Hello!
Welcome to the CMA Spring newsletter for 2018.
We have a few exciting things to report, but mostly everyone has been very busy!
The Compassionate Mind Foundation's 7th International CFT Conference has just ended in London, and a number of our CMA committee were lucky enough to attend - hopefully with some news to share in our next newsletter.
The UQ Compassion Symposium in Brisbane was on recently in September, and once again was a huge success. Dr Deborah Lee was the keynote speaker and she also ran a workshop on healing trauma with CFT. Our own Lisa McLean has written a review of the training for us. If you ever have the opportunity to see Dr Lee in person, don't miss your chance, she is a very engaging and enjoyable presenter.
We mentioned in our previous newsletter that James Bennett-Levy recently co-authored a book with Russell Kolts, Tobyn Bell and Chris Irons called Experiencing Compassion Focused Therapy from the Inside Out: A Self-Practice/Self-Reflection Workbook. Diana Korevaar (perinatal psychiatrist and author) has written a book review to share with our readership. James and fellow committee member Tara Hickey will be offering a live online CFT Self-Practice/Self-Reflection workshop in 2019. To register your interest and find out more head to cbttraining.com.au.
James and Tobyn are also offering a number of workshops in Australia throughout October - check them out below or on our CMA Events page.
If you have completed training in CFT and would like to keep up your skills and meet like-minded clinicians, contact us directly to find out more about a peer support network near you, or online. Just send us an email at info@compassionatemind.org.au and we'll be sure to point you in the right direction.
Finally, if you haven't already, please head over to our Facebook page and like us to keep updated with new research, resources, events and news related to compassion focused approaches. We hope to see you there!
Until next time,
The CMA team
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Book Review: Experiencing Compassion-Focused Therapy from the Inside Out
Compassion Focussed Therapy is arguably one of the most significant models of therapeutic intervention developed in decades. Integrating in such a sophisticated way, powerful therapeutic methods drawn from the science of evolution, mindfulness, cognitive behavioural therapy and somatosensory psychotherapy, CFT offers a unique way of working with not only treatment resistant mood and anxiety disorders but also personality disturbance and psychosis. However, it is rare indeed to escape a degree of “attachment trauma” and most therapists are touched at some point in time, by the toxic influence of self-criticism and shame. It should therefore come as no surprise that research suggests effective therapy relates more to the unique qualities of a therapist rather than simply to any modalities of intervention they might employ.
It makes sense then that the model of self-practice/self-reflection is set to become an essential component in the training of therapists. The impressive new workbook “Experiencing Compassion-Focussed Therapy from the Inside Out” is a collaborative project of four authors, each bringing formidable experience in the teaching, research and clinical application of the neuroscience of compassion. Presented as 34 concise modules, the core theory and application of compassion focused therapy is explored in a warm, highly engaging and accessible way.
In my own journey through the “CFT from the Inside Out” I was particularly influenced by the clear description of how to set up behavioural experiments. With a few patients I had been working with for a long period of time, I had developed a sense of feeling stuck. Explaining to them how useful it might be to stand back and have a fresh look at the journey of their lives, but this time through the lens of compassion, I used the case formulation worksheet. This was a way of working together on getting an updated perspective on how various life experiences had influenced what was happening now, paying specific attention to how feedback loops might be keeping alive ways of reacting which were holding them back. We set up behavioural experiments to play around with making change.
For myself, it was very helpful to follow the stories of 3 therapists, each quite different. At various times I found myself identifying with what they discovered about themselves. Although I might have previously believed that I manage my own self-care quite well, working through the program it was clear that far from having a robust compassionate self, the inner critic, who talks quite severely and pushes me into working long hours, was still a powerful force. I have therefore enjoyed and have subsequently spent much time working with module 32, using imagery and other creative ways of bringing to life a reliable inner supervisor, a compassionate self who knows me better than anyone else can. When I hold her image in my mind, and find an inner voice which is kind and wise but also firm, I have been able to feel the whole process of CFT coming alive within me.
Whether you are just establishing yourself as a therapist, or whether you’ve got years of experience under your belt, I am sure you will find this wonderful book very helpful. I love its flexibility, the way I can dip into whatever module takes my interest, knowing I will find brief, clear and practical guidance.
Review by Diana Korevaar, perinatal psychiatrist and the author of “Mindfulness for Mums and Dads”
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Experiencing Compassion-Focused Therapy from the Inside-Out
A Self-Practice/Self-Reflection Workbook for Therapists
Russell L Kolts, Tobyn Bell, James Bennett-Levy, and Chris Irons
To purchase a copy head to https://tinyurl.com/y8mvpbbf
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Healing from Trauma with Compassion
How would you live if you were able to live the life you chose, a life lived without fear?
Dr Deborah Lee, Head of Berkshire Traumatic Stress Service and South Central Veteran’s Service in the UK, asked participants to reflect on this thought provoking question during her recent Australian workshop and keynote address at the University of Queensland’s Compassion Symposium in September 2018.
My own response to this question did not relate to physical courage – despite having a fear of heights. I did not imagine suddenly taking up sky-diving or abseiling, or tightrope walking. Instead, I imagined what it would be like to live without social fear - to not worry about the judgement of others, and whether or not I would be accepted and valued by them. I thought about how it would change the choices I made if I no longer worried what other people thought of me. It was clear, my life would be quite different!
As Dr Lee explained, the fear of how we are perceived by others has an evolutionary function. We are highly social organisms and the threat of being rejected by and disconnected from other members of our group results in us perpetually monitoring our place within the broader social system.
