The Compassionate Mind Foundation

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The Compassionate Mind Foundation

Set up in 2006, the Compassionate Mind Foundation aims to promote wellbeing through the scientific understanding and application of compassion.

08/06/2026

Do you work therapeutically with clients experiencing OCD?

Join us for Compassion Focused Therapy for OCD — a specialist workshop exploring how CFT can support work with obsessive compulsive difficulties.

We’ll look at:
🔹 intrusive thoughts, compulsions and associated fears
🔹 shame, self-criticism and responsibility fears in OCD
🔹 how threat-based loops become amplified
🔹 using a transdiagnostic CFT model to formulate OCD
🔹 helping clients respond more compassionately to difficult internal experiences

Ideal for therapists and practitioners with some prior knowledge of CFT who want to build confidence and strengthen their practice in this area.

📆 Wed 30 September, 09.30–13.30 (BST)
📍 Online
⬆️ Intermediate
🗣️ Lisa Williams
💳 £69

Find out more or book 👉
https://www.compassionatemind.co.uk/workshops/compassion-focused-therapy-for-ocd-sept-2026?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social_fb_organic&utm_campaign=ocd_sept_26

02/06/2026

Explore how Compassion Focused Therapy can support life with endometriosis

Endometriosis affects around 1 in 10 women and those assigned female at birth in the UK, yet the average diagnosis time is eight years, and individuals are frequently left navigating pain, uncertainty, and distress without adequate support.

Join Dr Kirsty Harris, Consultant Clinical Psychologist and author, for an insightful webinar as part of our Author Talks series - Living with Endometriosis.

Drawing on both her professional expertise and her lived experience of endometriosis, Kirsty will share how she learnt to understand and respond to the condition using Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT).

She will discuss her book, ‘Coping with Endometriosis – Bringing Compassion to Pain, Shame and Uncertainty’, which aims to help readers understand their experiences, manage emotional distress and develop a more compassionate and supportive relationship with themselves.

📆 Mon 20 July, 17.00 – 18.30 (BST)
📍Online I 🗣️Dr Kirsty Harris I 💳 £ Donation

These online sessions are charged on a donation basis and are open to all, whether you’re a mental health practitioner or want to better understand your own mental health and wellbeing.

Book now 👉 https://www.compassionatemind.co.uk/workshops/author-talk-living-with-endometriosis-with-dr-kirsty-harris?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social_fb_organic&utm_campaign=author_talk_endometriosis_jul_26

28/05/2026

🐦Don’t miss your chance to secure the lowest possible price for our 15th International CFT Conference with our early bird savings!

This year’s conference theme is ‘Compassion in Action’, with each day focusing on a different perspective, reflecting our biopsychosocial approach – and how we can put the wisdom and practice of compassion into action.

We will also be celebrating 20 years of the Compassionate Mind Foundation.

Join us!
📆12-15 Oct 2026
📍Millennium Point, Birmingham (UK) & Online via Livestream

Early Bird offer available until 31 July.

Book your ticket 👉 Link in comment

27/05/2026

🌿 Do you work with people experiencing perinatal distress?

Bringing a baby into the world is a profound journey—one filled with joy but also potentially mixed emotions and difficult experiences. Changes occur that can be helpful and wonderful but can also make us feel unsteady. Our mind at this time can be particularly important and powerful, both as parents and for our baby.

If you’re a mental health professional interested in learning how to support parents in developing their compassionate minds, this 3-day workshop explores how Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT) can help navigate the emotional complexities of pregnancy and new parenthood.

💡 What you'll learn:

✅ The evolved motivations connecting parent and child
✅ The changes that occur during the process of pregnancy and parenting
✅ How to work from a CFT perspective with some of the challenges people may experience in the perinatal period
✅ Practices to support both clients and practitioners manage what can be deeply challenging work

📆 Thu 9, Fri 10 & Thu 16 July, 09.30 – 16.30 (BST)
📍Online I ⬆️Beginner I 🗣️Dr Alexandra Stanbury & Dr Katie Splevins I 💳 £350

Secure your spot now and take part in this enriching workshop 👉 https://www.compassionatemind.co.uk/workshops/compassion-focused-approach-to-perinatal-loss-and-trauma-sept-2026?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social_fb_organic&utm_campaign=perinatal_loss_trauma_26

25/05/2026

🌳Experiential In-person workshop - Compassion Focused Forest Bathing - Derby

Curious about forest bathing and its benefits?

Forest bathing, or shinrin-yoku (Japanese for "taking in the forest atmosphere"), refers to the practice of mindful walking and spending time in nature among trees to improve physical and mental health.

Research shows that forest bathing can support improvements in positive emotions, mood disturbance, rumination, nature connection and compassion.

Compassionate mind practices have also repeatedly been shown to help us better manage difficult emotions such as shame, anxiety and self-criticism.

Come and join us at the home of the Compassionate Mind Foundation* (Markeaton Street, Derby) for a unique afternoon of Compassionate Mind guided discovery and practice followed by a gentle guided forest bathing experience through Markeaton Park.

