Compassion

When I first encountered compassion as an element of clinical intervention, I was sceptical.

It seemed too lofty to be applied to the immediate needs of a client, and it would likely bring in religious connotations that would be a hindrance to the therapeutic process.

Then I remembered Carl Rogers, the founder of Humanistic Psychology, who urged therapists to adopt a position of “unconditional positive regard” toward the client.

This was a bright and foreign notion in the 1950s and it sounded like a good definition for compassion.

I then encountered the work of Paul Gilbert who had made significant contributions to psychology through his theories and application of compassion in psychotherapy in the context of evolution.

Shortly thereafter, I became aware of Christopher Germer and Kristen Neff and the program they developed they named Mindful Self-Compassion.

Now, in Google Scholar, there are about 34,600 results, articles and books with compassion in the title.

It has been assumed, by professionals and the public, that compassion is naturally an integral part of psychology and need not be mentioned.
This is not the case.

Compassion has been and continues to be studied for its clinical significance.

From this research and accumulated clinical experience, it is clear that compassion is far deeper, wider, and richer in nature than we could have imagined. It is emerging as an untapped resource for everyone, with or without mental health challenges. 

Only a few of my clients are actively engaged in investigating compassion and applying it to their needs.

However, compassion first enters the office via the therapist and is often applied in plain language without having to mention the word.

Often, once the process of compassion takes hold, the formal practices can be applied. 

Shame has also become a household word these days, thanks to Brené Brown.

I mention it here because the construct elements of shame (secrecy, character-based/global assessment, and avoidance), have their healing counterpart in elements of compassion (connection to others and common humanity, behaviour and incident-based assessment, and mindfulness (clarity and accountability).

In short, compassion is a direct counterpart to shame and can be employed as a means for reducing shame and shame-responding.

And, since shame is rampant in our culture, this can easily support the view that our culture is significantly compassion deficient. 

What can be learned through compassion in psychotherapy is how to be more compassionate with ourselves, thereby decreasing negative internal dialogue, increasing accountability, and an emphasis on our behaviour (which is usually a social function).

And, we ourselves heal, we are better able to. be more compassionate and understanding with others.

These elements open the doors to forgiveness, altruism, honesty, interpersonal engagement, gratitude and a general sense of wellbeing.

Experience Self-Compassion Meditations and Exercises