A Memory Of Caring For Others
A Memory Of Caring For Others is an exercise taken from the Psychology Tools For Developing Self-Compassion audio collection. In CFT, imagery and memories are used to help build both the soothing system and our compassionate minds. In this exercise, the listener is guided to recall an occasion when they were caring, kind, and compassionate to somebody else.
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A therapy audio track designed for skills development.
Audio script (PDF)
The script for a therapy audio track. Read along with an exercise, or record in your own voice.
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Introduction & Theoretical Background
There is much research showing that imagery can have an enormously powerful effect on our minds and bodies. In CFT, imagery and memories are used to help build both the soothing system and our compassionate minds. It’s worth noting that imagery and memories encompass not only visual images, but information from our other senses as well, such as sounds, smells, tastes and feelings.
A Memory Of Caring For Others is an exercise taken from the Psychology Tools For Developing Self-Compassion audio collection. Research has consistently found that caring for others can lead to a variety of important physiological and psychological changes. For example, studies have found that when we care for others, it helps us to feel more connected and happy, and leads to better physical health. We can use our memories of times that we’ve acted like this to re-stimulate the pattern of our compassion inside of us, and therefore cultivate and strengthen our compassionate minds.
Therapist Guidance
The Psychology Tools For Developing Self-Compassion audio collection is for anyone who wants to learn more about the ideas and practices of compassion focused therapy. It has been designed to be versatile, so it is suitable to support work with therapists who have been trained in compassion focused therapy, or to be used as a stand-alone collection of exercises. To assist the integration of the exercises into their clinical work, therapists can download the scripts for each exercise and use them in-session.
Individual tracks from the audio collection can be downloaded as .MP3 files, which can be played in most media player apps.
The simplest way to share an audio track with your clients is by using the Psychology Tools ‘Email a client’ function. After obtaining their consent, you can send it directly from this page by clicking ‘Send securely to my client’. Your client will receive a secure email containing a unique link, and when they click the link, they will be prompted to download the .MP3 file onto their device.
References And Further Reading
- Gilbert, P. (2014). The origins and nature of compassion focused therapy. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 53(1), 6-41.
- Gilbert, P. (2020). Compassion: From its evolution to a psychotherapy. Frontiers in Psychology, 3123.
- Irons, C., & Beaumont, E. (2017). The compassionate mind workbook: A step-by-step guide to developing your compassionate self. Robinson.
- Irons, C., & Heriot‐Maitland, C. (2021). Compassionate Mind Training: An 8‐week group for the general public. Psychology and psychotherapy: Theory, research and practice, 94(3), 443-463.
- Leboeuf, I., Andreotti, E., Irons, C., Beaumont, E., & Antoine, P. (2022). A randomized controlled study of a French compassionate mind training. Mindfulness, 13(11), 2891-2903.
- Savari, Y., Mohagheghi, H., & Petrocchi, N. (2021). A preliminary investigation on the effectiveness of compassionate mind training for students with major depressive disorder: A randomized controlled trial. Mindfulness, 12(5), 1159-1172.