Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Therapeutic Presence and Mindfulness: Mediating Role of Self-Compassion and Psychological Distress among Psychologists

  • ORIGINAL PAPER
  • Published:
Mindfulness Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Therapeutic presence refers to the capacity to bring one’s whole self into encounters with clients by being present on multiple levels: physically, emotionally, cognitively, and spiritually. It has been suggested that mindfulness influences therapeutic presence in various ways, for example through the fostering of self-compassion or through the reduction of anxiety and depression symptoms in the psychologist. The main objective of this research is to examine the mediating roles of self-compassion and psychological distress in the relationship between mindfulness and therapeutic presence. Questionnaires were administered online to a sample of 178 French-Canadian psychologists. Results show that mindfulness is significantly correlated with self-compassion (r = 0.72) and psychological distress (r = − 0.41), while therapeutic presence is positively correlated with self-compassion (r = 0.54) and negatively correlated with psychological distress (r = − 0.41). Therapeutic presence is significantly correlated to all facets of mindfulness. In the mediation model, the self-compassion pathway indicates the indirect effect of self-compassion (b = 0.184), with a 95% confidence interval (CI = 0.040 to 0.336). The psychological distress pathway shows the indirect effect of psychological distress (b = 0.074), with a 95% confidence interval (CI = 0.004 to 0.163). These results support the mediation model with significant indirect effects. The results also support the link between mindfulness and therapeutic presence in psychotherapists, and offer a better understanding of the ways in which therapeutic presence and mindfulness interact. Avenues for future research are discussed.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Baer, R. A., Smith, G. T., Hopkins, J., Krietemeyer, J., & Toney, L. (2006). Using self-report assessment methods to explore facets of mindfulness. Assessment, 13(1), 27–45.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Black, D. S. (2014). Mindfulness-based interventions: An antidote to suffering in the context of substance use, misuse, and addiction. Substance Use & Misuse, 49(5), 487–491.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boellinghaus, I., Jones, F. W., & Hutton, J. (2012). The role of mindfulness and loving-kindness meditation in cultivating self-compassion and other-focused concern in health care professionals. Mindfulness, 5(2), 129–138.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bollen, K. A., & Stine, R. (1990). Direct and indirect effects: Classical and bootstrap estimates of variability. Sociological Methodology, 20, 115–140.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Buber, M. (1958). I and thou (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Scribner.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bugental, J. F. T. (1987). The art of the psychotherapist. New York, NY: Norton.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cain, N. R. (2000). Psychotherapists with personal histories of psychiatric hospitalization: Countertransference in wounded healers. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, 24(1), 22–28.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Charlemagne-Odle, S., Harmon, G., & Maltby, M. (2014). Clinical psychologists’ experiences of personal significant distress. Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice, 87(2), 237–252.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Colosimo, K. A., & Pos, A. E. (2015). A rational model of expressed therapeutic presence. Journal of Psychotherapy Integration, 25(2), 100–114.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dalaï-Lama. (2001). An open heart: Practicing compassion in everyday life. Boston, MA: Little, Brown.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davis, D. M., & Hayes, J. A. (2011). What are the benefits of mindfulness? A practice review of psychotherapy-related research. Psychotherapy, 48(2), 198–208.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dunn, R., Callahan, J. L., Swift, J. K., & Ivanovic, M. (2013). Effects of pre-session centering for psychotherapists on session presence and effectiveness. Psychotherapy Research, 23(1), 78–85.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Escuriex, B. F., & Labbé, E. E. (2011). Health care providers’ mindfulness and treatment outcomes: A critical review of the research literature. Mindfulness, 2(4), 242–253.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gehart, D. R., & McCullom, E. E. (2008). Inviting therapeutic presence: A mindfulness-based approach. In S. F. Hicks & T. Bien (Eds.), Mindfulness and therapeutic relation (pp. 176–194). New York, NY: Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Geller, S. M. q q (2002). Psychotherapists' presence: The development of a model and a measure. Accessible through ProQuest Dissertations & Theses. (NQ66348).

