Compassion-Based Psychotherapy Created by Kean Researchers Shows Promise in New Study

A new cognitive behavioral therapy developed by Kean University faculty members, doctoral students and colleagues showed promising results in a recent feasibility study. The therapy, designed to help patients ease feelings of guilt and shame through self-compassion, was created in collaboration with researchers at the Center for Compassion Focused Therapy in New York. 

Compassion focused acceptance and commitment therapy (CFACT) integrates components of two evidence-based treatment types: acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), which emphasizes mindfulness and values-driven behavior, and compassion-focused therapy (CFT), which encourages patients to generate feelings of safeness and contentment by cultivating compassion for themselves. 

The study, published in Frontiers in Psychology in April 2025, is the first to evaluate the novel method, which was delivered via telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“This therapy emphasizes recognizing a pattern of self-criticism and how it contributes to feelings of shame, guilt and disconnection by creating the sense that one is already defeated before trying something,” said Donald Marks, Psy.D., one of the study’s authors and an associate professor in Kean’s College of Health Professions and Human Services. 

“Someone might hear a self-critical voice telling them they’re not smart or attractive enough and then experience feelings of shame, and this is integral to many of the forms of distress we treat.” 

James F. Konopack, Ph.D., dean of Kean’s College of Health Professions and Human Services, said it’s notable that university students and professors helped create the psychotherapy technique. 

“This paradigm-challenging protocol brings self-compassion front and center, with potential applications across countless mental health diagnoses,” Konopack said. “Furthermore, CFACT can be delivered by a wide array of therapists with backgrounds in contextual behavioral science.” 

The study was led by first author Keryn Kleiman, Psy.D., as part of her dissertation work. Kleiman earned her doctorate from Kean in 2023 and conducted the study at Kean University’s free, outpatient psychology training clinic. 

Other Kean-affiliated authors include Jennifer Block-Lerner, Ph.D., associate professor and program director of the Department of Advanced Studies in Psychology; Victoria Brady, Psy.D., associate professor and clinic supervisor; and Benjamin Foote, a doctoral student. External collaborators include Dennis Tirch, Ph.D., and Laura Silberstein-Tirch, Psy.D., from the Center for Compassion Focused Therapy. 

During the study, four participants facing anxiety, depression or trauma-related symptoms received 16 to 19 one-hour sessions of CFACT. They completed weekly questionnaires to assess their symptoms and experiences with the therapy. There was no control group, meaning that patient outcomes were not compared against each other, and therapists also evaluated the protocol. 

Researchers found that most participants showed reductions in symptom distress, psychological inflexibility and detachment, along with increases in self-compassion. Changes in guilt, shame and quality of life varied or remained stable. Overall, participants expressed satisfaction with the therapy. 

“Often, what we call diagnoses are reasonable responses to challenging life situations, and compassion work helps patients recognize that so they can focus on other things,” Block-Lerner said. “There are tradeoffs of established ways to measure progress, and qualitative assessment is also important. The fact that patients were happy with this therapy may be the best news.” 

About half of the participating therapists found the original protocol too structured. As a result, the Kean team has since modified the approach, reducing instructional content and increasing experiential elements, Marks said. 

The team plans to continue evaluating the therapy in broader populations. 

“We have a wonderful group of students who are applying this or similar interventions in populations of interest, including college students, people struggling with obsessive-compulsive disorder and individuals facing fear of cancer recurrence,” Block-Lerner said.