Compassion Focused Therapy: Distinctive Features (CBT Distinctive Features) 1st Edition

This book serves as an excellent introduction to the theory and practice of Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT), a model of psychotherapy based in Professor Paul Gilbert's Compassionate Mind model. This model, rooted in evolutionary psychology, affective neuroscience, and social psychology, makes a major theoretical contribution toward understanding psychological difficulties and helping people to change how they relate to them. The book,is divided into two sections, the first providing an excellent overview of the theoretical model underlying CFT, and the second providing a nice set of techniques to be used in the therapy.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I should say that I am far from being an unbiased reviewer. I am currently using compassion-focused therapy in both individual and group therapy formats, and am authoring a book applying the model to working with anger. The group (focused on anger) is currently being conducted in a medium-security correctional facility, and I cannot over-emphasize the effectiveness of this model in terms of its benefit to the men I'm working with. In a prison environment, these men are actively using the combination of the purposeful cultivation of compassion and contemporary psychological techniques to transform their lives. It is profound. This model is already a well-respected and increasingly used therapy in the UK, and it deserves to be much more well known here in the United States and elsewhere. I've also used it with excellent results with individual psychotherapy cases involving depression and anxiety in non-correctional settings.

For a more complete description of the Compassionate Mind model, please see my review of Gilbert's "The Compassionate Mind." I will say here, however, that CFT is not a stand-alone therapy model, not another therapy to be added to the growing list of empirically supported treatments (although it is supported by an evolving literature base). Rather, it provides a model for understanding psychological distress that is intensely pragmatic, theoretically sound, based in good science...and which is entirely compatible with most other effective treatment models. The model on which it is based provides patients with a way of understanding their suffering that is non-shaming and non-blaming, and in doing so helps patients approach their difficulties head-on using any number of techniques. I have found it to be the single most effective approach for working with experiential avoidance that I have ever encountered. Because of this, Gilbert's approach helps to magnify the effectiveness of a wide variety of therapeutic strategies by increasing the patient's ability to relate to their suffering in helpful ways and to utilize the techniques effectively. CFT makes heavy use of mindfulness training and includes techniques specifically designed to take advantage of what we know about contemporary affective neuroscience, particularly with regard to Oxytocin and the neuroscience of affiliation.

Specifically with regard to this book, in my opinion it is the perfect introduction to CFT. Organized in a number of relatively short, pithy chapters, it presents the model's fairly detailed theoretical foundation in bite-sized chunks, perfect for experienced clinicians and graduate students alike. I highly recommend it for any clinicians who work with patients struggling with affective difficulties, particularly those who utilize mindfulness approaches, ACT, DBT, and other CBT models. I'm planning to use it as a text in a seminar. And at $14, you can get it for the price of a few cups of coffee. Highly recommended.

Gilbert`s book should be a must for every theraphist, social worker and teacher who treat with suffering people and aspires to be efficient in that help. Gilbert`s observations come from a branch of researchers of the psychology of the most feared of all emotions: shame. On the other hand, Gilbert`s book synthetizes the last findings in evolutive psychology, neuro-sciences and psychoterapy.
His three emotional and motivational system model will remain as one of the most comprehensive and powerful tools for every man who tries to understand our real motives.

Man has the compelling drive to be close and belong to others. Tha`s why he has inherited a compassive and affective emotional system. Such system is shut down by its opposit: the treath-defensive system which is activated precisely when the belonging is threatened. A paradox, but a common existential fact. The picture is mor complex since there`s another emotional system that has to do with search of status and the consecuent competence every human experience since kinder garden to the end his life.

Finally I learnt that reasoning come after our emotional regulation, via the compassionate system, is activated. I`ts intelligent to soothe my emotions first and Gilbert tells you how.

I`m greatful with Gilbert since now on I have the groundings to activate and enhance my soothing and affiliative system throuhg compassion. As a man I`m aware how Ì`ve been trained to shut down the emotional system that has permited human kind to survive.
Don`t hesitate, buy it now and increase your consultation.

This book was used as a course textbook for Compassion Focused Therapy at EWU where I am a student. I found it to be a really thorough read for anyone wanting to apply the CFT model to their practice or just as a tool in their own repertoire. Dr. Gilbert's work on developing this model is outstanding and the book showcases his wealth of knowledge and offered a step by step approach for application. It was a great read for me but a bit heavy on the jargon and psychological technical terms that the average reader may be unfamiliar with. I find CFT to be an especially potent model because of the immense power of the human mind and the deep personal understanding that comes from personal insight and mindfulness. I was so moved by this model of therapy that I have decided to use it in my own career in working with children. Great read I highly recommend it!

Gilbert does a very nice thorough job of going over CFT in this book. I had to purchase this for a university CFT class and enjoyed it so much that I decided to keep it. The book arrived quickly and brand new! It was a great price too. I found this to be a nice and comfortable read as well, it's not as dry as other books, I don't find it difficult to read, I actually enjoyed it. CFT is a wonderful method and if you are contemplating buying this book and learning more about it I would greatly recommend it. It kept me interested and was incredibly well written and very informative!

This book was highly recommended by 3 psychiatrists, as one of the very best ways to help and counsel people with worries and concerns. It is a wonderful work, worth keeping, read again and again, recommend to others.

Compassion makes us stronger, not weaker. Gilbert's well-thought and articulated approach makes perfect sense. Recommend for therapists and knowledgeable patients/clients.

Very inspiring and quite practical.

Paul Gilbert is a wonderful and funny man who has brought this amazing set of therapeutic tools to the world. I'm very grateful.