Don’t be so hard on yourself – use compassion focused therapy as your guide
It’s often said that we’re our own worst critics–and it’s true. Compassion Focused Therapy For Dummies offers straightforward and practical advice that helps you view yourself through a more sympathetic lens. This motivating text covers the key principles of compassion focused therapy, which guide you in caring for your wellbeing, becoming sensitive to your needs, recognising when you are distressed, and extending warmth and understanding to yourself. This transformative resource provides you with metrics that you can use to monitor your progress, including sensitivity, sympathy, empathy, and overall wellbeing.
Initially developed to assist people experiencing high levels of shame and self-criticism, compassion focused therapy increases your awareness of the automatic reactions that you experience–and motivates you to combat negative reactions with kindness and affection. Used on its own or in combination with other therapeutic approaches, the value of compassion focused therapy is supported by strong neuropsychological evidence.
* Understand how to handle difficult emotions with greater ease–and less stress
* Transform difficult, potentially damaging relationships into positive aspects of your life
* Encourage and motivate yourself to continually meet your goals, rather than criticise yourself for perceived failures
* Stop being so hard on yourself, and appreciate yourself for who you are
Compassion Focused Therapy For Dummies is a wonderful resource if you are seeing–or thinking about seeing–a therapist who utilises compassion techniques, or if you would like to leverage the principles of compassion focused therapy to manage your own wellbeing.
Table of Content
Introduction 1
Part 1: Getting Started with Compassion Focused Therapy 5
Chapter 1: Introducing Compassion Focused Therapy 7
Chapter 2: Understanding Compassion 25
Chapter 3: Making Sense of Life’s Challenges 39
Part 2: Understanding Ourselves 53
Chapter 4: Introducing the Three Circles 55
Chapter 5: Getting to Know Ourselves: Exploring Our Life Stories 73
Chapter 6: Considering Your Beliefs about Compassion 91
Chapter 7: Facing Barriers to Compassion 107
Part 3: Developing Our Compassionate Mind 119
Chapter 8: Directing Our Attention 121
Chapter 9: Preparing for Compassion 133
Chapter 10: Practising Compassion for Others 151
Chapter 11: Allowing Compassion In 165
Chapter 12: Delving Deeper into Self-Compassion 179
Part 4: Compassionate Practices 191
Chapter 13: Cultivating Compassionate Thoughts 193
Chapter 14: The Power of the Pen: Writing to Strengthen Your Compassionate Mind 213
Chapter 15: Taking Action! 231
Chapter 16: Expressing Yourself 251
Chapter 17: Understanding the Different Aspects of Yourself 265
Chapter 18: Placing Compassion at the Centre of Your Life 277
Part 5: The Part of Tens 285
Chapter 19: Ten Pointers for Seeking a Professional Therapist 287
Chapter 20: Ten Tips You May Want to Share 297
Chapter 21: Ten Ways to Change the World with Compassion 303
Appendix: Additional Resources 309
Index 313
About the author
Dr. Mary Welford, Consultant Clinical Psychologist, lives and works in the South West of England. She is a founding member of the Compassionate Mind Foundation, Chair to the charity from 2009-2015 and authored the Compassionate Mind Guide to Building Self Confidence.