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Impact of a 12-Week Group-Based Compassion Focused Therapy Intervention on Heart Rate Variability

Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback volume 46, pages 61–68 (2021)Cite this article

Abstract

Heart rate variability (HRV) is considered an index of self-regulatory capacity, and trait compassion predicts healthy HRV and self-regulation. Compassion focused psychotherapy interventions have been shown to increase levels of compassion in the general population but no studies to date have examined if these interventions also increase HRV in a distressed clinical sample. The present study examined whether a 12-week compassion focused therapy intervention administered in group format would improve resting HRV and impact HRV reactivity during self-critical writing and self-compassion writing tasks administered before and after the intervention. A total of 31 participants in a university counseling center completed the intervention and HRV assessments. Resting HRV did not significantly change over the course of the intervention in the overall sample. Only those who showed a reliable increase in self-compassion also had a significant increase in resting HRV post-intervention. Additionally, the self-critical writing task was associated with a significant decrease in HRV, with HRV staying low during self-compassionate writing and then significantly increasing during recovery. Reliable change in self-compassion predicted increased HRV reactivity to self-critical and self-compassion writing tasks following the intervention, indicating greater engagement with the task. Findings support the idea that increased self-compassion increases HRV reactivity and potentially strengthens ability to engage with difficult emotions in psychotherapy.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Brigham Young University, 284 TLRB, Provo, UT, 84604, USA

    Patrick R. Steffen, Jennifer Foxx, Kara Cattani, Cameron Alldredge, Tara Austin & Gary M. Burlingame

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  1. Patrick R. Steffen
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  2. Jennifer Foxx
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Correspondence to Patrick R. Steffen.

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Steffen, P.R., Foxx, J., Cattani, K. et al. Impact of a 12-Week Group-Based Compassion Focused Therapy Intervention on Heart Rate Variability. Appl Psychophysiol Biofeedback 46, 61–68 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10484-020-09487-8

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