“Self-compassion changed my life”: The self-compassion experiences of autistic and non-autistic adults and its relationship with mental health and psychological wellbeing

Cai, Ru Ying; Gibbs, Vicki; Love, Abigail M. A.; Robinson, Ainslie; Fung, Lawrence K.; Brown, L. David

doi:10.1007/s10803-022-05668-y

Cited by 14 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 64 publications

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“…Four cross-sectional studies - with samples of up to 164 adults ( Galvin et al, 2021 ; Howes et al, 2021 ; Cai et al, 2022 ; Galvin and Richards, 2022 ), and using self-report measures (including the Self-Compassion Scale; Neff, 2003 ) – and one qualitative interview study ( n = 11; Wilson et al, 2022 ), have examined levels of self-compassion in adults with a formal autism diagnosis, self-identified autism and/or non-autistic adults, and associations between self-compassion, autistic traits and mental health. Together, quantitative findings suggest that autistic people, and people with autistic traits, report lower self-compassion than comparison non-autistic samples.…”

Section: Autism Compassion and Cftmentioning

confidence: 99%

Compassion-focused therapy with autistic adults

Mason,

Acland,

Stark

et al. 2023

Front. Psychol.

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Some autistic adults experience repeated adverse events, including rejection, victimization and stigmatization. They also describe others being critical and negatively judging them, such as for how they socially interact or for expressing passion for particular interests. The impact of these adverse events can be substantial, including increasing vulnerability for poorer mental health, and contributing to development of negative self beliefs (such as “I am different” or “I do not fit in”) and shame-based difficulties. Not all evidence-based psychological therapies are well-received by autistic people, or effective. Given high rates of self-harm and suicidality, finding acceptable and effective therapies for autistic adults is paramount. Here, writing as autistic and non-autistic clinicians and researchers, we outline the theoretical principles of compassion-focused theory and therapy (CFT). We propose that: (1) compassion-focused theory can provide a useful framework for conceptualizing shame-based difficulties some autistic adults experience; (2) CFT can be appropriate for addressing these; and (3) there is an impetus for practitioners to adopt compassion-focused approaches when supporting autistic adults.

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Section: Autism Compassion and Cftmentioning

confidence: 99%

Compassion-focused therapy with autistic adults

Mason,

Acland,

Stark

et al. 2023

Front. Psychol.

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“…Recently, two online studies found that autistic participants reported significantly lower self-compassion levels than non-autistic adults. Interestingly, in both groups, those with higher levels of self-compassion had fewer depression symptoms ( 37 , 38 ). Moreover, autistic traits and self-compassion in both autistic and non-autistic individuals have been found to be negatively correlated ( 38 ), suggesting that low levels of self-compassion are related to the cognitive style found in autism (e.g., social difficulties and cognitive inflexibility).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Compassion focused therapy for self-stigma and shame in autism: a single case pre-experimental study

Riebel,

Krasny-Pacini,

Manolov

et al. 2024

Front. Psychiatry

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IntroductionExposure to public stigma can lead to the internalization of autism-related stigma (i.e., self-stigma), associated with negative health, occupational and social outcomes. Importantly, self-stigma is linked to shame and social isolation. Although elevated self-stigma has been reported in autistic adults, to the best of our knowledge, interventions designed to target this issue are lacking. Compassion is an effective way to reduce the emotional correlates of self-stigma (i.e., shame) and their impacts on mental health. However, no study has investigated whether compassion focused therapy (CFT) can effectively reduce self-stigma in autistic adults. The present study aims at investigating whether and how self-compassion improvement following CFT may reduce self-stigma and shame in an autistic individual.MethodsA single case pre-experimental design (SCED) was used with weekly repeated measures during four phases: (i) pure baseline without any intervention (A), (ii) case conceptualization (A’), (iii) intervention (B) where CFT was delivered, (iv) follow-up without intervention (FU). The participant is a 46-year-old autistic man with high self-stigma and shame. Self-report measures of self-compassion and self-stigma and a daily idiographic measure of shame were used.ResultsThere was a large increase in self-compassion between pure baseline (A) and the intervention phase (A’B) (Tau-U = 0.99), maintained at follow-up. Similarly, there was a moderate decrease of self-stigma (Tau-U = 0.32). In contrast, when we compared the whole baseline phase AA’ (i.e., considering the conceptualisation phase as baseline) to the intervention (B), there was no change in self-stigma (Tau-U = −0.09). There was no change in self-stigma between the intervention (B) and follow-up (Tau-U = −0.19). There was a moderate decrease in daily shame reports between the baseline (AA’) and the intervention (B) (Tau-U = 0.31) and a moderate decrease between the pure baseline (A) and intervention phase (A’B) (Tau-U = 0.51).ConclusionCFT was feasible for this autistic client and our results show that CFT led to the improvement of self-compassion. Changes on self-stigma measures were moderate. Self-stigma may need more time to change. Because self-stigma is involved in poorer social functioning and mental health in autistic adults, our results are promising and suggesting conducting more large-scale studies on CFT in autistic adults.

