Introducing compassion-focused therapy

TLDR

Shame and self‑criticism are transdiagnostic problems that impair access to an affect‑regulation system underlying feelings of reassurance, safety, and well‑being, which is thought to have evolved alongside attachment mechanisms. The study hypothesises that individuals with high shame and self‑criticism have limited access to this affect‑regulation system, and that compassion‑focused therapy can remediate it. Compassion‑focused therapy is an integrated, multimodal intervention drawing on evolutionary, social, developmental, Buddhist psychology, and neuroscience, employing compassionate‑mind training to cultivate inner warmth, safety, and soothing through compassion and self‑compassion.

Abstract

Shame and self-criticism are transdiagnostic problems. People who experience them may struggle to feel relieved, reassured or safe. Research suggests that a specialised affect regulation system (or systems) underpins feelings of reassurance, safeness and well-being. It is believed to have evolved with attachment systems and, in particular, the ability to register and respond with calming and a sense of well-being to being cared for. In compassion-focused therapy it is hypothesised that this affect regulation system is poorly accessible in people with high shame and self-criticism, in whom the ‘threat’ affect regulation system dominates orientation to their inner and outer worlds. Compassion-focused therapy is an integrated and multimodal approach that draws from evolutionary, social, developmental and Buddhist psychology, and neuroscience. One of its key concerns is to use compassionate mind training to help people develop and work with experiences of inner warmth, safeness and soothing, via compassion and self-compassion.