Compassion focused Care in Therapy

What is Compassion focused care?

Practicing compassion focused care emphasizes emotional safety, awareness, and accountability. Compassion assumes the best intentions and allows for the understanding that the intention can be very different than the impact. We develop behaviors and beliefs that serve a purpose. Over time those beliefs or choices may create harm, but they developed with the best of intentions. Compassion focused care aims to offset the bias that judgment and criticism can carry to increase understanding and develop systems of beliefs and behaviors that more helpful and effective.

How compassion focused care influences therapy?

Kristen Neff has done compelling research related to the benefits of compassion on mental health, physical health and overall happiness and wellness.  I absolutely encourage you to look into her work if you are interested in understanding more of the science and research behind compassion focused therapy and care. I am going to share more of my personal experiences as therapist and human. Compassion is the great combatant against shame.  Shame creates a narrative that we are unworthy and undeserving. Compassion creates a narrative around worthiness and understanding. Building compassion helps people look at behavior and choices from a more neutral perspective. If I make a mistake and lean into compassion. A mistake is an opportunity to learn. If I make a mistake and I am trapped in shame, then every mistake is a confirmation of my unworthiness. The stories we tell ourselves are very related to the stories we tell about other people and vice versa. So from my point of view, compassion focused therapy requires helping people build  awareness around how old beliefs and value systems may create or reinforce shame and helping people explore if that belief system or value fits with the life they want for themselves. That starts with me modeling what compassion looks like. Then asking questions to build compassion and challenge old thoughts and beliefs.  Another piece of the journey is highlighting the benefits of demonstrating compassion and reinforcing each experience and event of compassion. While also helping client’s discern how they want to utilize and implement compassion in their day to day lives.