  • Geller, S. M. (2003). Becoming whole: A collaboration between experiential psychotherapies and mindfulness meditation. Person-Centered and Experiential Psychotherapies, 2(4), 258–273.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Geller, S. M. (2013). Therapeutic presence: An essential way of being. In M. Cooper, P. F. Schmid, M. O'Hara, & A. C. Bohart (Eds.), The handbook of person-centered psychotherapy and counseling (2nd ed., pp. 209–222). Basingstoke: Palgrave.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Geller, S. M., & Greenberg, L. S. (2002). Therapeutic presence: Psychotherapists’ experience of presence in the psychotherapy encounter. Person-Centered and Experiential Psychotherapies, 1(1–2), 71–86.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Geller, S. M., & Greenberg, L. S. (2012). Therapeutic presence: A mindful approach to effective therapy. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Geller, S. M., Greenberg, L. S., & Watson, J. C. (2010). Psychotherapist and client perceptions of therapeutic presence: The development of a measure. Psychotherapy Research, 20(5), 599–610.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Geller, S. M., & Porges, S. W. (2014). Therapeutic presence: Neurophysiological mechanisms mediating feeling safe in therapeutic relations. Journal of Psychotherapy Integration, 24(3), 178–192.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Greason, P. B., & Cashwell, C. S. (2009). Mindfulness and counseling self-efficacy: The mediating role of attention and empathy. Counselor Education and Supervision, 49(1), 2–19.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Guy, J. D., Poelstra, P. L., & Stark, M. J. (1989). Personal distress and therapeutic effectiveness: National survey of psychologists practicing psychotherapy. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 20(1), 48–50.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hayes, A. F. (2016). PROCESS 2.15 for SPSS and SAS. Recovered on June 4, 2016 from http://www.processmacro.org/download.html

  • Heeren, A., Douilliez, C., Peschard, V., Debrauwere, L., & Philippot, P. (2011). Cross-cultural validity of the Five Facets Mindfulness Questionnaire: Adaptation and validation in a French-speaking sample. European Review of Applied Psychology / Revue Européenne de Psychologie Appliquée, 61(3), 147–151.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hill, C. L. M., & Updegraff, J. A. (2012). Mindfulness and its relation to emotional regulation. Emotion, 12(1), 81–90.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hölzel, B. K., Lazar, S. W., Gard, T., Schuman-Olivier, Z., Vago, D. R., & Ott, U. (2011). How does mindfulness meditation work? Proposing mechanisms of action from a conceptual and neural perspective. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 6(6), 537–559.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ilfeld, F. W. (1976). Further validation of a psychiatric symptom index in a normal population. Psychological Reports, 39((3, Pt 2)), 1215–1228.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kabat-Zinn, J. (2003). Mindfulness-based interventions in context: Past, present, and future. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 10(2), 144–156.

    Google Scholar 

  • Keng, S.-L., Smoski, M. J., & Robins, C. J. (2011). Effects of mindfulness on psychological health: A review of empirical studies. Clinical Psychology Review, 31(6), 1041–1056.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kotsou, I., & Leys, C. (2016). Self-compassion scale (SCS): Psychometric properties of the French translation and its relations with psychological well-being, affect and depression. PLoS ONE, 11((4)), e0152880. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0152880.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Leary, M. R., Tate, E. B., Adams, C. E., Batts Allen, A., & Hancock, J. (2007). Self-compassion and reactions to unpleasant self-relevant events: The implications of treating oneself kindly. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 92(5), 887–904.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martel, M.-È., Gagnon, J., Bourgault, M., & Dionne, F. (2016, June). On being present in therapy: Validation of a French translation of the therapeutic presence inventory. In Poster presented at the annual World Conference of the Association for Contextual and Behavioral Sciences (ACBS). Seattle: WA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mirowsky, J., & Ross, C. E. (2003). Social causes of psychological distress (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Aldine de Gruyter.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moore, K. A., & Cooper, C. L. (1996). Stress in mental health professionals: A theoretical overview. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 42(2), 82–89.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Neff, K. D. (2003a). The development and validation of a scale to measure self-compassion. Self and Identity, 2(3), 223–250.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Neff, K. D. (2003b). Self-compassion: An alternative conceptualization of a healthy attitude toward oneself. Self and Identity, 2(2), 85–101.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Neff, K. D., & Dahm, K. (2015). A self-compassion: What it is, what it does, and how it relates to mindfulness. In M. Robinson, B. Meier, & B. Ostafin (Eds.), Mindfulness and self-regulation. New York: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Neff, K. D., & Pommier, E. (2013). The relation between self-compassion and other-focused concern among college undergraduates, community adults, and practicing meditators. Self and Identity, 12(2), 160–176.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Neff, K. D., & Vonk, R. (2009). Self-compassion versus global self-esteem: Two different ways of relating to oneself. Journal of Personality, 77(1), 23–50.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • O'Donovan, A., & May, S. (2007). The advantages of the mindful therapist. Psychotherapy in Australia, 13(4), 46–53.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oghene, J. E., Pos, A. E., & Geller, S. M. (2010). Psychotherapist presence, empathy and alliance in experiential treatment for depression (unpublished doctoral these). Toronto, Canada: York University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Prakash, R. S., Hussain, M. A., & Schirda, B. (2015). The role of emotion regulation and cognitive control in the association between mindfulness disposition and stress. Psychology and Aging, 30(1), 160–171.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Preacher, K. J., & Hayes, A. H. (2008). Asymptotic and resampling strategies for assessing and comparing indirect effects in multiple mediator models. Behavior Research Methods, 40, 879–891.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Préville, M., Boyer, R., Potvin, L., Perrault, C., & Légaré, G. (1992). Psychological distress: Determination of the reliability and validity of the measure used in the Santé Québec survey. Montréal: Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux.

