The Compassionate Mind

The Compassionate Mind is essentially an amalgam of different psychological strands brought together with the central tenet of discovering more compassion for the way you lead your life, often over-looked and confused in the western hemisphere with building self-esteem. At the same time - as the title might suggest - the book leaves you with the feeling that it is much greater than the sum of its parts, especially in its delving into key aspects of Buddhism.A crucial outlining at the start, are the three evolutionary emotional regulation systems that form the way our brains and subconscious minds work via archetypes or social mentalities. They are influenced by culture/nurture (i.e. our phenotype) and nature (i.e. our genotype) making each person's wiring-up a unique conscious experience. The three systems are labelled self-threat/protection, incentive/resource and soothing/contentment. Gaining insights into the negative traits of these three distinct areas of the brain is a very useful exercise, especially in how the rush of hormones associated with each of them make repeat experiences almost inevitable. Knowing this greatly infects the 'be easy on yourself' approach that is a crucial part of the joy in reading this book.As well as concentrating on personal self-acceptance and well-being there are also insights into how compassion can be a healthy part of any organisation. It is interesting to read examples of Paul Gilbert's recent experiences of working in the NHS which has adopted the business model. In particular to see the effects of over-systematising the incentive and protection systems at the expense of human kindness that eventually becomes self-defeating and emotionally unsustainable. As Gilbert puts it, a singular quest for greater efficiencies can "play havoc with our minds, morale and ability to develop cooperative working relationships." He then goes on to describe that "managers who are only results focused...and who can't inspire people to do their best, end up wasting money.. and a team of the lesser talented is likely to beat one made up of those who are more gifted but are treated as marketable objects who don't cooperate." Maybe an explanation for Team England and their abject performance at the 2010 football World Cup?In analysing the evolutionary triune brain and the unique signature of wires which have become crossed between the various parts (to quote Hebb's famous rule that "neurons that fire together, wire together) the reader is guided through the traps of evolutionary inheritance. The positive underlying message, however, is that a course of mindfulness, appreciation, curiosity and compassion can become antidotes to our automatically programmed social mentalities, and the latter half of the book is devoted to outlining and building the compassionate Self via a series of skills and exercises.A key chapter in self-building is entitled from 'Self-criticism to Self-compassion' which I found the most useful especially in its distinction between shame and guilt with regard to transgressions, and self-esteem versus self-criticism: "..self-esteem tends to increase when you are doing well - it focuses on getting ahead of others, and is rather self-focused. Self-compassion concentrates on how we treat ourselves (and others) when things are going badly".There are so many gems of wisdom in this book that it is hard to credibly summarise the reading experience, only to say that a life-changing work for individuals and groups isn't far off the mark.

As a Christian I hesitated for weeks before buying this book having read some of the reviews about the way this book deals with Christian topics. When I read this book I felt that it dealt very well with the spiritual aspect of our lifes. Bear in mind that very few self help books are even courageous enough to deal with the issue of religion. At no point does Paul Gilbert suggest that you should or should not take one point of view, he simply describes his interpretation of the holy books and the strong points and weak points of different religions from his point of view as a psychologist. Also the challenges that committing to a certain faith can present. He makes no secret of his position and makes it clear that it is his position.In life we will always come across others of different faiths, as Christians we have to be strong enough to listen to other positions and yet stay strong in our own faith, just as anyone of any religion or of no religion does. I have found this book immensely helpful in understanding a loved one who has suffered from severe depression and with my own struggle to be truly compassionate. It also reminded me of the courage we are intstructed to have as Christians and also of how the bible is full of compassion for ourselves, our loved ones and our enemies. Luke 23:34 for example. Similarly I learned mindfulness, which many see as a Buddhist tradition only to discover that the Christian faith and many others are equally full of the tradition to be still and silent for some time each day.If you are a Christian seeking help for you or a loved one I would not hesitate to buy this book as I did. I wish I'd bought it sooner. Keep your faith always at the centre of things and I'm certain you will find help both from God and from this book. If you are not a Christian, this book will certainly help you and you need not think that it has any emphasis on religion. It does not, I think it just sparks a debate precisely because it is bold enough to deal with the issues. Word of warning though, I would agree the first half is not for the faint hearted, it all comes good in the second though, which makes you realise it was worth the effort.

