we measure it? A review of definitions and measures. Clinical Psychology Review, 47, 15–27. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2016.05.004

The JC will be led by doctoral student Christina Andersson, and associate professor Walter Osika.

The Journal Club is intended for PhD-students associated with CPF. Registration for the JC is not necessary! It will be possible to join in on video conference through ZOOM, contact Karolina Sörman (karolina.sorman@ki.se) for this purpose.

Instructions regarding ZOOM: You can get also connected through smartphone (download the app ZOOM). Click on "join a meeting", type in the meeting code that Karolina will provide you with and choose username. For a group to join in, you can use a web camera. For this purpose, download ZOOM on your laptop (for SLL-computers, the installation might take some time so prepare this well in time). To join the meeting, click on the link provided by Karolina.

Welcome!