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Development and Validation of Therapist Compassion Towards Clients (TCTC) Scale
Swearingen, Holly Wu, Jiwei Guo, Ziyue Zhai, Zhixin Duan, Changming
Swearingen, Holly
Wu, Jiwei
Guo, Ziyue
Zhai, Zhixin
Duan, Changming
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Abstract
Compassion is an important aspect of effective therapeutic practice, integrating empathy, care, and professional boundaries to create supportive client relationships (Gilbert, 2010; Pommier et al., 2022; Jazaieri et al., 2013; Goetz et al., 2010). This study developed the Therapeutic Compassion Towards Clients (TCTC) Scale, a 16-item measure designed to assess therapists’ compassion towards their clients, drawing from Neff’s Self-Compassion Scale (Raes et al., 2011; Pommier et al., 2019). The development process adhered to the 2014 Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing (Association et al., 2014) and employed a mixed-methods approach (Creswell & Clark, 2018). In phase one, a focus group of experts collaboratively refined the scale using qualitative input and “Dotmocracy” voting to prioritize items. Phase two involved piloting the scale with Master’s-level counseling psychology students, demonstrating strong internal consistency (α= .939). Content validity was supported by expert input, and criterion validity was moderately established through correlation with Neff’s Self-Compassion Scale-Short Form (r = .489, p < .015). Future validation efforts will include Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analyses (Henson & Roberts, 2006) with larger, more diverse samples, cognitive interviews to assess response processes, and studies on the scale’s practical applications. These findings show the TCTC scale’s potential as a reliable and nuanced measure of therapist compassion, offering valuable insights for addressing burnout and fostering self-assessment in clinical practice.
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This is the poster from a presentation given at the American Psychological Association conference held in Denver, CO on 8/8/2025.
Date
2025-08-08
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University of Kansas
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SwearingenH_2025.pdf
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Keywords
Compassion, Therapist, Scale Development