Firstly, I'm very sorry this has vanished from the Kindle - I have just finished reading mine ON the Kindle, so at some point last month it was available on download.In many ways, the book has two audiences, which Gilbert has condensed into one : those who are particularly interested in neurobiology, and an examination of society, spirituality and altruism from an evolutionary angle, and those who might be looking at a practical approach involving an enhanced fusion of CBT and compassionate mindful meditation in order to deal with anxiety, depression and anger. And I can quite clearly see that the magnificent laying out of the first half of the book, where Gilbert explains the evolution of the classic fight, flight, and seeking/reward activities of the the sympathetic nervous system, and the ameliorating/consolidating activities of the parasympathetic nervous system is going to be extremely helpful to those who are reading the book in order to engage with the practical and self help exercises.However, it made for a very long (and very repetitious) read for someone interested in the former, who already uses aspects of the latter. On one level I was tempted to stop reading at the end of Part 1, - except that I realised that there was more interesting Part 1 type material buried within Part 2.And I completely understand the value of the Part 2 material being endlessly repetitive about bringing the image of your compassionate person/self to mind, sitting with the smile, journalling etc etc. Except that this wasn't the book I wanted to read.I do think that Gilbert has a great, warm, personal and good humoured writing style, cites his references well, backs up everything meticulously, but personally, so wished he had edited the book in such a way that all the neurobiology, ethics, philosophy and analysis had been condensed into one place in Part 1, and Part 2 been purely based on the practical aspects and exercises.I fear that those who have picked up this book in order to get to the exercises may never have got there, if they were uninterested in the theoretical and scientific analysis, and those, like me, who were interested in the former, needing no exercises because of prior practice in some other way, may have missed much interesting Part 1 type info which is still being given in Part 2 because of speed-reading to find Part 1 nuggets in Part 2, and trying to avoid the repetition.

I'm a psychotherapist (UKCP registered) and CBT practitioner myself and I've been fortunate enough to hear Prof. Gilbert speak about his approach. (I remember my ears pricked up at his references to Pink Floyd, not referenced in this book, but we learn he's also a Star Trek fan, adding flashes of personality to a potentially quite academic subject.) His emphasis on compassion does seem to address a weakness in "traditional" CBT, especially for certain traumatised or depressed clients. It's also closely linked to the whole mindfulness-based orientation. My special interst is in Stoic philosophy which I was pleased to see Prof. Gilbert discusses briefly, but favourably, throughout chapter 9, recognising the similarities with Oriental Buddhist practices. I see this as a form of CBT that will appeal more to humanistic therapists and also, with its references to Jungian archetypes and Bowlby's attachment theory, to psychodynamic therapists who find themselves becoming involved with the cognitive-behavioural field. There's also a notable emphasis on what evolutionary psychology tells us about our brain and emotions. However, although it's quite thick (nearly 600 pages!) this is an engaging book, easy to read, and bound to be immensely helpful both to therapists and clients, as it's written in what I would call a popular science or self-help style and intended to be used as a practical guide to cultivating therapeutic compassion and self-acceptance for one's own wellbeing.Donald Robertson, author of,The Philosophy of Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT): Stoic Philosophy as Rational and Cognitive PsychotherapyThe Discovery of Hypnosis: The Complete Writings of James Braid the Father of HypnotherapyThe Practice of Cognitive-Behavioural Hypnotherapy

Really helpful book to read.

This book is more for those who are in depth studiers rather than someone wanting a quick fix. Some good stories qnd ideas here . My stumble block was the author is clearly an atheist so is unable to really explain why we are like we are. He grapples and blindly feels in the dark for an explanation and hope.Although I agree that 'religion' has its issues; I personally, through having a belief and relationship in and with Jesus Christ; and the bibles explanations of sin and fallen mankind , feel I can see why we don't always have the compassion we should. If you truly have the spirit of God in your life,compassion and love will be there . No 'working' at it. Despite this there are some good exercises to help develop a compassionate mind . A very long book .

As a recently qualified therapist, I decided to read a little around Compassion Focused Therapy and came across the work of Paul Gilbert. Then I found this book and I am elated that I did, it was longer than I expected, 500 pages but that only makes ir even better value for money.As an introduction, this book is fantastic and relevant. It has enspired me, both personally and professional as a therapist. It benefits from being well writen and well-informed so if you are looking to do a little self development or simply fancy an easy, interesting read on Compassion and how to bring it into your life- this is the book for you. I was sad to finish it and will certainly be purchasing more of Paul Gilbert's books.

