Using Compassion Focused Therapy to work with Shame Based Trauma & Complex PTSD

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Clients who have repeatedly experienced hurt and harm at the hands of others, often struggle to function in a social world, where interpersonal relating is a daily challenge. As well as distressing symptoms of PTSD which includes flashbacks hyperarousal and avoidance, they may struggle with profound self- loathing,lack of trust, pervasive sense of danger, interpersonal difficulties, affect regulation and altered states of consciousness. The emotional context of their lives is often overwhelmed by intense shame states, linked to social threat and experienced through difficulties functioning both intra and interpersonally.   Compassion focused therapy (Professor Paul Gilbert, 2005,2009) pays attention to the physiological, psychological and social relating aspects of human experience because of being traumatised and offers a useful therapeutic approach for people with CPTSD. Those with CPTSD struggle with affect regulation (physiological), self-loathing (psychological) and interpersonal difficulties (social relating). Recent expert consensus (published by the UK Psychological Trauma Society, 2019)recommends Compassion Focused Therapy as part of a phased treatment approach for Complex PTSD and this 3-day workshop will explore how to use CFT to develop compassionate resilience as part of this phased based approach which also focuses on bringing a compassionate lens to trauma narratives.

Specifically,this 2- day workshop explores an evolutionary understanding of shame from social mentality theory (Gilbert, 2005). This roots our understanding of trauma and it’s impact on human development in the biopsychosocial science of human nature and suffering.  Drawing on the 7 key processes of CFT adapted to trauma work, the workshop will explore our understanding of compassion as amotivation, an antidote to shame states, as it fosters a physiological state of safeness as well as orientating the mind to be care giving as opposed to self-loathing (Gilbert, 2009). We will discuss how we can foster clients’ basic motivation to be compassionate to enhance compassion for self and others. We will also discuss how we use compassionate practices such as breath work, meditation,and imagery to develop an embodied sense of safeness (Lee, 2022, Lee & James, 2013).  We will also explore how we can then use compassionate states of mind to de-shame trauma memories, promote grief process,how to develop a compassionate narrative and update shame-based trauma memories, and facilitate emotional processing of trauma experiences, within a CFT framework treatment programme.  We will explore how we can foster  cultivation & adaptation of compassionate version of self to help clients live a values based life.

The workshop will include, didactic teaching, role play demonstrations and roleplay practise. Please bring clients in mind and case material to use in roleplays. A basic knowledge of CFT is important as this workshop will focus on howto apply CFT to working with trauma and PTSD.  The teaching assumes assume basic knowledge and practice of CFT and therapeutic skills.