The association between self-compassion and treatment outcomes: Session-level and treatment-level effects

Objective: Self-compassion (SC) has been consistently linked to less psychopathology; however, the link between changes in client's SC levels and psychotherapy outcomes has yet to be explored. Method: Clients at a university-based community clinic completed SC and outcome measures session by session (N = 112) as well as pre- to posttreatment (N = 70). Results: Increases in clients' SC levels across the entire therapeutic process were associated with improvement in all posttreatment outcomes. Additionally, session-to-session increases in SC levels predicted improved symptoms and functioning at the session level; these effects were significant above and beyond the effects of the therapeutic alliance. Conclusion: The results of the current study highlight SC as a possible process variable in psychotherapy.