Prof Gilbert's curious mixture of neuropsychology with Buddhist thought was exactly what I needed when I felt 'stuck' in my therapeutic process. Some people can just get on with it - others need to understand what's going on in their mind, before being able to fix it. I'm among the latter. In explaining how evolution shaped our brains, and how traumatic experiences can set up very deep interactions with the oldest and most basic instincts, he unlocked the secrets of why I continue(d) to feel inappropriately strong reactions to certain things. He went on to explain why he chose the Buddhist values of compassionate wisdom to nourish the 'new' brain and calm the 'old'. I will be working the exercises in this book for life; it's that good!There are many other, less taxing, books and CDs for compassionate mindfulness, which may suit most others. There are also one or two that expound the science even more thoroughly. I hope I've helped readers to decide whether Gilbert's approach is right for them, as for me.

Best

In this book, British Psychologist Paul Gilbert formally introduces us to the model that underlies his treatment model,Compassion-Focused Therapy. This book serves both as an introduction to the Compassionate Mind model and as a self-help book of sorts. In my perspective, this is a book that will benefit anyone who reads it, and will particularly benefit individuals struggling with issues of depression, anxiety, anger, or shame, clinicians in psychology or other helping fields, or anyone else who is generally interested in understanding their minds better and working with them in the pursuit of a happy life.The Compassionate Mind model operates from a premise that should be the basis of any valid psychology: that in order to work effectively with our minds and emotions, we need to understand something about how and why they work the way they do. In 'The Compassionate Mind,' Gilbert skillfully weaves together evolutionary psychology, affective neuroscience, cognitive psychology, and recent psychology applications of Buddhist mindfulness and compassion practices into a model which helps us understand that many of our problems originate in the very ways our brains evolved, and the ways in which they fit with modern life. The reader learns about the evolution of our threat systems and how they predispose us to difficult emotions that evolved to protect us but which have a troublesome fit with both our new brain capacities for fantasy and rumination and the cultural dynamics of modern life. In doing so, Gilbert makes a case for compassion that is both unique and powerful: not only, as the Dalai Lama suggests, is the cultivation of compassion good for us; it is also the only response that makes sense when we observe the difficult fit between our evolved minds and the demands of our lives.However, this model isn't just about understanding why our minds are so difficult to manage. It presents a theoretical model of emotion based in the neuroscience of affiliation which shows us how to work with them, and fully half of the book is dedicated to exercises for doing so. 'The Compassionate Mind' model teaches us how to work with our soothing/affiliative systems to bring balance to our affective responding, with particular emphasis given to mindfulness and the cultivation of self-compassion. One really nice thing about Gilbert's approach is that it is both deeply explanatory and intensely pragmatic - he wants us to understand our minds, but at the end of the day, his business is giving us practical tools for working with them. He does all of this in his friendly, conversational tone, so that it feels less like a dense read than a pleasant chat over a cup of tea, or perhaps a glass of red wine.Rather than writing a book in the attempt to capture this one, I'll simply state that if you've bothered to read this, you owe it to yourself to buy this book. While written for the general reader, it is also a wonderful read for clinicians who would like a friendly introduction to the Compassionate Mind model, which provides the basis for Compassion-Focused Therapy. For those who've read the above and note that there are already plenty of therapy models based upon Mindfulness and compassionate acceptance, I'd like to say that in my view, Compassion-Focused Therapy is not another "therapy model" per se, and seemingly doesn't seek to add itself to the already dizzying list of Empirically Supported Treatment models (although it certainly is the subject of much evolving empirical work); rather, CFT provides a frame for understanding and approaching psychological functioning generally and emotional difficulties in particular. As such, it provides a unifying framework that is compatible with many empirically-based therapy approaches, while providing therapists and clients with a better understanding of the way our minds work and a model for working with them effectively. In doing so, it introduces new ways of working with our clients (for example, the purposeful cultivation of compassion for oneself and others), and couches already-proven methods in a context of warmth and a theoretical understanding of affective functioning that may very well enhance their effectiveness. In my opinion, if you're looking to ride the "third wave" of therapy, this may very well be the longboard of choice. Enjoy!

Book was in perfect condition.

It’s a must read when diving in self compassion. Paul Gilbert takes time to explore ideas from the evolutionary perspective of the most common human experience: suffering.

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