
An Introduction to Compassion Focused Therapy – Dr Chris Irons, PhD
Sep 12, 2021
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CFT Is An Integrative, Evolutionary Model
- Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT) is an integrative, evolutionarily informed model rather than just a CBT 'third wave' technique.
- CFT textures common therapeutic methods by centering compassion as the organizing lens for relationship, formulation, and interventions.
The Head–Heart Lag Example
- Chris recounts clients who update beliefs but still 'feel' wrong despite cognitive change.
- He labels this phenomenon the 'head-heart lag' or rational-emotional dissociation blocking therapeutic gains.
Tone Determines Whether Words Land
- Emotional tone (the inner voice) can make rational alternatives land or be stripped of helpfulness.
- Paul Gilbert discovered that many clients needed training to generate compassionate voice tones because warmth was blocked or aversive.
