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Your monthly digest of empathy and compassion research and news at UC San Diego. Proudly delivered by the Sanford Institute for Empathy and Compassion, and its six supporting centers — securing a kinder, more compassionate health system for all.
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Syrian refugees walking in Jordan. Photo credit by UNHCR/Shawkat Alharfosh.
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Sanford Institute Study Reveals Self-Compassion is Related to Better Mental Health Among Syrian Refugees
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A newly published study in PLOS ONE, partially funded by the Sanford Institute for Empathy and Compassion, reports that displaced Syrian refugees with higher reporter self-compassion were less likely to report poor mental health outcomes.
Via UC San Diego Today: Sarah Alsamman, a student at the UC San Diego School of Medicine (and Sanford Scholar alum!), along with Wael Al-Delaimy, MD, PhD, professor of public health at the Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science, led the surveying of 272 displaced Syrians residing in Amman, Jordan. The survey asked respondents, who were recruited through community-based organizations, to share their history of trauma, mental health symptoms, perceived level of resilience in the face of adversity, and self-compassion.
Key findings found that:
• More than 75 percent of the refugees experienced anxiety, emotional distress or depression.
• Respondents reporting higher levels of self-compassion experienced more than 80% lower symptoms of depression and anxiety.
• While self-compassion and resilience may interact with each other to protect mental health, self-compassion plays a more powerful role in mitigating mental health.
This is the first time self-compassion has been shown to potentially moderate mental illness in this population. And according to study co-author Al-Delaimy, it also points to the potential of health care professionals using compassion training to promote positive health outcomes among refugees who have limited access to mental health care. Read the full article on UC San Diego Today to learn more about this impactful study.
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Sanford Institute Researcher Featured in The New York Times
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Sanford Institute-funded researcher Cassandra Vieten, PhD, was recently featured in The New York Times ' seven-minute stress relief workout to help quiet the mind. "Strengthening the connection between the body and the mind is a two-way street," Vieten says in the piece. Just as your thoughts can influence your body, moving your body can influence your thoughts. It’s like “reverse engineering your mindfulness,” she added. While Vieten and the Times assert formal research into which physical movements are most effective is still nascent, it is proven that adding calm-inducing movements to your routine can boast positive impacts to your mental health. We encourage you to try out the seven-minute stress relief workout during your next break. We're big fans of the 'Dance party for one' to help release mood-boosting chemicals like dopamine and endorphins! Alexa, please play "Shake it Off" by Taylor Swift. 🎵
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Mentor Clinician Program (MCP) Info Session, Thursday, Nov. 14
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Join us on Thursday, November 14 from 12 - 1 p.m. PST for a free Zoom info session on the Mentor Clinician Program (formerly known as the Master Clinician Program), led by Center for Mentorship in Medicine Director Dr. Chris Cannavino. The MCP is a novel program based at UC San Diego School of Medicine that transforms how future physicians are trained by delivering individualized mentorship and coaching to MS3s from experienced medical educators. The MCP focuses on clinical skill development and empathic and compassionate care, effectively bridging the science and art of medicine. This free info session is intended for medical educators external to UC San Diego; it will share with attendees how the program works, its impact and results to date, and most importantly, how you can pilot the MCP in your pediatrics clerkship at your school of medicine or teaching hospital. Save your spot now!
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Graph Credit: PAIN, Fadel Zeidan, and study co-authors
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Endowed Professor Fadel Zeidan, PhD, Publishes Study in PAIN
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Lead With Compassion: Communication Skill-Building Workshop, Jan. 6 - 9, 2025
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This month, Sanford Institute Endowed Professor of Empathy and Compassion Research Fadel Zeidan, PhD, published a new empathy research in PAIN. Dr. Zeidan's study, titled "I feel your pain," evaluates empathy levels when a female participant views a stranger versus their romantic partner experiencing pain. It is the first study to use perfusion fMRI (ASL) to identify the neural processes of empathy using an optimized and novel experimental model that elicited empathy by evoking pain; former studies have measured empathy levels via static images or videos only. Study findings discovered that female participants reported significantly higher empathy while viewing their romantic partner receive the pain stimulus as compared with a stranger, producing remarkably consistent brain activation. It adds to a growing body of evidence that empathic viewing is a multifaceted experience that recruits several neural regions.
