Compassion-Focused Therapy: An Introduction to Theory, Research and Practice

The importance of compassion as an antidote to human suffering is a long and venerable history with recent research evidence to support it. Originally developed to help individuals who suffer high levels of shame and self criticism, compassion-focused therapy encourages the client to employ self-soothing actions, and to generate feelings of inner warmth and self-reassurance as they engage with CBT.

Compassion-Focused Therapy: An Introduction to Theory, Research and Practice provides an explanatory introduction to compassion-focused therapy as well as an overview of the field, indicating how the approach can be used in practice. In this book Paul Gilbert covers topics such as:

• symbolic thinking and the construction of a sense of self
• compassion focused formulation
• components of compassion and the compassionate mind circle
• group therapy

This much needed accessible and knowledgeable introduction covers theory, practice and research. It is essential reading for psychotherapists, counsellors and other mental health professionals.