CFT Guided Self-help Intervention: Parents of Autistic Children

Sponsor
University of Nottingham
Study ID
NCT07498049
Status
Not Yet Recruiting

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Conditions

  • Autism
  • Autism Disorder
  • Autism Disorders and Maternal Stress
  • Autism Spectrum Disorder
  • Autism in Children
  • Parent
  • Parent Mental Health
  • Parent Stress
  • Parent Support

Eligibility Criteria

Sex
ALL
Age
18 Years - N/A
Healthy Volunteers
Accepted

Interventions

  • Guided, self-help compassion-focused intervention for parents of autistic children — OTHER
    The intervention is a 6-week guided self-help compassion focused therapy (CFT) intervention for parents of autistic children. There will also be pre and post-intervention testing which will take the total duration time to 13 weeks. The intervention will involve parents of autistic children working through an adapted compassion-focused workbook (Kemp et al, 2024), as a 6-week intervention where it is advised that parents read one chapter per-week and practice the associated exercises at least once per day. The workbook was adapted collaboratively using focus groups with stakeholders. It is estimated that these exercises should take 10-15 minutes daily. Participants will have access to audio tracks and written scripts of the exercises. Participants can use the audio tracks as often as they wish. Participants will be sent one section of the workbook at a time, each week via email. They will also receive planned, weekly support calls (30 minutes approximately).

Study Details

This research will aim to test how practical, achievable and effective a brief, guided, self-help compassion focused intervention is for parents of autistic children aged 6-17 years old. The demands of parenting can be rewarding but also challenging, and it is known that parents of autistic children experience additional pressures. As a result of this, parents of autistic children may be more likely to experience increased stress, anxiety, low mood and lower quality of life, compared to those parenting children who are not autistic. There has been only a small amount of research so far regarding whether interventions that focus on building compassion, would be beneficial to parents of autistic children. The purpose of this study is to test whether a short, self-guided compassion-focused intervention is practical, achievable and effective for parents of autistic children. The intervention is based on Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT) and involves reading workbook material and listening to audio tracks. There will also be some questionnaires to complete and 30-minute weekly support calls with the lead researcher. This intervention was adapted previously, from an intervention for parents in general, to be more suitable and focused on the needs of parents of autistic children. This study will be the first time the adapted intervention has been used by parents. The intervention will be tested by 6-8 parents and will be about 13 weeks long. We will collect some demographic data at the start of the study, and there will be the opportunity to complete an evaluation questionnaire.

Key Dates

First listed
Mar 27, 2026
Start date
Apr 30, 2026
Status verified
Mar 2026
Primary completion
Nov 30, 2026
Completion
Sep 30, 2027

Study Design

Enrollment
8 participants (estimated)
Allocation
NA
Intervention model
SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose
DEVICE_FEASIBILITY

Arms

  • Experimental: Guided Self-Help Compassion-Focused Intervention
    Participants allocated to this arm will receive a guided self-help intervention based on principles of Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT). The programme consists of structured self-help materials designed to help participants develop compassion toward themselves and others and to reduce self-criticism and distress. Participants will work through the materials independently over the course of the intervention period and will receive brief guidance and support from a facilitator.

Primary Outcome Measure

Parental Stress Scale [ Time Frame: Weekly from enrolment to the final week of post-intervention testing at week 13 which is the final week of the follow-up period. ]

Central Contacts

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