One of the processes that allows for the development of self-compassion in highly shame-prone and self-critical people is the ability to take the perspective of a warm and caring other person. Therapists are often able to offer that caring perspective on the client’s experience. We at ACT with Compassion encourage therapists (including ourselves) to intend … Read more
Each month we highlight some practical resources for therapists interested in compassion. Our aim here is to provide a brief overview and offer you a few resources where you can find out more information if these ideas are of interest to you. This Month’s Tool: Information readings on self-compassion by Kristin Neff To celebrate Dr. … Read more
Every month, we scour the scientific literature for interesting studies that have practical implications for therapists working with shame, self-criticism, or compassion. Below are a few of our favorites for this month: Kindness toward others eases social anxiety This study examined three groups of undergraduate students with social anxiety over a four-week period. The first … Read more
A few weeks ago, a client of mine expressed frustration that there are no public child abuse memorials. She asked, “Why are there war memorials, AIDS quilts, breast cancer ribbons, but nothing for child abuse?” Her question echoed a statement by Judith Herman in her book Trauma and Recovery from the early 1990s. Herman states, … Read more
Each month we highlight some practical resources for therapists interested in compassion. We don’t go into great depth about what we find, but encourage you to check them out if you think they’re interesting. This Month’s Find: Meditations to Open the Heart from Tara Brach The other day as I was searching for meditation resources, I … Read more
Every month, we scour the scientific literature for interesting studies that have practical implications for therapists working with shame, self-criticism, or compassion. Below are a few of our favorites for this month: Oxytocin a promising adjunct to treatment for some people, but not ready for prime-time yet This study is the first published meta-analysis of … Read more
Shame is fundamentally disconnecting. The person feeling shame is often acutely aware of their own perceived flaws and inadequacies, and may misinterpret attempts from others to connect with them. For example, a person feeling shame may interpret another’s warm smile as condescending or ridiculing. Or they may accurately interpret the other person’s caring expression, but … Read more
Each month we highlight some practical resources for therapists interested in compassion. Our aim here is to provide a brief overview and offer you a few resources where you can find out more information if these ideas are of interest to you. This Month’s Tool: Fears of Compassion Scale In our previous blog posts, we … Read more
A number of standardized assessments exist that may be useful in working with highly self-critical and shame prone clients. These measures can be used for obtaining initial normative assessments as well as tracking change in therapy over time. Some of these measures may even have predictive utility. For example, the hated-self subscale from the Forms … Read more
Each month we highlight some practical resources for therapists interested in compassion. Our aim here is to provide a brief overview and offer you a few resources where you can find out more information if these ideas are of interest to you. This Month’s Tool: Effective Use of Self-Disclosure in ACT with Compassion Here is a … Read more