    Google Scholar 

  • Raes, F., Pommier, E., Neff, K. D., & Van Gucht, D. (2011). Construction and factorial validation of a short form of the self-compassion scale. Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy, 18(3), 250–255.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rimes, K. A., & Wingrove, J. (2011). Pilot study of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for trainee clinical psychologists. Behavioral and Cognitive Psychotherapy, 39(2), 235–241.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rogers, C. R. (1957). The necessary and sufficient conditions of therapeutic personality change. Journal of Consulting Psychology, 21(2), 95–103.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sauer, S., Walach, H., Schmidt, S., Hinterberger, T., Lynch, S., Büssing, A., et al. (2013). Assessment of mindfulness: Review on state of the art. Mindfulness, 4(1), 3–17.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schneider, K. (2015). Presence: The core contextual factor of effective psychotherapy. Existential Analysis, 26(2), 304–312.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schomaker, S. A. (2014). The impact of mindfulness training on therapeutic alliance, empathy, and lived experience: A mixed methods study with counselor trainees. Available through ProQuest Dissertations & Theses. (3566594).

  • Shapiro, S. L., Astin, J. A., Bishop, S. R., & Cordova, M. (2005). Mindfulness-based stress reduction for health care professionals: Results from a randomized trial. International Journal of Stress Management, 12(2), 164–176.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shapiro, S. L., Brown, K. W., & Biegel, G. M. (2007). Teaching self-care to caregivers: Effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction on the mental health of psychotherapists in training. Training and Education in Professional Psychology, 1(2), 105–115.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stratton, P. (2006). Psychotherapist mindfulness as a predictor of client outcomes. Available through ProQuest Dissertations & Theses. (3196740).

  • Vallerand, R. J. (1989). Toward a cross-cultural validation methodology of psychological questionnaires: Implications for French language research. Canadian Psychology/Psychologie Canadienne, 30(4), 662–680.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vinca, M. A. (2009). Mindfulness and psychotherapy: A mixed methods investigation. Available through ProQuest Dissertations & Theses. (3381027).

  • Vinca, M. A. & Hayes, J. (2007, June). Psychotherapist mindfulness as predictive of empathy, presence and session depth. Presentation at the annual meeting for the Society for Psychotherapy Research, Madison, WI.

  • Williams, E. N., Hurley, K., O'Brien, K., & DeGregorio, A. (2003). Development and validation of the self-awareness and management strategies (SAMS) scales for psychotherapists. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training, 40(4), 278–288.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Funding

This study is financially supported by the Fonds d’animation et de diffusion de la recherche from the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (UQTR).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, Trois-Rivières, Québec, Canada

    Maxime Bourgault & Frédérick Dionne

Authors
  1. Maxime Bourgault
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Frédérick Dionne
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

MB: Designed and executed the study, conducted data analyses and wrote the paper. FD: Collaborated in recruiting, design, writing, and editing the manuscript. All authors approved the final version of the manuscript for submission.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Maxime Bourgault.

Ethics declarations

All procedures performed in this study were in accordance with and received the approval of the Ethical Committee of the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières. Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in this study

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Bourgault, M., Dionne, F. Therapeutic Presence and Mindfulness: Mediating Role of Self-Compassion and Psychological Distress among Psychologists. Mindfulness 10, 650–656 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-018-1015-z

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-018-1015-z

Keywords

Search

Navigation