The research team that received a Mind Matters Initiative (MMI) Mental Health Research Grant in 2022 has now published their research in an open-access and peer reviewed journal.
The peer-reviewed paper, from Sarah Corthorne at Barts Health NHS Foundation Trust, Christina Jones at the University of Surrey’s School of Psychology, and Katherine Wakelin, who is now at the University of Southampton, has been published open access in the Veterinary Record and explores the effectiveness of a two-week compassion-focused imagery intervention.
Some 162 veterinarians took part in the study and were split between a control group that did not receive the image-based compassion-focused therapy, and the intervention group that was required to watch a 10–15-minute video every day for 14 days to increase their self-compassion and combat issues relating to poor psychological wellbeing.
Participants completed questionnaires to measure outcomes across four time points and the results of these found that compassionate imagery intervention improved multiple outcomes associated with veterinary mental wellbeing such as self-criticism, self-reassurance and perfectionism.
Angharad Belcher (pictured), Director of the Mind Matters Initiative, commented: “Congratulations to this research team for the publication of their research into image-based compassionate therapy. The research provides a great foundation for exploring the effectiveness of compassion-based approaches in the veterinary sector.
"The researchers have kindly made their videos available on the MMI website, which employers and veterinary schools could consider making available to their employees and students to demonstrate the benefits of cultivating self-compassion.
"For anyone interested in exploring research into veterinary mental health, our RCVS Mind Matters research grants will reopen for applications in early 2027."
The latest paper is open access and available to view for free on the Veterinary Record website. The free online compassion course videos can be found on the RCVS MMI website.
