In this episode, Wendy is joined by clinical psychologist, author, trainer and researcher Dr Chris Irons, who helps people find new ways to understand and tackle their distress. Dr Irons is a big advocate of Compassion Focus Therapy (CFT).
He outlines what CFT is, why it is so effective and how to use it.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- CFT helps people who have not found success with other treatments. Often, it's because of self-hatred and shame.
- Anger and self-loathing dilute positivity.
- To heal, people need a warm, empathetic inner voice.
- Be kind and supportive towards yourself as you are to others.
- Emotions signal to us something important but they need to be in balance.
- The app Chris has developed explains why you feel as you do step-by-step and provides exercises to practice what you have learned.
BEST MOMENTS
“Clients who start therapy with higher levels of self-criticism do worse.”
“Compassion can be an antidote to shame and self-criticism, but you have to practice it.”
“Emotions evolved for a purpose.”
RESOURCES
www.balancedminds.com
www.drchrisirons.com
ABOUT THE GUEST
Dr Chris Irons is a clinical psychologist, researcher, writer and trainer specialising in Compassion Focused Therapy. He is co-director of Balanced Minds (www.balancedminds.com), an organisation providing compassion-focused psychological interventions, supervision and training.
For 25 years, Chris has worked with Professor Paul Gilbert and other colleagues on the research and clinical developments of CFT. He was involved in some of the initial research papers and book chapters on CFT (Gilbert & Irons, 2004, 2005), and has published many articles and book chapters on compassion, attachment, shame and self-criticism. He has authored five books, including ‘The Compassionate Mind Workbook’ (with Dr Elaine Beaumont) and ‘CFT from the Inside Out’ (with Russell Kolts, James Bennett-Levy and Tobyn Bell), and ‘The Compassionate Mind Approach for Difficult Emotions’. Alongside Elaine Beaumont, he recently released the first CFT inspired app, called ‘The Self Compassion App’.
Chris regularly provides CFT teaching, training, workshops and retreats across the world. He is an experienced clinician. He has recently been leading on the development of compassion-based approaches for the general public, and on integrating these approaches in organisations.
VALUABLE RESOURCES
www.wendycastelino.com
https://www.instagram.com/wendycastelino
https://www.youtube.com/@wendycastelino798
https://twitter.com/WendyCastelino
ABOUT THE HOST
Wendy Castelino has been working as a psychotherapist for over thirty-five years. As an accredited CBT and EMDR practitioner, she is committed to upholding the rigorous standards required for these accreditations and helping thousands of people reach their full potential.
Wendy currently runs a private practice where her focus is on CBT. Therapy is constantly evolving into developing new techniques, so she studies hard to integrate them into her therapy, to provide a rich and effective experience.
Wendy is aware that working in one-to-one therapy limits the number of people she can see. She has, therefore, created a range of online resources. These resources are designed to be easy to follow and provide clear, step-by-step instructions. This can help the individual to master skills and gain confidence, therefore optimising the therapy sessions. They are also suitable to be used on their own.
Further details are available at: WendyCastelino.com.
