Recruiting · registry status

Practising empathy and self-compassion with caregivers

Researchers study whether an approach focused on understanding others and treating oneself kindly affects quality of life in Parkinson’s.

Testing a treatment or activity · Study reference: NCT07097298

Plain-language introduction written with AI from the registry; not independently checked by a clinician. Read the original details below ↓

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Looking for volunteers

Start (reported actual date): 2025-11-06
Main measurements finished (planned): 2027-07
Study finished (planned): 2027-07

Planned dates can move. A study finishing does not tell us when a paper will be published.

No results summary has been confirmed in the registry records we imported. See connected papers below; we keep checking after recruitment ends.

Changes we have recorded

2026-10-11 — recruiting

These are dates we observed a change, not necessarily the dates it happened.

Papers connected to this study

No connected paper has been found yet. The tracker checks the growing library for study identifiers and registry-linked publications.

Who can join?

Ages 50 years to 80 years · Does not accept healthy volunteers

These are starting points, not the full rules. The research team can tell you whether the study is right for your situation.

Read all the rules for taking part

Sex eligibility reported by registry: all

Inclusion Criteria: * Diagnosis of PD * Hoehn and Yahr scale, stage ≤ 3 * Mini Mental State Examination with a score ≥ 26 * Able to give informed consent as documented by signature * At least, secondary school education * To have a regular caregiver at home Exclusion Criteria: * Any medical condition that is not PD, such as drug induced parkinsonism * Major depression, dysthymia, or according to DSM-V * Other neurological or psychiatric diseases * Neuropsychological scores compatible with the diagnosis of early dementia * Inability to follow the procedures of the study, e.g. due to language problems, psychological disorders, etc For CAREGIVERS: Inclusion criteria * Taking care of the patient on a regular basis, i.e., at least 3 days per week * Being caregiver of the patients for at least 3 months * At least, secondary school education * Written informed consent

Full study name & original research details

Official study title

Empathy and (Self-)Compassion to Improve the Quality of Life of Parkinson's Disease Patients and Caregivers: an Exploratory Study

Short title used by the registry

Empathy and (Self-)Compassion in Parkinson's Disease Patients and Caregivers

Original description

The goal of this clinical trial is to improve quality of life in Parkinson's Disease (PD) patients by increasing their empathy and their (self-)compassion. The main question it aims to answer is: Does the level of quality of life in PD patients and caregivers improve after empathy/(self-)compassion training? Participants will be delivered a 6-week empathy and compassion training (mindfulness, writing and poetry exercises addressing the cognitive, emotional, motivational and behavioural components of (self-)compassion) and will also be asked to answer questionnaires before and after the training

Conditions reported: Parkinson Disease(PD)

Registry records for this study

Records are joined using registration identifiers. Titles alone do not establish that two studies are the same.

ClinicalTrials.gov · NCT07097298 ↗ — RECRUITING; checked 2026-10-13
ClinicalTrials.gov · NCT07097298 ↗ — Recruiting; WHO ICTRP processed 2025-12-08; checked 2026-10-13

Study type: Interventional
Interventions: empathy and compassion training
Phases: NA
Sponsor: Alain Kaelin
Start date reported by registry: 2025-11-06 (actual)

Registry updated: 2025-12-01 · Status last verified by the registry submitter: 2025-11

Registry records retrieved 2026-10-13 (UTC). Individual records may have older updates. Recruitment and eligibility must be confirmed with the study team.

Contact the research team

Public study contacts supplied to the registry. Ask whether recruitment is still open and what participation involves.

Alain Kaelin, Prof. MD PhD · +41918117342 · alain.kaelin@eoc.ch

Study locations

Site status can differ from overall study status. “Status not reported” means local availability needs confirmation. Remote participation and travel arrangements must be checked with the team.

Istituto di Neuroscienze Cliniche della Svizzera Italiana, EOC

Lugano, Switzerland

Recruiting

Alain Kaelin, Prof. MD PhD · +41 (0)91 811 73 42 · alain.kaelin@eoc.ch

Facility not reported

Switzerland

Status not reported

The original descriptions and participation rules come from the registry. Participation is voluntary and does not guarantee benefit.