Compassion Focussed Therapy Informed Psychoeducation and Loving Kindness Meditation for Young People With Epilepsy

Summary

It has frequently been shown that people with long term physical health conditions, like epilepsy, are more likely to have mental health conditions. Studies have shown people with epilepsy report high levels of shame, stress, social isolation and anxiety. Mental health interventions for people with epilepsy, particularly children, has been identified as an area for further research by the NHS.

Compassion based interventions have been effective with people with long term physical health conditions. These interventions aim to develop an individual's compassion towards the self and others in response to self-criticism or shame. This study aims to explore whether Compassion Focussed Therapy informed psychoeducation and Loving Kindness Meditation is a feasible and effective intervention for children with epilepsy.

Children and young people aged 12-17 years old who have a diagnosis of epilepsy and mild/moderate distress related to their health condition are eligible. Local clinicians in epilepsy services will be asked to identify potential participants. Up to six children/young people will be included in the study. Participants will complete outcomes measures (about their quality of life, mood and self-compassion) weekly before the intervention, for up to five weeks, and then weekly until the end of the intervention. The intervention will be three sessions with the lead researcher, conducted online via Microsoft teams. Participants will then have four weeks to practice Loving Kindness Meditation. They will then have a follow up session about how they found the intervention, what was helpful and what they would change. The results from the study will indicate whether Compassion Focussed Therapy and Loving Kindness Meditation is a beneficial therapeutic intervention for children with epilepsy and if further research in the area is warranted.

Conditions

• Epilepsy
• Mental Health
• Children

Interventions

OTHER

Compassion Focussed Therapy/Loving Kindness Meditation

After a baseline of 3-5 weeks (randomly allocated) is completed, the participant will engage in three sessions of Compassion Focussed Therapy informed psycho-education and introduction to Loving Kindness Meditation (LKM). Following the third session, the participants will have four weeks to practice LKM, receiving weekly email reminders with guided self-help instructions and reminders to complete outcome measures. A final follow-up session will occur after the four weeks, to consolidate knowledge and skills with the participant, plus gather feedback on the intervention.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Lincoln

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Nima Moghaddam, DClinPsy · University of Lincoln

Study Design

Allocation

NA

Purpose

SUPPORTIVE_CARE

Masking

NONE

Model

SINGLE_GROUP

Eligibility

Min Age

12 Years

Max Age

17 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2026-01-31

Primary Completion

2026-06-30

Completion

2026-09-30

Countries

• United Kingdom

Study Locations