Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT): History, Process, Benefits, Effectiveness
Delve into the world of Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT), a therapeutic approach with roots in evolutionary and social psychology. Explore its historical development, understand its process, and discover the benefits and effectiveness of this empathetic form of therapy.
What is Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT)?
CFT is a therapeutic practice that emphasizes compassion towards oneself and others to promote emotional healing.
- It is designed to help individuals with high levels of self-criticism and shame. People who experience intense self-critical and shame might struggle to feel safe, at ease, or assured, making it more difficult for them to lead fulfilling lives.
The History of Compassion-Focused Therapy
British psychotherapist Paul Gilbert developed CFT during the early 2000s, incorporating aspects of the following modalities, principles, and techniques: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Buddhist Philosophy, Evolutionary Psychology, Social Psychology, and Developmental Psychology
- CFT focuses on the association between human behavior and thought and aims to balance the three emotional regulation systems
- Compassion training has numerous physical, psychological, and therapeutic benefits, including for people with severe mental conditions
The Effectiveness of Compassion-Focused Therapy
Researchers have investigated the efficacy of this therapeutic approach for treating several conditions, including hoarding, eating disorders, psychosis, and personality disorders, among others
- 77% of people who received CFT as a follow-up to cognitive behavioral therapy had symptoms that dropped below the cutoff for clinically significant hoarding disorders.
- In a study looking at the impact of incorporating CFT into a standard treatment program for people with eating disorders found significant reductions of symptoms for those diagnosed with bulimia nervosa, anorexia nervosa and atypical eating disorders.
How Compassion-Focused Therapy Works
CFT therapists believe that the emotional regulation systems involving threats, contentment, and drive evolved to facilitate human survival
- In ancient times, humans were motivated to overcome and avoid threats, function within a social society, and find food and other resources.
- Compassionate mind training helps clients cultivate sympathy, compassion, and tolerance for distress through guided exercises to develop nonjudgmental responses
- Therapists help clients learn appreciation through activities that emphasize what they enjoy
Compassion-focused therapy might be an effective approach for people with a number of conditions who experience high levels of self-criticism and shame as symptoms of their states
CFT uses compassionate mind training, which consists of guided exercises, visualizations, mindfulness practices, and other interventions to help clients develop compassion for themselves and others.
Conditions Commonly Treated With CFT
Compassion-focused therapy is used to help people who have difficulty with feeling, expressing, or understanding compassion
- CFT can offer a safe place through which clients can explore the reasons underlying this issue and how they might achieve positive change
- People who receive this type of treatment must feel comfortable having others soothe or care for them
The Potential Benefits of Compassion-Focused Therapy
Increased self-compassion, increased sympathy and empathy, improved self-esteem, reduced shame, reduced anger, reduced self-hatred, decreased self-harm, improved ability to relate to others, decrease in rumination, effectiveness with some clients who have not responded well to CBT