NCT07718035

Brief Summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if Moving to Emptiness Technique (MET) works to treat counselors' compassion fatigue (CF). It will also learn about the effectiveness of MET on counselors' professional quality of life and counselling self-estimate. The main questions it aims to answer are:

  • Does MET reduce counselors' compassion fatigue? Researchers will compare MET intervention to a waitlist control group to see if MET works to treat counselor burnout. Participants will:
  • Receive MET intervention for 4 sessions, once a week, 50 minutes per session.
  • Fill the questionnaires tests at three timepoints: before the intervention, immediately after the intervention phase and 4 weeks after the intervention.

Trial Health

65
Monitor

Trial Health Score

Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach

Enrollment
60

participants targeted

Target at P25-P50 for not_applicable

Timeline
11mo left

Started Jul 2026

Status
not yet recruiting

Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.

Trial Relationships

Click on a node to explore related trials.

Study Timeline

Key milestones and dates

Study Progress2%
Jul 2026Jul 2027

First Submitted

Initial submission to the registry

July 16, 2026

Completed
5 days until next milestone

First Posted

Study publicly available on registry

July 21, 2026

Completed
6 days until next milestone

Study Start

First participant enrolled

July 27, 2026

Completed
10 months until next milestone

Primary Completion

Last participant's last visit for primary outcome

June 1, 2027

Expected
1 month until next milestone

Study Completion

Last participant's last visit for all outcomes

July 1, 2027

Last Updated

July 29, 2026

Status Verified

July 1, 2026

Enrollment Period

10 months

First QC Date

July 16, 2026

Last Update Submit

July 27, 2026

Conditions

Compassion Fatigue

Keywords

counselorscompassion fatigueburnoutMoving to Emptiness TechniquePsychological InterventionChina

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

  • Compassion Fatigue

    Chinese validated Compassion Fatigue Questionnaire (Source: Wang Junting, 2024). The questionnaire contains 10 items rated on a 5-point Likert scale. Total scores range from 10 to 50, with higher scores indicating greater compassion fatigue.

    Baseline, Week 4, Week 8

Secondary Outcomes (2)

  • Professional Quality of Life scale

    Baseline, Week 4, Week 8

  • Counselling Self-Estimate

    Baseline, Week 4, Week 8

Study Arms (2)

MET intervention

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants in the intervention group will receive MET intervention during the trial.

Behavioral: Moving to Emptiness Technique (MET)

Waitlist control group

NO INTERVENTION

Participants assigned to the waitlist control group receive no study intervention during the trial period. After completion of the final follow-up assessment, they will be offered the Moving to Emptiness Technique (MET).

Interventions

Moving to Emptiness Technique (MET)BEHAVIORAL

The intervention is Moving to Emptiness Technique (MET), a native Chinese psychotherapy that integrates traditional Chinese cultural beliefs which focusses on the importance of the inner (psychological) world while including somatic (bodily) relaxation and the operational process of cognitive behavioural therapy. The delivery of MET intervention would be once a week, 50 minutes per session, across 4-weeks, to ensure the participants have enough rest between each session.

MET intervention

Eligibility Criteria

Age18 Years - 60 Years
Sexall
Healthy VolunteersYes
Age GroupsAdult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

  • Adults (aged 18-60)
  • Counsellors who have worked in the counselling profession for at least one year
  • Counsellors who self-report experiencing CF symptoms
  • Able to commit to attend the 4 weekly online sessions of 50 minutes' duration
  • Counsellors based in China

You may not qualify if:

  • Counsellors have received psychological therapy for their CF within the last 6 months
  • Counsellors who intend to participate in other psychological therapy for their CF besides MET during the study duration
  • Counsellors who self-report experiencing a traumatic event within past one year
  • Counsellors who self-report severe mental illness within past one year

Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.

Sponsors & Collaborators

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Compassion FatigueBurnout, Psychological

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Mental FatigueFatigueSigns and SymptomsPathological Conditions, Signs and SymptomsBehavioral SymptomsBehaviorOccupational StressStress, Psychological

Study Officials

  • Yew Kong Lee, PhD

    Faculty of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine

    PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Yu Gao, M.Ed.

CONTACT

+601163686780gaoyu89757@gmail.com

Wen Ting Tong, PhD

CONTACT

60166803231tongwenting@um.edu.my

Study Design

Study Type
interventional
Phase
not applicable
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Masking
SINGLE
Who Masked
OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
Masking Details
Double-blinded would not be possible, since both the MET practitioners and participants know about MET. However, the person who does the analysis will be blinded.
Purpose
TREATMENT
Intervention Model
PARALLEL
Model Details: Participants will be randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to the MET intervention group or waitlist control group.
Sponsor Type
OTHER
Responsible Party
SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

First Submitted

July 16, 2026

First Posted

July 21, 2026

Study Start

July 27, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

June 1, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

July 1, 2027

Last Updated

July 29, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-07

Data Sharing

IPD Sharing
Will not share

This study involves sensitive mental health data.