The Compassionate Mind

Front Cover
Little, Brown Book Group, Jun 1, 2009 - Psychology - 672 pages

'Wise and perceptive. [It] teaches self-compassion and the consolations of kindness. I recommend it.'
SALLY BRAMPTON, author of Shoot the Damn Dog


DEVELOP YOUR FEELINGS OF COMPASSION AND INCREASE YOUR SENSE OF WELL-BEING

In societies that encourage us to compete with each other, compassion is often seen as a weakness. Striving to get ahead, self-criticism, fear, and hostility towards others seem to come more naturally to us.

The Compassionate Mind explains the evolutionary and social reasons why our brains react so readily to threats - and reveals how our brains are also hardwired to respond to kindness and compassion.

Research has found that developing kindness and compassion for ourselves and others builds our confidence, helps us create meaningful, caring relationships and promotes physical and mental health. Far from fostering emotional weakness, practical exercises focusing on developing compassion have been found to subdue our anger and increase our courage and resilience to depression and anxiety.

'As one of Britain's most insightful psychologists, Gilbert illuminates the power of compassion in our lives.'
OLIVER JAMES, AUTHOR OF AFFLUENZA

 

Contents

Acknowledgements
Introduction
Part I
The start of our journey
The Challenges of Life
Placing Ourselves in the Flow of Life
The good the bad and the really difficult
The two types of good feelings and your compassionate mind
Part II
Mindful Preparations on the Road to Compassion
Compassionate Mind Training through Imagery
Compassionate Thinking
From Selfcriticism to Selfcompassion
Working with anxiety anger and forgiveness
The cultivation of courage
Expressing the Compassionate Mind

Compassion in the Context of Old and New Brains and Minds

Other editions - View all

Common terms and phrases

About the author (2009)

PAUL GILBERT is professor of clinical psychology at the University of Derby and, until his retirement from the NHS in 2016, was consultant clinical psychologist at the Derbyshire Health Care Foundation Trust. He has researched evolutionary approaches to psychopathology for over 40 years with a special focus on the roles of mood, shame and self-criticism in various mental health difficulties for which compassion focused therapy was developed. He has written and edited many books on psychology, therapy, and compassion. He was awarded an OBE by the Queen in March 2011 for services to mental health.