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“…One way of combating such internalized stigma is via self-acceptance, which has been linked with better mental health ( 19 ) and increased self-efficacy and self-regulated learning ( 32 ) in neurodivergent samples. Another way of relieving such stigma is self-compassion, which was found to be associated with higher psychological well-being and lower depression symptoms in both autistic and non-autistic adults ( 33 ). Thus, the adoption of the neurodiversity approach – which emphasizes acceptance – may hold promise for reducing stigma among neurotypical people, as well as reducing self-stigma among neurodivergent individuals.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A dual design thinking – universal design approach to catalyze neurodiversity advocacy through collaboration among high-schoolers

Schuck,

Fung

2024

Front. Psychiatry

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IntroductionNeurodiversity describes the fact that humans all have different brains with unique qualities that contribute to society. Though understanding of neurodiversity is gaining traction among the general public, there remains considerable stigma and prejudice toward neurodiverse people. One way to combat these issues is to teach individuals about neurodiversity and encourage them to develop advocacy skills. Development of such knowledge is especially important for adolescents, as they have the capacity to make small (e.g., interpersonal interactions) and large (e.g., school-wide) impacts.MethodsEighty-nine high schoolers participated in a two-week virtual summer camp in 2022; research consent/assent was obtained from 19 (11 neurodiverse/neurodivergent). Campers learned about neurodiversity, Universal Design for Learning (UDL), and Design Thinking (DT) through lectures from researchers and neurodivergent people, as well as group activities and discussions. Campers worked in small groups to design a neurodiversity advocacy project based on the principles of UDL and DT. Each group was facilitated by camp counselors–some of whom were neurodiverse–who were all committed to neurodiversity advocacy. Participants completed questionnaires about autism, ADHD, and dyslexia pre- and post-camp. Some also completed optional post-camp interviews.ResultsPre-camp stigma toward neurodiverse conditions was generally low. However, autism stigma was significantly higher than dyslexia stigma (Z = −2.24, p = 0.025). After camp, autism stigma decreased (Z = −2.98, p = 0.003;) and autism [t(13) = 3.17, p = 0.007] and ADHD [t(13) = 2.87, p = 0.013] knowledge improved. There were no significant changes in ADHD or dyslexia stigma or dyslexia knowledge. Participants reported enjoying collaborating with other campers and learning about UDL and DT. Thematic analysis of interviews generated four themes: Increased Understanding of Neurodiversity; Increasing Empathy and Becoming Less Judgmental; Creating a Neurodiverse Community; and More Awareness is Needed.DiscussionThis pilot investigation suggests that a virtual summer camp can be effective in improving attitudes toward and knowledge of neurodiversity. Qualitative analysis indicated participants became more accepting after the camp, both in terms of being less judgmental toward neurodiverse people and more self-accepting among neurodivergent campers. Future research should investigate the long-term effects of such a program, particularly with diverse samples of students.

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“Self-compassion changed my life”: The self-compassion experiences of autistic and non-autistic adults and its relationship with mental health and psychological wellbeing

Cited by 14 publications

References 64 publications

Compassion-focused therapy with autistic adults

Compassion-focused therapy with autistic adults

Compassion focused therapy for self-stigma and shame in autism: a single case pre-experimental study

A dual design thinking – universal design approach to catalyze neurodiversity advocacy through collaboration among high-schoolers

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