Self-compassion as an applicable intervention target for family carers of older adults: A conceptual commentary

Extract: Caring for an older family member can be a challenging and stressful experience, and there is a need to better support family carers in their role.(1) Drawing on a rapidly growing body of research conducted with various population groups, (2) there is reason to suggest that psychological interventions that target self‐compassion could be particularly relevant in supporting family carers of older adults. Yet, research exploring self‐compassion within this population is currently very limited, (3) and the potential theoretical underpinnings of self‐compassion as an intervention and/or form of support for this group have not been explored. Within this paper we outline, for the first time, a conceptual rationale for why self‐compassion is an applicable intervention target for family carers of older adults. In doing so, we situate the discussion within current understanding and evidence about family caregiving stress and use an emotion regulation framework to explore the mechanism of change though which self‐compassion may positively influence carer health outcomes. This conceptual commentary is intended to encourage and guide research in a new and rapidly developing area and, to this end, we provide a series of considerations for future research to extend current understanding....