Finding confidence and inner trust as a parent: experiences of group-based compassion-focused therapy for the parents of adolescents with mental health problems

ABSTRACT

Purpose: Compassion-focused therapy (CFT) can alleviate the stress and challenges faced by the parents of adolescents with mental health (MH) problems. Although CFT interventions have shown promising results, few studies have examined its effectiveness in adolescent psychiatric settings. Therefore, this study examined the participant experiences of group-based CFT for the parents of adolescents with MH problems.

Methods: The reflective lifeworld research (RLR) approach was used to conduct in-depth interviews with eleven parents, focusing on participant experiences of group-based CFT. Meaning-oriented data analysis was undertaken.

Results: The essential meaning of the phenomenon of participating in group-based CFT was understood as finding confidence and inner trust as a parent, characterized by an understanding of one’s own needs, which provided parents with the confidence to support their children. The phenomenon is further explicated with its three constituents: (a) taking care of oneself and one’s child; (b) being open and sharing experiences; and (c) acceptance and hope for the future.

Conclusions: The CFT intervention enabled parents to find their agency and strengthened their relationships with their children. The findings underscore the need to acknowledge the supportive role parents play in the recovery of children who receive psychiatric care.

KEYWORDS:

• Compassion-focused therapy (CFT)
• parenting
• adolescent mental health
• qualitative research
• lifeworld research
• group therapy

Acknowledgments

We thank Clary Hansson, Ing-Marie Gralberg, and Malin Larzenius for all your help and support.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Anna Sofia Bratt

Anna Bratt is  an associate senior lecturer at Linnaeus University in Växjö and a clinical psychologist and therapist at the Child- and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinic at Södra Älvsborgs Hospital in Borås. She has a PhD degree in Psychology (2016). Her research focus is clinical psychology, mental health problems amongst young people, and compassion-focused therapy.

Idor Svensson

Idor Svensson is an authorized psychologist and professor in clinical psychology at Linnaeus University in Växjö. He has a PhD degree in Psychology (2003). His research focus is in clinical psychology and learning disabilities.

Marie Rusner

Marie Rusner is Head of Research at Södra Älvsborgs Hospital in Borås and Adjunct Senior Lecturer at the Institute for Health and Care Sciences at the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden. Marie is a registered nurse, specialized in psychiatric care. She has a PhD degree in Health Sciences (2012). Her focus of research is on severe mental illness, as bipolar disorder and depression, amongst young people and adults.