The Compassionate Mind Approach to Difficult Emotions: Using Compassion Focused Therapy

by Chris Irons

Emotions bring purpose, pleasure and meaning to our lives. However, for many people, they are synonymous with distress, pain and suffering. Anger and rage can wreck relationships and cause problems at work; anxiety can prevent us from socialising or engaging in things we would like to; sadness can feel overwhelming and never ending. These types of difficulties are often referred to as emotion regulation problems, and can prevent us from developing stable and happy relationships, communicating our needs, and flourishing.This practical self-help book based on Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT) will help you to take a new approach to managing difficult emotions. It outlines why we experience emotions, how they can be helpful but also how and why we can get in to struggles with them. It outlines the Compassionate Mind model, and guides you through a series of exercises that will help you to develop your compassion mind, and use this to develop more helpful emotion regulation strategies, and bring greater balance to your emotions.

Genres: Self Help

505 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 1, 2019

Reviews

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been using this book in compliment to DBT & EMDR therapy having had it recommended by my therapist. If offers an empathetic, practical and model based approach to emotional regulation which I have found incredibly helpful. Previously I did not have the tools to self soothe or take practical steps to manage stressful triggers. I have post it’s on my wall at home to remind me of the exercises & concepts I found most useful. To begin with I felt a little odd applying the content, it was as if I was systemising my emotions, both requiring effort and feels clunky. However, with practice and continued therapy I am inordinately better at identifying, labelling, communicating and evaluating the appropriateness of my emotions and resulting behaviour, benefitting my work/relationships/general well being. I highly recommend this book as it has made a significant contribution to improving my quality of life.

[Adele · Rating 4 out of 5]

Useful book for practitioners working with patients, in mental health or psychologically who wish to use a compassion focussed therapy approach. The book is very clear, plenty of examples and has exercises throughout which demonstrates how to practically apply the theory in practice.
This book is not a replacement for therapy, but would give someone a different perspective on their emotions and reflection on how they manage these in day to day life. Compassion focussed therapy is great at validating and normalising difficulties all humans face when it comes to emotions.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Big fan of CFT!! 🙋🏼‍♀️ while I don’t think the concepts of cft are new, I like how cft integrates a lot of practices like mindfulness and parts work and thought logs to help us be more compassionate. I love that this theory is grounded in the concept that our emotions are evolutionary. we didn’t choose to have them, so why would we be shaming ourselves for it? Let’s stop shaming ourselves for being human !!! 🫶🏻🫶🏻