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Slide 2 * Two psychologies at work: sensitivity to suffering, and motivation to help. * Compassion begins by approaching suffering. * In Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT), compassion begins with understanding how our brains and minds work. Slide 3 Hope Comforting Love in Bondage courtesy of the Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery Collections, Birmingham, UK Artist: Sidney Harold Meteyard, 1901 Slide 4 Slide 5 Fight, Flight, Sex, Hunt, Territoriality Kin caring/affection, alliances, play, social communications Symbolic thought, self- awareness, empathy, metacognition Frontal Cortex Empathic brain - key for emotion regulation As our brains evolved, different strategies, motives and competencies evolved with them: Slide 6 * The emotional brain isnt good at distinguishing between input from environment and imagery, thoughts, and fantasies. * This is why we can stay angry for hours or days and our dogs dont Slide 7 Understanding our Emotions Emotions evolved to guide us to our goals and respond if we are succeeding or threatened. There are three types of emotion: 1. Those that focus on threat and self- protection 2. Those that focus on doing and achieving 3. Those that focus on contentment and feeling safe Slide 8 Types of Emotion System Wanting, pursuing, achieving, consuming Excitement, Lust, Ambition Safeness kindnessContent/Peaceful Soothing Anger, Fear, Anxiety, Disgust The Threat System The Drive System The Safeness System Slide 9 Our Old, Emotional Brains are Biased toward Feeling Threatened In species without attachment only 1-2% make it to adulthood. Threats are everywhere. At birth individuals must be able to go it alone. Our Ancestors Survival depended on efficiently detecting and responding to threats. Slide 10 Slide 11 Attention ThinkingReasoning Behaviour MotivationEmotions Imagery Fantasy Anger Slide 12 Threat System Protection and Safety-seeking Anger Body/feelings Tense Heart increase Pressure to act Anger Attention/Thinkin g Narrow-focused Transgression/blo ck Scan search Behaviour Increase activity Aggressive displays Attack Slide 13 Excited Body/feelings Activation Heart increase Pressure to act Disrupt sleep Attention/Thinking Narrow-focused Acquiring Exploring Behaviour Approach Engage Socialise Restless Celebrating Drive System Wanting, pursuing, achieving, consuming Activating Slide 14 Well-being Body/feelings Calm Slow Well-being Content Attention/Thinking Open-focused Reflective Prosocial Behaviour Peaceful Gentle Prosocial Non-wanting/ Connection-focused Safeness-kindness Soothing Slide 15 Slide 16 * Our social orientation toward others * Social motives can organize the mind in very powerful ways * Defensive * Competitive * Caregiving Slide 17 Attention ThinkingReasoning Behaviour MotivationEmotions Imagery Fantasy Defensive Slide 18 Attention ThinkingReasoning Behaviour MotivationEmotions Competitive Slide 19 Attention ThinkingReasoning Behaviour MotivationEmotions Compassionat e Slide 20 Slide 21 Shape how we experience others: * Kind vs Harsh * Consistent vs Unpredictable * Available vs Unavailable * Trustworthy vs Dangerous Shape how we experience ourselves: * Worthy of kindness/love/nurturing? Slide 22 Slide 23 Slide 24 Theres something wrong with me. * We have unlimited access to our own internal experiences, and very limited access to those of others. (I feel like a wreck, but they seem to be doing alright!) * Evolution shaped us to be very concerned about how we exist in the minds of others. Slide 25 Slide 26 Slide 27 * Kind interactions turn down threat responses in the brain. * Working for others happiness makes us happier than working for our own. * Self-compassion is more associated with happiness than is self-esteem. Slide 28 * Building mindful awareness. * Develop capacity to soothe to help ourselves and others feel safe. * Cultivation of compassion toward others and self. * Developing courage to take responsibility and work with difficulties. * The cultivation of compassionate strengths, and an image of the self as a compassionate person. Slide 29 * paying attention, in the present moment, nonjudgmentally, and on purpose. Benefits of Mindfulness * Builds capacity to use attention skillfully. * Trains us to notice movement in the mind notice thoughts and emotions as they arise. * Reframes thoughts and emotions as mental experiences. * Increases distress tolerance learning to stay. Slide 30 Hope Comforting Love in Bondage by Sidney Harold Meteyard; Used with kind permission from the Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery, Birmingham, England. Slide 31 Slide 32 * Slow down the breath: 4-5 seconds on the in-breath, hold for a moment, 4-5 seconds on the outbreath. * Focus the attention on sensation of slowing slowing down the body, slowing down the mind. * 30 sec.-1 min, several times per day Slide 33 * Many people may never have truly felt safe. It is crucial that we help them get those brain systems online to help them learn to feel safe. * Frozen shrimp metaphor * We can start this process by creating the causes and conditions in which feeling safe is possible starting with our relationship to the person. Slide 34 * Helping to develop a version of ourselves that has deeply compassionate qualities: * Kindness * The courage and confidence to take responsibility and face difficulties * Wisdom * This builds compassionate patterns in the brain. Slide 35 Hope Comforting Love in Bondage by Sidney Harold Meteyard; Used with kind permission from the Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery, Birmingham, England. Slide 36 Compassion Training in CFT Imagery Attention Reasoning Feeling Behaviour Sensory Care for well-being Sensitivity Sympathy Distress tolerance Empathy Non-Judgement Compassion ATTRIBUTES SKILLS -TRAINING Warmth Slide 37 Attention ThinkingReasoning Behaviour MotivationEmotions Imagery Fantasy Compassion Slide 38 The Compassionate Self In Action * From this perspective, how would you understand this situation? Feel? Think? Work with it? * How would you relate to the other people in this situation? * If you could go back to a previous difficult situation and whisper in your own ear, what would you say? What would you want that version of you to really understand? Slide 39 Compassionate Motivation: Connecting with the sort of person Id like to be * Compassionate Reasoning: * What sort of person do I want to be? * What do I want my life to be about? * If it were my funeral, and I had lived the life I wanted to live, what would I hope that people would say about me? Slide 40 Compassionate reasoning: when we observe ourselves or others struggling or acting erratically, * Instead of judging and labeling, seek to understand: * How does it make sense that they/I might feel/act this way? * What might be going on in their/my mind? Slide 41 With compassion, we allow ourselves to soften - to be moved by the pain and suffering of ourselves and others, and ask questions: Given this, what would be helpful? What does she need to feel safe? Slide 42 Compassion tends to flow naturally when we feel safe, and is almost impossible when we dont. Slide 43 The key is to keep shifting to the perspective of the Compassionate Self * From the perspective of my compassionate self, * How would I understand this situation? * What would I want to happen? * How would I feel about everyone in the situation? How might I empathize with them? With myself? * What would I want to do? What would I do? * The goal is to gradually establish this shift as a habit, so that the compassionate self gradually becomes a stronger aspect of who we are. Slide 44 Deepening Compassion: Compassion for Others * Everyone just wants to be happy and to not suffer. * Lovingkindness meditation * Everyone has a story that runs just as deep as mine. * Contemplating the unintended kindness of others. * Bring to mind again and again and again short periods, many times. Slide 45 Hope Comforting Love in Bondage by Sidney Harold Meteyard; Used with kind permission from the Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery, Birmingham, England.