Compassion meditation training for people living with chronic pain and their significant others: a pilot study and mixed-methods analysis

Ruchelli, G., Chapin, H., Darnall, B., Seppala, E., Doty, J., & Mackey, S. (2014). Compassion meditation training for people living with chronic pain and their significant others: a pilot study and mixed-methods analysis. The Journal of Pain, 15(4), S117. doi:10.1016/j.jpain.2014.01.479

A pilot study of limited female participants with chronic pain who received 9, two-hour weekly sessions of compassion meditation training (Compassion Cultivation Training or CCT). Pre- and post self-reports were completed by participants with chronic pain as well as their significant other. It was hypothesized that not only participants with chronic pain would receive benefits from CCT but also the benefits would extend to their significant other without actually going through the training themselves. Participants with chronic pain reported a significant reduction in pain severity and anger and an increase in well-being indicators such as self-acceptance and environmental mastery; however, only a reduced trend was found for anger in significant others.