References
The compassionate mind approach to supporting psychological wellbeing in people living with HIV
Abstract
There is a growing body of evidence exploring the health, psychological and social benefits of compassion-focused therapy (CFT) for managing complex issues such as shame, loneliness, stigma and disease adjustment. As a component of CFT, compassionate mind training (CMT) has been found to bring about significant reductions in psychological distress and improvements in levels of compassion, emotion regulation and wellbeing. There is also growing evidence for how these approaches can bring benefits across a variety of psychological and physical health difficulties, including HIV. This study explored how a CMT-informed wellbeing day followed by access to The Self-Compassion App supported people with HIV. Most study participants (97%) found taking part in the session helpful, reporting they felt they had increased their knowledge around compassion and understood the benefits of CMT after engaging in it. The compassionate mind approach and CFT can support and improve psychological wellbeing in people living with HIV.
Globally, a high proportion of people experience mental health and psychological wellbeing problems, which is a serious public health concern (Mark, 2024). The Positive Voices Survey in 2022 highlighted that more than 50% of people living with HIV reported experiencing anxiety and depression (UK Health Security Agency, 2024). The survey goes on to highlight that a significant proportion (24%) of people living with HIV have been unable to access support to help manage their emotional and psychological wellbeing.
Since the start of the HIV pandemic, mental health and HIV have always been linked for a number of intersecting reasons. People with HIV are more likely to have mental health problems and people with mental health issues are more likely to acquire HIV (Lang et al, 2023).
Mental health difficulties and HIV both disproportionately affect groups of people who are marginalised and experience socioeconomic deprivation such as the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities. Chemsex, HIV and mental health are also closely associated with mental health difficulties such as depression, anxiety and psychosis, as are the daily challenges of living with traumatic experiences (All-Party Parliamentary Group on HIV and AIDS (APPG), 2020).
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