Abstract
Veterinarians report high levels of psychological distress and self-criticism. Evidence suggests that compassion-focused therapy is effective at reducing distress in those with high self-criticism. Therefore, Wakelin et al.’s (2022) feasibility study investigated the feasibility and preliminary effectiveness of a two-week online compassion focused therapy intervention using a sample of 128 veterinarians. The study found the intervention to be acceptable, feasible and show preliminary effectiveness. Following the successful feasibility research, a randomised control trial was delivered to investigate the effectiveness of a modified version of the intervention, relative to a wait-list control, using a sample of 162 veterinarians (Corthorne, 2024). The intervention significantly improved a range of outcomes including resilience, self-reassurance, self-compassion, work-related rumination and self-criticism, relative to the control. These findings were sustained at follow-up and were associated with small-to-medium and medium-to-large effect sizes. Overall, the research provides a strong rationale for developing and delivering compassion-based interventions to veterinarians in the workplace and in training. Therefore, the fourteen videos making up the intervention are freely accessible through the University of Surrey repository for veterinarians wanting to improve their psychological wellbeing. Each video is around 10-15 minutes in length and designed to be watched in order, one a day, over a two-week period. The videos teach psychoeducation and compassion focused skills and imagery exercises. Anonymous data is being collected to monitor the continual use and impact of the course within the veterinary community in a service evaluation. Therefore veterinarians accessing the intervention are asked to complete a short questionnaire before starting the course (pre questionnaire: https://surreyfahs.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0uE1bmDsvPZ6H30) and upon finishing the course (post questionnaire: https://surreyfahs.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_77XintCeaEIGFQW).
