An Introduction to Compassion Focused Therapy in Cognitive Behavior Therapy

This article outlines the early origins of Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT) from within the Cognitive Behavioral tradition (CBT). It will then focus on how our new understanding in the areas of affect regulation systems, and the importance of affiliative and kind relationships in regulating mental states, point to key processes that underpin mental health difficulties-as well as to possible mechanisms for therapy and change. CFT recognizes the huge debt to Eastern psychologies such as Buddhism that have articulated the importance of compassion for our personal and social well-being for thousands of years. However CFT was originally developed for, and with, people who suffer from high levels of shame and self-criticism and who find experiences of support, kindness, and compassion-both from themselves and from others-difficult or even frightening. The article will provide the conceptual background for the articles that follow which focus on the applications of CFT.