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Healthcare requires a different kind of leader – one that strives to create a supportive environment for their patients, colleagues, and broader healthcare team; one that promotes a culture of collaboration and wellbeing; and one that is empathic and compassionate. The Lead With Compassion: Communication Skill-Building Workshop is a 2.5-day training in San Diego, CA, led by the Center for Compassionate Communication, that equips experienced and aspiring healthcare professionals with the tools to enhance their leadership performance in medical settings. Lead With Compassion teaches you how to better connect with patients, peers, students, and more through an immersive arts and humanities-based curriculum. As a result of completing this workshop, participants will walk away feeling confident in their abilities to more effectively lead their healthcare teams. Space is filling up fast! Register now, before it's too late.
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Free Resource: Compassionate Communication Online Courses for Health Caregivers, Medical Educators, and more
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The Center for Compassionate Communication is currently offering free online courses via Coursera that teach health caregivers and medical educators how to improve communication skills using empathy and compassion principles. These engaging, highly-rated courses reach beyond typical e-Learning by incorporating real stories of providers and patients, interactive knowledge checks, and practice exercises.
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What you'll learn:
You will learn compassionate communication skills through the use of practices and theories rooted in the arts, humanities, theater and journalism.
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What you'll learn:
This course presents tools and techniques that help you improve your public-facing communication skills, particularly when describing your work to a lay audience.
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PIctured from left to right: Zeta, Lauren Longo
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"My Life My Story" Assignment in CARE1 Course Elevates Patient Narratives and Sparks Interest in Young Health Care Students
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As part of UC San Diego School of Medicine's core curriculum, C.O.A.S.T., students must enroll in a series of pre-clerkship courses that promote empathy and compassion skills, health equity, trauma informed care, and more. The Compassionate Action and Real Engagement (CARE) course is one such course that teaches students evidence-based empathy and compassion skills integrated with real-world medical observations and community service. It is co-directed by Center for Empathy and Compassion Training in Medical Education Director Lisa Eyler, PhD.
In CARE, students are assigned the "My Life, My Story" project, in which medical students must interview a participant and write a narrative of their life. The project is inspired by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' "My Life, My Story" campaign, whereby interviews are conducted with veterans at VA Hospitals across the country, their brief life histories are crafted, and thus become part of the veteran's medical record. The goal: to help health providers get to know their patients better and provide more empathic care.
Recently, UC San Diego School of Medicine student Lauren Longo's experience with "My Life, My Story" was featured in Caring for the Ages for her work capturing the story of a patient. Lauren shared her experience with the Sanford Institute, describing her time with a patient at a senior care facility in Carlsbad, CA, whom we will call Zeta for the purposes of this newsletter. She also told us how "My Life, My Story" inspired the kind of provider she strives to be. We encourage you to read her impactful story below:
"Sitting down with Zeta to hear her life story was a truly meaningful experience for me. Putting aside the usual medical jargon and the time pressures of clinic, I was able to connect with her through her storytelling and appreciate her as more than just a patient. We laughed about the amusing stories of her old roommate and found common ground in our devotion to family. At the time of our interview, she was 99 years old, and we were all excited about the opportunity to collect the stories of her life in the months leading up to her centennial milestone.
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Pictured: Zeta sporting her favorite sports team gear, Green Bay Packers
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Months later, after sharing the finished product of her 'My Life, My Story' with her doctor, Dr. Karl Steinberg, I received an invitation to her 100th birthday celebration. To my surprise, I was asked to read Zeta's story aloud shortly after I arrived. Sharing her story in front of her friends and family for her 100th birthday party was an unexpected joy of this experience, and I felt honored to be the one to compile her life's story in time for that special celebration. This experience highlighted the impact we can have as future providers when we take the time to listen, engage, and truly connect with our patients and is a moment I will cherish in my medical education."
—Lauren Longo, UC San Diego School of Medicine student
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What is a simple thing that brings you joy?
The sun, my loved ones, and coffee!
What is a personal life goal you hope to achieve?
Travel as much as possible
What are you most passionate about outside of work?
Photography
What's your dream job in an alternate universe?
Ice cream taster
What's your favorite quote?
"Happiness blooms in the garden of love; the more we nurture it, the brighter our days become." —Unknown
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