Self-Compassion to Enhance the Well-Being of Caregivers of Children With Physical Disabilities

Developing and Piloting a Tailored Self-Compassion Program to Enhance the Well-Being of Informal Caregivers of Children With Physical Disabilities

The goal of this clinical trial is to test the feasibility, acceptability and preliminary social/emotional well-being outcomes of a tailored, online self-compassion-based resilience course for caregivers of children with physical disabilities. The main questions it aims to answer are:

1. Is the online resilience course feasible and acceptable to caregivers of children with physical disabilities?
2. Is participation in the resilience course associated with improvements in caregiver stress, anxiety, depression, burden, caregiver uplifts, self-compassion, emotion regulation and/or resilience?

Participants will complete a screening, a verbal consent process and an electronic pre-course survey. Then, they will participate in a 6-session weekly online course with other caregivers and led by a certified Mindful Self-Compassion instructor. The course has been created with feedback from caregivers and includes skills for recognizing and coping with difficult emotions while connecting with others who have similar caregiving experiences. After the course, participants will repeat the electronic survey and will provide feedback on the course during a live, online feedback session.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Caregiver is at least 18 years old
• Caregiver reads and speaks in English
• Caregiver is a primary caregiver to a child aged 2-17 with a moderate to severe chronic physical disability (child requires assistance or adapted methods for mobility (e.g., walking, transfers) and at least 1 other functional area (e.g., toileting, feeding, communication))

Exclusion Criteria:

• Caregiver has no access to the internet/Zoom
• Caregiver has been hospitalized in the last year for mental health treatment
• Caregiver has a history of psychosis (e.g., schizophrenia)
• Caregiver will miss 2 or more class sessions due to scheduling conflicts