We Are Wired for Connection and Belonging
So what does this mean for people who have experienced interpersonal trauma or as Dr Lee framed it, those who have been “hurt and harmed at the hands of others”. If we are wired for connection and belonging, how do we make sense of experiences that involve other members of our social group, especially those who are closest to us, when they act in ways that violate our safety, freedom, and dignity.
Unfortunately, the way many people who have been harmed by others make sense of this experience is to blame themselves and to carry with them a burden of shame and self-loathing. This leaves them feeling alone and disconnected from others. When you believe you are shameful, it is easy to assume that others will think the same of you.
Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Experiences of interpersonal trauma can lead to the development of Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder PTSD). The 11th edition of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11, World Health Organisation, 2018) [1] defines Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder as “a disorder that may develop following exposure to an event or series of events of an extremely threatening or horrific nature, most commonly prolonged or repetitive events from which escape is difficult or impossible (e.g., torture, slavery, genocide campaigns, prolonged domestic violence, repeated childhood sexual or physical abuse).”
Dr Lee highlighted the sobering reality that consistent with this definition, complex PTSD is entirely preventable. It only exists because another person (or people) made a choice to cause harm, quite often during formative periods of development, resulting in physiological and psychological changes to the way someone perceives and relates to themselves, others, and the world around them.
These experiences can leave those who have been harmed with debilitating symptoms, including the re-experiencing of the traumatic event/s in the form of flashbacks and nightmares, avoidance behaviours to reduce exposure to any reminder of the original traumatic content, and hyperarousal due to chronic activation of the fight/flight system. Additionally, complex PTSD involves severe and pervasive problems relating to managing difficult emotions, relationship stress and negative self-perception.
Is Compassion the Antidote?
In her workshop for health professionals, Dr Lee demonstrated through empirical evidence, reinforced by insightful case studies, and experiential exercises how Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT) has the potential to effectively respond to the debilitating impacts of complex PTSD. As Dr Lee explained, calm minds think differently, and CFT facilitates this process. Unlike a traumatised mind, which maintains a state of fear and shame, a compassionate mind responds to suffering with kindness, courage, warmth, wisdom, and strength. In other words, Dr Lee suggested a compassionate mind perspective recalibrates the brain and body to develop the skills that are linked to resilience and well-being. These are skills that would have been present for survivors of interpersonal trauma had it not been for the experiences they endured through no fault of their own.
Whilst complex PTSD is indeed preventable, Dr Lee’s workshop helped participants develop a sense of hope and encouragement that it is also treatable. If the cause of complex PTSD is characterised by a lack of compassion, the provision and cultivation of compassion may offer the perfect antidote to promote healing.
Dr Lee started her Australian workshop by acknowledging the pivotal moment she attended training facilitated by the founder of Compassion-Focused Therapy, Dr Paul Gilbert, and how it changed the way she understood and worked with clients who had experienced interpersonal trauma. I have no doubt that anyone who attended her Australian workshop and/or keynote address will be recalling their experience in the same way, would have been transformed in the way they work, and inspired by her warmth, wisdom, and passion.
- Lisa McLean, Compassionate Mind Australia
[1] Retrieved from https://icd.who.int/browse11/l-m/en#/http://id.who.int/icd/entity/585833559
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Physical representation of the ‘3 circles’: L-R: Dr James Kirby, Dr Stan Steindl, and Dr Deborah Lee
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University of Queensland Compassion Symposium 2018, Keynote Address
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Upcoming Events
Compassion is going mainstream!
The Australian Association for Cognitive and Behaviour Therapy (AACBT) 39th National Conference is on this Thursday 25th October to Saturday 27th October with the theme "CBT in a Transdiagnostic and Transmechanistic World" at Royal on the Park, Brisbane.
There are two CFT focused workshops included in the line up - one as a pre-conference workshop in Brisbane, and then offered again in Adelaide as part of the AACBT National Workshop Series. Details are:
An Introduction to Compassion-Focused Therapy
James Bennett-Levy & Tobyn Bell
24th October, St Lucia, QLD
&
2nd November, Adelaide, SA
This workshop will introduce the core principles and practices of CFT which include an evolutionary functional analysis of emotions, a formulation of threat-based experiences and protective behaviours, the use of compassionate imagery to stimulate soothing and affiliation, and the development of the ‘compassionate self’. Participants will be guided in experiential exercises with a focus on developing compassion for both themselves and their clients. The workshop will also provide participants with an opportunity to formulate and address self-criticism using CFT interventions.
We are aware of a few opportunities coming up later in the year so make sure you regularly check out our events page at https://www.compassionatemind.org.au/new-events/
If you are interested in deepening your own personal practice, our events page lists a number of retreats happening in the latter half of 2018, including:
Heart Teachings for a Troubled World: 7 Day Retreat with B. Alan Wallace
5th-11th November, Abbotsford, VIC
During this 7 day urban retreat, B. Alan Wallace, one of the foremost meditation teachers of modern times, will give teachings and experiential guidance on Buddhism’s four heart practices — the cultivation of loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity.
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Cultivating Mindful Compassion and Resilience
Byron bay, NSW
13th - 14th October
Mal Huxter
Sliding scale based on an honesty system of self-assessment of income and affordability.
For more information and to register - https://tinyurl.com/yckvmzem
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Compassionate Supervision: Enhancing Supervision with Compassion-Focused Therapy
Lismore, NSW
30th October
Tobyn Bell
Cost (for qualified clinicians): $66
For more information and to register - https://tinyurl.com/y8o3bky8
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Do you have an upcoming workshop or training? Contact us at info@compassionatemind.org.au to find out about our very affordable advertising packages, which include advertising in upcoming newsletters, on our website and on our facebookk page.
Don't miss out!
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