Professor Paul Gilbert OBE – Founder and President

Paul Gilbert, FBPsS, PhD, OBE is Professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Derby and Consultant Clinical Psychologist at the Derbyshire Health Care Foundation Trust. He has researched evolutionary approaches to psychopathology for over 35 years with a special focus on shame and the treatment of shame based difficulties, for which compassion focused therapy (CFT) was developed. He has written and edited 20 books and established the Compassionate Mind Foundation in 2006. He was awarded an OBE in March 2011.

Ruby Wax OBE - Patron

Ruby Wax OBE was appointed as Patron of the Compassionate Mind Foundation in October 2015. 

Following her hugely successful career with BBC television as an interviewer and comedian, Ruby Wax has now turned her attention to the study of psychotherapy and neuroscience graduating from Oxford University in 2013 with a Master’s degree in Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy.  She is the author of the best-selling book Sane New World.  Described as a guide to saner living, Ruby explains how our minds can jeopardize our sanity, and that to break the cycle, we need to understand how our brains work, rewire our thinking and find calm in a frenetic world.  Her show of the same name, combines neuroscience, mindfulness and comedy, helping audiences to become the masters, not the slaves of their minds.  Sane New World has toured both internationally and in London’s West End.  She also founded  Black Dog Tribe, a social networking  site providing information and social support for people suffering with  mental health issues.  She presented her TedTalk at TedGlobal 2012  “What’s So Funny about Mental Illness”?,  Ruby’s most recent  bestselling book ‘A Mindfulness Guide for the Frazzled’ was published earlier this year and her new show of the same is on tour.  She was recently awarded an OBE for services to mental health.