Participants from UK Required for Research Study by Oxford University

[Kizzie]

Please note that you may only participate in this survey if you are 18 years of age or over and living in the UK. See the sign up link at the end of this page.

STUDY: CAN COMPASSION-FOCUSED PERFECT NURTURER IMAGERY BE USED AS A THERAPEUTIC TOOL TO REDUCE THE INTENSITY OF SHAME?

Ethics Reference: Medical Sciences Interdivisional Research Ethics Committee (MS IDREC) - 1222417

General Information

The aim of this research is to explore whether perfect nurturer imagery – guided imagery that is used within Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT) - can reduce feelings of shame, and how this may be influenced by individuals' childhood experiences. This study will have implications for further development of the use of compassionate imagery within CFT, opening up possibilities for future research and clinical practice.

You have been invited to participate in an online study. We are recruiting adults living in the UK who have internet access and a device on which they can play audio. We are excluding anyone under 18 and anyone who does not speak English (due to the study materials being in English). You may have seen advertisements for our study via social media, online forums, or have been invited via your university.

Please read through this information before agreeing to participate (if you wish to) by ticking the boxes at the end of this page.

You may ask any questions before deciding to take part by contacting the researcher (details below).

The Principal Researcher is Hazel Kitson who is attached to the Oxford Institute of Clinical Psychology Training and Research at the University of Oxford. Hazel Kitson can be contacted at Hazel.Kitson@stx.ox.ac.uk if you have any questions or concerns.

This research is being completed under the supervision of Emily Reeves, Deborah Lee, and Dorothy King.

What does taking part involve?

• You will be asked to give consent via the first page of the online survey (on a platform called Qualtrics) on your device. Once you have consented, you are still able to withdraw from the study at any point up until you have pressed submit at the end of the final questionnaire.

• The study involves listening to audio recordings as well as completing questionnaires. You will need to be able to listen to audio and to have a private space to complete the tasks.

• The study will take approximately 40 minutes to complete. You can leave at any point should you want to withdraw from the study by closing the webpage.

• The study will involve you completing an initial questionnaire about your mental health, early experiences of warmth, and your experiences of shame. This data is needed in order to understand the impact of compassionate imagery on feelings of shame, and how this relates to your early experiences in order to help us answer the research question on the efficacy of perfect nurturer imagery in reducing shame.

• You will also provide demographic information such as your age, gender, and ethnicity (although you will remain non-identifiable).

• You will then be guided via an audio recording through recalling a memory of a time you felt shame.

• After this, you will complete further questionnaires.

• You will then be guided through an imagery task via an audio recording.

• Following the imagery task, you will be guided via the audio recording to bring the shame-based memory to your mind again.

• You will then complete the final questionnaires, including questions about how you well you managed to do the task.

• You will be given debrief information including signposting information should you need any support following the study.

• You can contact the researchers via the details provided should you have any questions before or after participating (although there is no requirement for anyone to ask any questions).

• You will not be photographed or video or audio recorded.

• You will only need to participate once in this survey. There will be no follow-up surveys following this.

• If you want to stop the research activity at any time, you can simply stop by quitting the window you are completing the survey in whenever you want to.

This should take about 40 minutes in total. No background knowledge is required.

What are the potential risks of taking part?

- This study involves answering questions about your current mental health and your history. This may be difficult for some people.

- This study also involves remembering a time when you felt shame, which could feel challenging or distressing to recount.

- There are no other known risks of taking part in this study.

You do not have to take part and you may withdraw at any point if you want or need to. Please see signposting resources at the end of this page (and linked throughout every page of the study) if you need to contact someone for support.

Will my data be anonymous?

Yes. All the information you submit will remain anonymous. We will not collect any data that could directly identify you. Your IP address will not be stored. We will take all reasonable measures to ensure that data remain confidential. The study includes some free text responses. If you write anything in these that makes you identifiable, that information will be removed so that you remain anonymous.

What will happen to my data?

The anonymised responses you provide will be stored in a password-protected electronic file on University of Oxford secure servers which can only be accessed by the research team.

Research data will be stored by the University of Oxford for three years after publication of the work of research, at which point it will be deleted.

The anonymised dataset may be made available on the Open Science Framework so that future research projects may use it.

The results will be written up for a DClinPsy degree and may be used in academic publications.

Do I have to take part?

No. Please note that participation is voluntary. If you do decide to take part, you may withdraw at any point for any reason before submitting your answers by pressing the 'Exit' button or closing the browser. Once you have pressed submit on the online survey, you will not be able to withdraw your anonymised data.

Who has reviewed this research?

This research has been reviewed by, and received ethics clearance through, a subcommittee of the University of Oxford Central University Research Ethics Committee [MS IDREC 1222417].

Who do I contact if I have a concern or I wish to complain?

If you have a concern about any aspect of this research, please contact Hazel Kitson at Hazel.Kitson@stx.ox.ac.uk or Emily Reeves at Emily.Reeves@psy.ox.ac.uk and we will do our best to answer your query. We will acknowledge your concern within 10 working days and give you an indication of how it will be dealt with. If you remain unhappy or wish to make a formal complaint, please contact the University of Oxford Research Governance, Ethics & Assurance (RGEA) team at rgea.complaints@admin.ox.ac.uk or on +44 (0)1865 616480.

Who do I contact if I want any support during or following this study?

If you need to talk to someone urgently about your mental health following participation in this study, please contact:
- Your GP
- Call 111
- Samaritans on 116 123
- Text 'SHOUT' to 85258
- If you are in immediate danger, go to A&E or call 999

If you would like direction to more professional support, please contact your GP to access NHS services.

If you would like to know more about CFT, please access the Compassionate Mind Foundation at www.compassionatemind.co.uk


To sign up for this study please go to this link and scroll down to the end. https://psychiatryoxford.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_b3F0zmfYWOoniGa