Empathy and (Self-)Compassion in Parkinson's Disease Patients and Caregivers

NCT07097298 | Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: EMPCOMP-PD-001
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 30
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to improve quality of life in Parkinson's Disease (PD) patients by increasing their empathy and their (self-)compassion. The main question it aims to answer is: Does the level of quality of life in PD patients and caregivers improve after empathy/(self-)compassion training? Participants will be delivered a 6-week empathy and compassion training (mindfulness, writing and poetry exercises addressing the cognitive, emotional, motivational and behavioural components of (self-)compassion) and will also be asked to answer questionnaires before and after the training

Conditions

Parkinson Disease(PD)

Keywords

Empathy; (self-)compassion; Parkinson disease (PD)

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• PD patients quality of life improvement

  the change (no min / max values foreseen) in the level of quality of life in PD patients as measured by the Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire (PDQ-8), which assesses 8 domains of quality of life: mobility, activities of daily of living, emotional well-being, stigma, social support, cognition, communication, and bodily discomfort; higher scores indicate a worse quality of life

  from baseline to the end of intervention (6weeks)

Secondary Outcomes (4)

• change in the level of empathy in PD patients and caregivers

  from baseline to the end of intervention (6weeks)

• self-compassion level change in PD patients and caregivers

  from baseline to the end of intervention (6weeks)

• compassion level change in PD patients and caregivers

  from baseline to the end of intervention (6weeks)

• quality of life level change in caregivers

  from baseline to the end of intervention (6weeks)

Study Arms (1)

Empathy and (self-)compassion training

EXPERIMENTAL

A 6-week empathy and compassion training will be designed and delivered involving PD patients and caregivers. During the compassion training participants will do mindfulness, writing and poetry exercises addressing the cognitive, emotional, motivational and behavioural components of (self-)compassion. The training will be designed in order to address both self-compassion and compassion. We expect to conduct 1 session at the beginning and 1 session at the end of the program with exercises to do at home for 6 weeks, assigned as tasks based on the needs of patients and their caregivers

Behavioral: empathy and compassion training

Interventions

empathy and compassion training BEHAVIORAL

A 6-week empathy and compassion training will be designed and delivered involving PD patients and caregivers. During the compassion training participants will do mindfulness, writing and poetry exercises

Empathy and (self-)compassion training

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 50 Years - 80 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Diagnosis of PD
• Hoehn and Yahr scale, stage ≤ 3
• Mini Mental State Examination with a score ≥ 26
• Able to give informed consent as documented by signature
• At least, secondary school education
• To have a regular caregiver at home

You may not qualify if:

• Any medical condition that is not PD, such as drug induced parkinsonism
• Major depression, dysthymia, or according to DSM-V
• Other neurological or psychiatric diseases
• Neuropsychological scores compatible with the diagnosis of early dementia
• Inability to follow the procedures of the study, e.g. due to language problems, psychological disorders, etc
• For CAREGIVERS:
• Taking care of the patient on a regular basis, i.e., at least 3 days per week
• Being caregiver of the patients for at least 3 months
• At least, secondary school education
• Written informed consent

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Alain Kaelin: lead
• CTU-EOC Clinical Trial Unit Ente Ospedaliero Cantonale: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Istituto di Neuroscienze Cliniche della Svizzera Italiana, EOC

Lugano, Switzerland

RECRUITING

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Parkinson Disease

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Parkinsonian Disorders; Basal Ganglia Diseases; Brain Diseases; Central Nervous System Diseases; Nervous System Diseases; Movement Disorders; Synucleinopathies; Neurodegenerative Diseases

Central Study Contacts

Alain Kaelin, Prof. MD PhD

CONTACT

+41918117342; alain.kaelin@eoc.ch

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: NA
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: SUPPORTIVE CARE
• Intervention Model: SINGLE GROUP
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Prof. MD PhD

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: July 17, 2025
• First Posted: July 31, 2025
• Study Start: November 6, 2025
• Primary Completion (Estimated): July 1, 2027
• Study Completion (Estimated): July 1, 2027
• Last Updated: December 1, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-11

Locations

CH (1)