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Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT)

January 16, 2025
Compassion-focused therapy is a type of therapy geared toward deepening compassion for self and others. This modality is particularly effective for helping people manage shame and regulate other complex emotions. It can be used a standalone therapeutic modality, but it may also be integrated with other approaches.
Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT) TherapyTribe
CFT largely focuses on helping clients strengthen their self-soothing system through a variety of techniques.
Nicole Arzt, LMFT By Nicole Arzt, licensed marriage and family therapist, author.

The Origins of CFT

Dr. Paul Gilbert, a British psychologist, developed CFT in the early 2000s after noting how individuals who exhibited high themes of shame or self-criticism didn’t always respond favorably to traditional cognitive-behavioral therapy methods. He created CFT to help clients cultivate a more compassionate inner voice(1). 

This concept is largely rooted in both neuroscience and evolutionary psychology. Gilbert theorized that a critical inner voice may derive from an overactive threat detection system, causing excessive negative emotion. CFT, however, seeks to activate the body’s inherent ‘soothing system,’ which is associated with positive emotions of safeness, peace, and contentment. 

Since 2006, the Compassionate Mind Foundation (CMF) has represented the ‘home base’ of compassionate-focused therapy and its relevant research findings and training opportunities. Their website offers a plethora of free resources, including numerous guided meditations, available to access.

What Conditions Does CFT Treat? 

CFT can treat numerous psychological disorders and is most effective for conditions that coincide with high levels of shame, self-criticism, and poor emotion regulation systems, including:

  • mood disorders and depressive symptoms 
  • anxiety disorders
  • disorderdered eating and eating disorders
  • acute trauma and PTSD 
  • personality disorders
  • substance abuse 
  • self-harm, suicidal behaviors, and other crisis concerns 

Even if you don’t have a specific mental illness, CFT may be beneficial if you experience low self-esteem, emotional dysregulation, relationship problems, and themes of self-sabotoging behaviors. 

Core Framework and Interventions of CFT 

CFT is rooted in the idea that people have three primary emotion regulation systems(2):

  1. Threat protection system: This system refers to how people naturally react to perceived threats. When the brain detects threats, it activates the fight-or-flight responses to ensure the body’s survival. This helps keep people safe by alerting them to inherent risk. However, it may also exacerbate negative emotions and become overactive with time. 
  2. Drive and achievement system: The drive system is primarily focused on ensuring resources, support, and goals. It coincides with positive emotions, including motivation, excitement, joy, and achievement. However, when this system is in overdrive, it may coincide with themes of perfectionism, burnout, or depression. 
  3. Self-soothing system: This system is rooted in the human desire for connection, safety, and love. The primary focus is a felt sense of safety. This system can regulate the functions of the other two systems, although it’s likely to be underdeveloped and underutilized. 

CFT largely focuses on helping clients strengthen their self-soothing system through some of the following techniques: 

Psychoeducation: Like any cognitive therapy, psychoeducation is an important part of this therapeutic process. Therapists using CFT will introduce the inner workings of the body’s threat system and discuss how safety strategies and compassionate behavior can cultivate a sense of calmness and change. 

Compassionate mind training (CMT): CMT is a key aspect of CFT treatment, involving deliberate exercises intended to cultivate more compassionate feelings and attitudes. CMFT is an umbrella term for skills rooted in compassionate imagery, compassionate attitudes, and compassionate behavior. 

Soothing rhythm breathing: This type of breathing activates the soothing system, promoting inner peace and relaxation. This particular exercise entails deep, steady breaths paired with compassionate affirmations or imagery. 

Strengthening the compassionate self: This CFT intervention focuses on learning how to embody oneself as a compassionate person. It entails concepts of imagery, compassionate self-talk, and mindfulness strategies. Cultivating this self also directly addresses self-criticism, as clients may be encouraged to externalize harsh inner voices as separate characters from themselves.

Guided imagery: A CFT therapist may use ‘safe place’ imagery to help clients evoke inner feelings of safety and emotional regulation. The ‘safe person’ intervention focuses on imagining a wise, compassionate other self who can offer support during challenging times. 

Getting Started with CFT 

Although it is a relatively new modality, CFT has gained significant traction worldwide. Today, CFT is used within numerous settings, including corporate workplaces, schools, community mental health programs, and private practice offices.

You may be a good candidate for CFT if you resonate with:

  • wanting a more mindful, holistic approach to treating your mental health
  • high levels of shame or self-loathing
  • difficulties soothing yourself during stressful situations or when experiencing intense emotions
  • compulsive behaviors, including self-harm, eating disorders, substance abuse
  • having a history of trauma that often leaves you feeling emotionally dysregulated 

If you’re looking to connect with a therapist, try to find someone who embraces the concepts of self-compassion in their practice. The ideal mental health professional will integrate compassion with mindfulness, attachment-based principles, and cognitive approaches to reframe your thinking. Keep in mind that research shows the therapeutic relationship is one of the most important predictors of treatment success, so feeling secure and supported by your therapist is key(3).

Final Thoughts 

Compassion-focused therapy offers a gentle, psychological therapy approach for unpacking shame and deepening your sense of self-love. This non-pathologizing modality can help you access more positive feelings toward yourself, and it can reduce the amount of self-sabotoging behaviors or limiting beliefs you experience.



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Sources

  1. Psychotherapeutic benefits of compassion-focused therapy: an early systematic review (2014, September). National Library of Medicine. Retrieved from: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4413786/. 
  2. The origins and nature of compassion focused therapy (2014). British Journal of Clinical Psychology. Retrieved from: https://self-compassion.org/wp-content/uploads/publications/GilbertCFT.pdf. 
  3. Psychotherapy and Therapeutic Relationship (2024, October). National Library of Medicine. Retrieved from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/books/NBK608012/.