ABSTRACT
Compassion focused therapy (CFT) was developed by Paul Gilbert and colleagues. It integrates cognitive behavioural therapy with concepts from evolutionary psychology, social psychology, developmental psychology, Buddhist psychology and neuroscience. CFT is particularly useful when working with people with severe and enduring mental health problems, many of whom have high levels of shame and self-criticism and who have difficulty in feeling warmth toward, and being kind to, themselves or others. CFT emphasises the links between cognitive and behavioural patterns and these three emotion regulation systems. Anxiety and anger are usually experienced when the threat system is triggered. In terms of neuroscience, CFT recognises that the nervous system has both arousal and soothing systems, involving the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. The central therapeutic technique of CFT is compassionate mind training, which teaches the skills and attributes of compassion. A recent meta-analysis showed that CFT is a promising intervention for people with problems involving shame and self-criticism.
