Schmelefske Emma, Per Megan, Anand Leena, Khoury Bassam, Heath Nancy
Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, Canada.
BMC Complement Med Ther. 2025 Sep 1;25(1):320. doi: 10.1186/s12906-025-04962-3.
Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is associated with suicide risk, as well as a number of psychological disorders. This, coupled with its high prevalence rate, make it imperative that effective treatments for those who engage in NSSI are investigated and made available to the public. Despite this, few interventions specifically targeting NSSI have been researched. This study aimed to address this gap in the existing research by investigating the feasibility and acceptability of an embodied and embedded mindfulness and compassion treatment (EEMCT) for individuals who engage in self-injury.
Six participants attended eight weekly two-hour group therapy sessions. Feasibility and acceptability were assessed using qualitative and quantitative methods. Outcomes measured included urges to self-injure, as well as mental health symptoms commonly associated with NSSI (i.e., depression, anxiety, difficulty with emotion regulation, perceived stress). Outcomes were measured at pre-intervention, post-intervention, and six months follow-up.
Quantitative results supported the acceptability of the intervention. Mixed results were found for the intervention's feasibility. Participants gave feedback about the intervention in semi-structured interviews. They noted benefits of the intervention (e.g., learning self-kindness and awareness of thoughts and feelings), as well as several ways in which the intervention could be improved (e.g., more take-home practice material, shorter meditations). For several participants, clinically meaningful change was seen in anxiety from pre-intervention to post-intervention and from pre-intervention to follow-up. Some participants also showed meaningful decreases in depressive symptoms and emotion regulation from pre-intervention to follow-up.
Overall, the results of this study suggest that EEMCT may be helpful and acceptable to individuals who engage in NSSI; however, more research is needed to confirm these findings. Suggestions for improving the feasibility of the intervention are discussed.
非自杀性自伤（NSSI）与自杀风险以及多种心理障碍相关。加之其高患病率，对参与NSSI者进行有效治疗的研究并向公众提供相关治疗变得势在必行。尽管如此，专门针对NSSI的干预措施鲜有研究。本研究旨在通过调查针对自伤个体的具身化和嵌入式正念与慈悲疗法（EEMCT）的可行性和可接受性，填补现有研究的这一空白。
六名参与者参加了为期八周、每周两小时的团体治疗课程。使用定性和定量方法评估可行性和可接受性。测量的结果包括自伤冲动以及通常与NSSI相关的心理健康症状（即抑郁、焦虑、情绪调节困难、感知压力）。在干预前、干预后和六个月随访时测量结果。
定量结果支持该干预措施的可接受性。干预措施的可行性结果不一。参与者在半结构化访谈中对干预措施给出了反馈。他们指出了干预措施的益处（例如，学会自我关爱以及对思想和感受的觉察），以及该干预措施可改进的几个方面（例如，更多的家庭练习材料、更短的冥想时间）。对于几名参与者，从干预前到干预后以及从干预前到随访，焦虑方面出现了具有临床意义的变化。一些参与者在从干预前到随访期间，抑郁症状和情绪调节方面也出现了显著下降。
总体而言，本研究结果表明EEMCT可能对参与NSSI的个体有帮助且可接受；然而，需要更多研究来证实这些发现。讨论了提高干预措施可行性的建议。
