Compassionate Mind Training: An 8‐week group for the general public
Abstract
Objectives There is an increasing interest in how compassion training, and in particular, the cultivation of self-compassion may be an important component in the reduction of distress and promotion of well-being. Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT) has shown promising results in this area, with positive outcome studies in a wide range of mental health problems. However, following the successful development of short mindfulness-based programmes (e.g., Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction and Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy) and compassion/self-compassion programmes (e.g., Mindful Self-Compassion) that can be accessed by the general public, we were keen to develop and research an 8-week Compassionate Mind Training (CMT) course, based on the CFT model. Design Within-subjects pre-to-post-group comparison. Methods Following an 8-week CMT groups, participants in the general population (n = 55) completed pre- and post-measures (with 22 of these also providing 3-month follow-up data) on self-compassion, compassion for others, compassion from others, attachment, self-criticism, positive emotion, well-being, and distress. Results Significant increases in compassion, self-reassurance, social rank, positive emotions, and well-being were found, alongside reductions in self-criticism, attachment anxiety, and distress. Changes were maintained at 3-month follow-up. Change scores indicated the importance of increases in self-compassion and reductions in self-criticism in overall improvements i…
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- Authors
- Irons, C., & Heriot‐Maitland, C.
- Affiliations
- Balanced Minds London UK
- Corresponding author
- Irons, Chris
- Venue
- Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2020-11-22
- Volume
- 94
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 443-463
- ISSN
- 1476-0835 (ISSN-L)
- 2044-8341
- OpenAlex
- W3108961149
- Cited by
- 79
- References
- 26
- Citations by year
- 2026: 11 · 2025: 16 · 2024: 14 · 2023: 15 · 2022: 12 · 2021: 10
- FWCI
- 3.70
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Psychology and Psychotherapy Theory Research and Practice (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction
- Social Sciences › Health › Religion, Spirituality, and Psychology
- Keywords
- compassionate mind training, compassion-focused therapy, self-compassion, compassion for others, self-criticism, attachment anxiety, well-being, psychological distress, positive emotions, self-reassurance, social rank, group therapy, community mental health, mindfulness training
- MeSH terms
- Anxiety, Empathy, Humans, Psychotherapy, Group, Self-Assessment, Mindfulness
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