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Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Rehabilitation and Assistive Technologies

Date Submitted: Aug 4, 2025
Open Peer Review Period: Aug 6, 2025 - Oct 1, 2025
Date Accepted: May 25, 2026
(closed for review but you can still tweet)

The final, peer-reviewed published version of this preprint can be found here:

Specialist Rehabilitation Providers’ Experiences With an Online Self-Compassion Course: Reflexive Thematic Analysis

Cohen E, Kokorelias KM, Luong D, McIntyre M, Wasilewski MB, Hitzig SL, Munce S, Steinberg R, Feinstein A, Bayley M, Robinson LR, Steele Gray C, Simpson R

Specialist Rehabilitation Providers’ Experiences With an Online Self-Compassion Course: Reflexive Thematic Analysis

JMIR Rehabil Assist Technol 2026;13:e81706

DOI: 10.2196/81706

PMID: 42456122

PMCID: 13372217

Specialist Rehabilitation Providers’ Experiences with an Online Self- Compassion Course: A Reflexive Thematic Analysis

  • Eva Cohen; 
  • Kristina Marie Kokorelias; 
  • Dorothy Luong; 
  • McKyla McIntyre; 
  • Marina Bastawrous Wasilewski; 
  • Sander Lorne Hitzig; 
  • Sarah Munce; 
  • Rosalie Steinberg; 
  • Anthony Feinstein; 
  • Mark Bayley; 
  • Larry Russell Robinson; 
  • Carolyn Steele Gray; 
  • Robert Simpson

ABSTRACT

Background:

Rehabilitation healthcare providers (HCPs) report high levels of burnout. Self-compassion interventions have shown beneficial effects on HCP burnout, but they have never been explored in specialist rehabilitation settings where challenges may differ.

Objective:

To explore the experiences of specialist rehabilitation HCPs with an online Self-Compassion for Healthcare Communities (SCHC) course aimed at addressing emotional well-being, including burnout.

Methods:

Semi-structured qualitative interviews (n = 20) with specialist rehabilitation HCPs were used to explore experiences with the SCHC course. A reflexive thematic analysis study design was chosen to highlight participants’ insights and inductive coding was undertaken to analyse data and organize findings into themes.

Results:

Six themes that reflected HCPs’ experiences with the course were constructed: (1) the nature of working in rehabilitation, (2) different perspectives on burnout in specialist rehabilitation, (3) a new perspective – less self-criticism, more self-compassion, (4) growing recognition of the importance of compassion for oneself and others, (5) challenges engaging with the SCHC course, and (6) challenges to sustaining self-compassion in specialist rehabilitation.

Conclusions:

Specialist rehabilitation HCPs who participated in the SCHC course developed a new understanding of the importance of fostering self-compassion and compassion for others. This shift supported HCPs in navigating workplace challenges, and HCPs described experiencing changes that may be associated with reduced personal burnout and enhanced patient care and relationships with colleagues. Clinical Trial: The intervention in which qualitative data was drawn from was registered as a clinical trial (Identification Number: NCT05997082).


 Citation

Please cite as:

Cohen E, Kokorelias KM, Luong D, McIntyre M, Wasilewski MB, Hitzig SL, Munce S, Steinberg R, Feinstein A, Bayley M, Robinson LR, Steele Gray C, Simpson R

Specialist Rehabilitation Providers’ Experiences With an Online Self-Compassion Course: Reflexive Thematic Analysis

JMIR Rehabil Assist Technol 2026;13:e81706

DOI: 10.2196/81706

PMID: 42456122

PMCID: 13372217

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