Compassion Focused Therapy – What It Is, What It Targets, and the Evidence

Kirby, James N.; Petrocchi, Nicola

doi:10.1007/978-3-031-22348-8_23

Cited by 4 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 61 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Overall, the program was helpful in reducing shame and selfcriticism and improving the capacity for self-reassurance for the majority of participants and did not appear to have a negative impact for any participants. This finding is similar to those of other studies that have found that developing self-compassion and addressing fears of compassion can have a positive impact on shame and self-criticism (Kirby & Petrocchi, 2023).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Online Compassion Focused Therapy for overeating: Feasibility and acceptability pilot study

Marques,

Palmeira,

Castilho

et al. 2023

Intl J Eating Disorders

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

ObjectiveThis pilot study aims to investigate the feasibility, acceptability, and potential effectiveness of online Compassion Focused Therapy for overeating (CFT‐OE).MethodEighteen Portuguese women seeking treatment for overeating were enrolled in this study, and 15 participants completed the CFT‐OE. This was a single‐arm study. Participants were assessed at pre‐ and post‐intervention and 3‐month follow‐up. All participants completed measures assessing binge eating, cognitive restraint, uncontrolled eating, emotional eating, general eating psychopathology, general and body shame, self‐criticism, self‐compassion, and fears of self‐compassion.ResultsThe treatment attrition rate was 16.7%, which is relatively low compared to other similar online interventions. Participants gave positive feedback on the program and indicated they would recommend it to people with similar difficulties. CFT‐OE improved self‐compassion and reduced eating psychopathology symptoms, general and body shame, self‐criticism, and fears of self‐compassion. Clinical significance analysis showed that the majority of participants were classified as in recovery in all measures at post‐intervention and 3‐month follow‐up.DiscussionPreliminary results suggest that the online CFT‐OE program is an acceptable and feasible intervention. Results also suggest that CFT‐OE is beneficial for the treatment of women with difficulties with overeating. A future randomized controlled trial is necessary to establish the effectiveness of the CFT‐OE.Public significanceThis study indicates that online CFT‐OE is a feasible and adequate intervention for women who struggle with overeating. This therapy showed promising results in reducing eating disorder symptoms, shame, and self‐criticism and improving self‐compassion. As an online intervention, CFT‐OE may be more accessible and offer an alternative to in‐person therapy.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Online Compassion Focused Therapy for overeating: Feasibility and acceptability pilot study

Marques,

Palmeira,

Castilho

et al. 2023

Intl J Eating Disorders

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Further, our study was the first investigation of a CFT intervention to review possible moderating effects of attachment. Whilst CFT was developed with specific reference to attachment theory and its proponents have long believed it would be suitable for those with insecure attachments (Gilbert, 2010(Gilbert, , 2013(Gilbert, , 2014Kirby & Petrocchi, 2023), our study was the first to directly investigate this and provides important evidence for these claims.…”

Section: Strengths and Limitationsmentioning

confidence: 94%

“…Gilbert (2009a) developed CFT in response to his observations that some people struggle to be self-compassionate and experience difficulty feeling soothed in the context of cognitive therapies. CFT is an integrative therapeutic modality informed by applied neuroscience, attachment theory, and evolutionary, clinical, and social psychology (Gilbert, 2010(Gilbert, , 2014Kirby & Petrocchi, 2023). It is also the only psychotherapy that directly targets the cultivation of compassion as the primary method for alleviating distress associated with clinical disorders (Gilbert, 2014;Kirby et al, 2019).…”

Section: Brief Compassion Focused Therapy Reduces Fears Of Compassion...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Studies show this exercise increases parasympathetic activity and reduces activity in neural networks associated with threat (Kim et al, 2020). This exercise is a core technique used in CFT (Kirby & Petrocchi, 2023;Kolts et al, 2016) and prompts participants to establish a grounding body posture (shoulders back, chest open, feet flat on floor), engage in soothing rhythm breathing, and imagine themselves embodying qualities of compassionate motivation (a committed desire to be helpful and relieve suffering in the self and others), wisdom to understand one's experiences, and strength to act compassionately. The imagery exercise then guides participants to imagine what it would be like to act in compassionate ways.…”

Section: Cft Imagery Exercisementioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Brief Compassion Focused Therapy Reduces Fears of Compassion Irrespective of Individual Differences in Attachment

Varley,

Sherwell,

Kirby

2024

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The present study evaluated the efficacy of a brief compassion focused imagery intervention for reducing fears of compassion. This study also examined whether individual differences in attachment would influence treatment effectiveness. We randomly assigned a non-clinical sample of 125 community-dwelling adults to a control group or an intervention group. Those in the intervention group completed a brief intervention involving daily compassionate imagery exercises for one week. Those who completed the intervention demonstrated significant reductions in fears of compassion for others, fears of compassion from others, and fears of self-compassion, irrespective of differences in attachment. These findings support the efficacy of compassion focused imagery exercises in reducing fears of compassion across attachment patterns, suggesting their potential value in therapeutic settings for enhancing mental wellbeing and therapeutic outcomes.

show abstract

Compassion Focused Therapy and Heart Rate Variability

Sherwell,

Kirby

2024

Integrating Psychotherapy and Psychophysiology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

As an integrative biopsychological approach, compassion focused therapy (CFT) emphasizes the dynamic and reciprocal relationship between psychological and physiological processes as an important target for therapeutic intervention. In particular, CFT focuses on the role of parasympathetic control of cardiac function as reflected in vagally mediated heart rate variability (HRV). Mounting evidence supports the view that HRV reflects clinically relevant processes such as emotion regulation, responses to threats and stressors, and interpersonal processes such as compassion. Over the last decade, researchers have become increasingly interested in the potential of HRV metrics as biomarkers of self-regulatory capabilities and clinical outcomes. This chapter outlines the theoretical, psychological, and physiological basis of compassion science and CFT, reviews empirical research evaluating the physiological outcomes of CFT and related compassion-focused interventions, and considers future challenges and goals of research in this field. With advances in the accessibility and mobility of biometric recording devices, we argue that understanding how the parasympathetic nervous system reflects, responds to, and regulates psychological mechanisms underlying psychopathology will greatly improve client outcomes through enhanced clinical diagnosis and outcome assessment.

show abstract

Compassion Focused Therapy – What It Is, What It Targets, and the Evidence

Cited by 4 publications

References 61 publications

Online Compassion Focused Therapy for overeating: Feasibility and acceptability pilot study

Online Compassion Focused Therapy for overeating: Feasibility and acceptability pilot study

Brief Compassion Focused Therapy Reduces Fears of Compassion Irrespective of Individual Differences in Attachment

Compassion Focused Therapy and Heart Rate Variability

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About