Empathy and (Self-)Compassion in Parkinson's Disease Patients and Caregivers
Recruiting · NCT07097298 · Interventional (participants receive a specific treatment) · Lead sponsor: Alain Kaelin
View the official record on ClinicalTrials.gov →Interventions studied
empathy and compassion training
What this trial is about
The goal of this clinical trial is to improve quality of life in Parkinson's Disease (PD) patients by increasing their empathy and their (self-)compassion. The main question it aims to answer is: Does the level of quality of life in PD patients and caregivers improve after empathy/(self-)compassion training? Participants will be delivered a 6-week empathy and compassion training (mindfulness, writing and poetry exercises addressing the cognitive, emotional, motivational and behavioural components of (self-)compassion) and will also be asked to answer questionnaires before and after the training
Who can take part
Age range
50 Years to 80 Years
Sex
All (male and female)
Healthy volunteers
No - a diagnosis or condition is required
Phase
Not applicable (e.g. observational or device study)
Study type
Interventional (participants receive a specific treatment)
Inclusion criteria
- Diagnosis of PD
- Hoehn and Yahr scale, stage ≤ 3
- Mini Mental State Examination with a score ≥ 26
- Able to give informed consent as documented by signature
- At least, secondary school education
- To have a regular caregiver at home
Exclusion criteria
- Any medical condition that is not PD, such as drug induced parkinsonism
- Major depression, dysthymia, or according to DSM-V
- Other neurological or psychiatric diseases
- Neuropsychological scores compatible with the diagnosis of early dementia
- Inability to follow the procedures of the study, e.g. due to language problems, psychological disorders, etc
- For CAREGIVERS:
- Inclusion criteria
- Taking care of the patient on a regular basis, i.e., at least 3 days per week
- Being caregiver of the patients for at least 3 months
- At least, secondary school education
- Written informed consent
Where it is running
1 location listed.
- Istituto di Neuroscienze Cliniche della Svizzera Italiana, EOC - Lugano, Switzerland