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Free Compassion Audio Tracks

Psychology Tools For Developing Self-Compassion is a 30-track audio collection which guides clients through an empirically-supported programme of compassionate mind training (CMT). This skills-development program is designed for those who struggle with self-criticism, shame, self-esteem, or any other consequences of living with a tricky brain.

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What Is Compassion, Why Do I Need It, And How Might It Help Me?

Voice Tone

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Languages this resource is available in

  • English (GB)

Techniques associated with this resource

Introduction & Theoretical Background

The concept of compassion is frequently misunderstood. Amongst practitioners of compassion focused therapy (CFT), compassion is often defined as “a sensitivity to the suffering of self and others, with a commitment to relieve and prevent it”. This definition has two important parts. The first psychology of compassion involves being sensitive to and engaging in distress, whether in ourselves or someone else. The second psychology of compassion involves a commitment to skillfully relieve distress, and to prevent suffering from returning.

What Is Compassion, Why Do I Need It, And How Might It Help Me? is a track taken from the Psychology Tools For Developing Self-Compassion audio collection. In this introductory track, Dr Chris Irons conducts a broad exploration into how and why human beings suffer, what compassion is, and its roots in the human motive of caregiving. He introduces compassion focused therapy, from which this compassionate mind training (CMT) program is drawn.

One of the aims of CFT and CMT is to activate and develop the soothing system, as this allows us to counteract the effects and stresses of the threat and drive systems. In simple terms, when the soothing system is active, we are more inclined to feel and give compassion. Like any practical skill, however, the soothing system is developed and strengthened through training and practice.

The Voice Tone exercise is a track taken from the Psychology Tools For Developing Self-Compassion audio collection. Care-giving and soothing received from others is often associated with particular behaviors and voice tones. Similarly, threatening and self-critical behaviors are associated with particular voice tones. Training ourselves to adopt behaviors that we associate with compassion, kindness, and care-giving can have the effect of increasing our ability to self-soothe. In this exercise, the listener is guided to speak some short phrases using different tones of voice and to reflect upon their felt sense when they feel these phrases ‘land’ when delivered in different tones of voice.

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 for use 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 to send them the file 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 Psychology53(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 practice94(3), 443-463.
  • Leboeuf, I., Andreotti, E., Irons, C., Beaumont, E., & Antoine, P. (2022). A randomized controlled study of a French compassionate mind training. Mindfulness13(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. Mindfulness12(5), 1159-1172.