Compassion-based group therapy to reduce self-stigma in people with mental disorders
Tests a group compassion therapy to reduce self-stigma in adults with mental disorders.
Plain-language title generated from the registry record
Registry title: COMpassion for Psychiatric Disorders And Self-Stigma
Key facts
- Where
- Bordeaux, Bron, Clermont-Ferrand, Laxou, Montpellier, Reims, and Strasbourg, FranceSee the 7 sites
Where in France
- Pôle de Psychiatrie Adulte, Hôpital Charles PerrensBordeaux, FranceNot yet recruiting
- CH Le VinatierBron, FranceNot yet recruiting
- CHU de Clermont-Ferrand, Hôpital Gabriel Montpied, Service de Psychiatrie BClermont-Ferrand, FranceNot yet recruiting
- Pôle Hospitalo-Universitaire de Psychiatrie d'adultes et d'addictologie du Grand Nancy, Centre Psychothérapique de NancyLaxou, FranceNot yet recruiting
- CHU de Montpellier, Psychiatrie d'adultes, Hôpital la ColombièreMontpellier, FranceNot yet recruiting
- Etablissement Public de Santé Mentale (EPSM) de la Marne, Site Pierre-Briquet, Unité de réhabilitation psychosocialeReims, FranceNot yet recruiting
- Service de Psychiatrie, Hôpital Civil, Hôpitaux Universitaires de StrasbourgStrasbourg, FranceTaking people
Questions to ask the study team
- How often do I need to come in, and for how long each time?
- Are travel costs paid?
- Can I keep my own doctor?
- What happens if I want to stop?
Trial details
- Who runs it
- University Hospital, Strasbourg, France
- Trial code
- NCT05698589
- Record updated
- 19 August 2026
- Original description
People with mental disorders face frequent stigmatizing attitudes and behaviors from others . In response to this, they tend to isolate themselves, with the risk of impeding care and the process of recovery and integration into society . Stigmatization can also be assimilated by patients themselves - i.e. self-stigma. Self-stigma is involved in diminished coping skills that lead to social avoidance and difficulties in adhering to care . Reducing self-stigma and its emotional corollary, shame, is thus crucial to attenuate the disability associated with mental illness. Shame is inherent to self-stigma and leads to difficulties in adhering to care as well as greater severity of clinical presentations . Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT) is a third wave cognitive behavioral therapy that targets shame reduction and hostile self-to-self relationship and allows for symptom improvement while increasing self-compassion, a major resilience factor . Although shame is a prominent part of the concept of self-stigma, the efficacy of CFT has never been evaluated in individuals with high levels of self-stigma.Read full original descriptionShow less
Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT) for the Reduction of the Internalized Stigma of Mental Disorders: a Multi-center, Prospective, Randomized, Controlled Study
People with mental disorders face frequent stigmatizing attitudes and behaviors from others . In response to this, they tend to isolate themselves, with the risk of impeding care and the process of recovery and integration into society . Stigmatization can also be assimilated by patients themselves - i.e. self-stigma. Self-stigma is involved in diminished coping skills that lead to social avoidance and difficulties in adhering to care . Reducing self-stigma and its emotional corollary, shame, is thus crucial to attenuate the disability associated with mental illness. Shame is inherent to self-stigma and leads to difficulties in adhering to care as well as greater severity of clinical presentations . Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT) is a third wave cognitive behavioral therapy that targets shame reduction and hostile self-to-self relationship and allows for symptom improvement while increasing self-compassion, a major resilience factor . Although shame is a prominent part of the concept of self-stigma, the efficacy of CFT has never been evaluated in individuals with high levels of self-stigma.
In this study, the investigators will evaluate the efficacy and acceptability of a group based CFT program on decreasing self-stigma, compared to treatment as usual (TAU) and a psychoeducation program whose efficacy has been assessed in a previous trial.
Inclusion: Patient ≥18 years of age; Patient informed of the results of the preliminary medical examination; Patient affiliated to a social health insurance plan (beneficiary or beneficiary's family); Patient with one or several diagnoses of chronic psychiatric disorder (schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, bipolar disorder, recurrent major depression, borderline personality disorder) or a neurodevelopmental disorder (autism spectrum disorder) treated as an outpatient or in a day hospital; CGI-Severity score<6 assessed by the psychiatrist (Berk et al., 2008) ISMI score indicating moderate to high self-stigma (>2.5; Lysaker et al., 2007).
Exclusion: Patient in an exclusion period determined by a previous or ongoing study; Patient participating in an interventional study involving psychotherapy or an experimental drug; Patient in acute episode of their disorder according to the CGI Severity score; Patient in a medical emergency or immediate life-threatening situation; Patients with an intellectual disability (IQ<70) estimated via the fNART (Mackinnon \& Mulligan, 2005); Legal issues: care under constraint or patient deprived of freedom because of a judicial measure 13. Patient who does not speak and read French sufficiently.