MMI invites veterinary professionals to attend free self-compassion webinar

Our Mind Matters Initiative (MMI) is inviting veterinary professionals to attend a free online webinar about self-compassion, presented by previous Mind Matters research grant recipient Dr Katherine Wakelin, Clinical Psychologist, and supported by Sarah Corthorne, trainee Clinical Psychologist.

The online webinar, taking place from 7-8pm on Tuesday 3 September 2024, will discuss the importance of self-compassion and provide an overview of Katherine and Sarah’s research which involved conducting a randomised control trial to investigate the effectiveness of an online compassion focused therapy (CFT) intervention in improving the mental wellbeing of veterinary professionals. There will also be an opportunity for delegates to ask both Katherine and Sarah any questions they may have.

Following the success of their research intervention, their online CFT course will also be made freely available on the Mind Matters website and on the RCVS YouTube channel for those working in the veterinary professions. Katherine and Sarah will go into more detail about how to get the most out of the course in their webinar.

Mind Matters Project Lead, Rapinder Newton, said: “We are really looking forward to running this webinar alongside Katherine and Sarah. Their research into the effectiveness of CFT in veterinary professionals has been of vital importance and we hope it will go on to help lots of people.

“We would like to thank Katherine and Sarah for all their hard work and dedication and for their generosity in allowing us to platform their CFT course for free on our website.”

Dr Katherine Wakelin, said: “Our recent randomised control trial has shown the course to significantly improve resilience and self-compassion and reduce rumination and self-criticism amongst veterinarians. Therefore, Sarah and I are delighted to now be disseminating the CFT course freely to the veterinary professions, so that as many people are able to benefit from the evidence-based resource as possible.

“Even though our research was conducted on veterinary surgeons, we hope that the course will be useful to all those working in the veterinary team as the content can be applied in a number of contexts."

“Even though our research was conducted on veterinary surgeons, we hope that the course will be useful to all those working in the veterinary team as the content can be applied in a number of contexts.

“Our webinar will explain more about our research, as well as some of the science behind the effectiveness of the course in a veterinary context. So, if you are interested in learning more about how CFT may be able to help you and your team, both in a personal and professional capacity, please do come along.”

Katherine and Sarah’s compassion focused therapy course will be made available on the Mind Matters website in due course. In order to access the online compassion course, individuals are invited to complete a short questionnaire before and after watching one 10-15 minute video each day for 14 days, with the aim of the video intervention being to develop self-compassion skills and reduce self-criticism.

To sign up for the webinar, please register via the MMI events page.