📆 Fri 17 July, 13.00 – 17.00
📍Derby I 🗣️Dr Kirsten McEwan & Dr Hannah Gilbert I 💳 £30

13.00-13.15: Registration and refreshments on arrival
13.15-14.30: Compassionate Mind Guided Discovery and Practice
14.30 -16.30: Forest Bathing
16.30 - 17.00: Reflections and Closing

Led by Dr Kirsten McEwan and Dr Hannah Gilbert, the session offers space to slow down, connect with nature and explore compassionate mind practices in a small and intimate group setting (maximum 25 people).

Book now 👉 https://www.compassionatemind.co.uk/workshops/compassion-focused-forest-bathing?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social_fb_organic&utm_campaign=forest_bathing_jul_26

*The Compassionate Mind Foundation (CMF) is a charity which promotes wellbeing through the science and practice of compassion. Our workshops are led by researchers and clinicians at the forefront of CFT.

22/05/2026

Want to take your Compassion Focused Therapy skills to the next level?

Join the founder of CFT, Prof Paul Gilbert OBE, to learn how to build and develop key clinical skills for therapeutic practice in our 3-day workshop – Clinical Skills in Compassion Focused Therapy.

Across three immersive days, you will:

▶️Gain a deeper understanding into the nature of compassion
▶️Learn how to work with the therapeutic relationship
▶️Develop the compassion focused formulation
▶️Explore functional analysis and use this to work with self-criticism and shame
▶️Look at multi-self and the interaction between threat-based emotions
▶️Harness chair work to engage aspects of the self
▶️Find out how to work with fear and resistance to compassion
▶️Deepen the concepts of the compassionate self and compassionate image

📆 Mon 2, 9 & 16 November, 09.30 – 16.30 (GMT)
📍Online I 🗣️Prof Paul Gilbert OBE I 💳 £350

This is workshop is designed for people who have some training and experience in CFT, have attended a two- or three-day training course and have been practicing CFT with clients for at least 6 months.

Don’t miss this rare opportunity to learn directly from the founder of CFT!

Book now 👉 https://www.compassionatemind.co.uk/workshops/clinical-skills-cft-nov-2026?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social_fb_organic&utm_campaign=clinical_skills_nov_26

18/05/2026

🌱 Do you work therapeutically with people struggling with eating disorders?

Our Compassion Focused Therapy for Eating Disorders (CFT-E) workshop covers an evidence-based treatment that is highly effective for people with a range of difficulties with eating disorders.

This workshop introduces the principles, philosophy and practical techniques of Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT), specifically adapted for eating disorders and eating distress. You’ll explore how CFT-E helps clients:

✨ Recognise and regulate emotions
✨ Reduce shame and self-criticism
✨ Enhance their compassionate motivation to change
✨Address thoughts and feelings linked to disordered eating
✨ Make clinically significant changes in their behaviour

We will explore how this transdiagnostic approach can be used to support people with a range of eating disorders, including Anorexia and Bulimia Nervosa, OSFED and Binge Eating Disorder as well as overeating associated with emotional distress.

You’ll be guided through the CFT-E formulation and treatment model, including a session-by-session outline for clinical delivery. We will also outline the evidence that supports incorporating CFT-E into mainstream care, including recent controlled and randomised controlled trials.

📆 Mon 2 – Tues 3 November, 09.30 – 16.30 (GMT)
📍Online I ⬆️Beginner I 🗣️Dr Ken Goss I 💳 £250

Enhance therapeutic outcomes and support long-term recovery for clients with eating disorders, BOOK your place 👉 https://www.compassionatemind.co.uk/workshops/cft-for-eating-disorders-?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social_fb_organic&utm_campaign=ed_nov_26

13/05/2026

"The compassionate mind is the mind that transforms"

We aim to offer a variety of events and resources designed to help you develop your compassionate mind practice and help you in your daily life.

Learn to cultivate your compassionate mind with Prof Paul Gilbert OBE in our upcoming workshop – Cultivating our Compassionate Mind.

In this experiential personal practice workshop, the founder of Compassion Focused Therapy and Compassionate Mind Training will guide you through the science and practice of cultivating a compassionate mind to help navigate life's difficulties.

We will explore:

🌱 How we can combine the science of compassion to help us develop more compassionate ways of relating to ourselves and others
🧠 How this can have a profound impact on our bodies and brains
💡 How a compassion focused prime can be used as a context for working with emotional difficulties

You will also have the opportunity to practise different types of compassion induction, including breathing exercises, voice tones, facial expressions, emotion and motivational priming.

📆 Mon 6 & 13 July, 09.30 – 13.00
📍Online I 🪷 Personal Practice I 🗣️Prof Paul Gilbert OBE I 💳 £135
*Recording available for those who cannot attend live

Don’t miss this chance to learn directly from the founder of Compassion Focused Therapy
Book your place 👉 https://www.compassionatemind.co.uk/workshops/cultivating-our-compassionate-mind-july-2026?utm_source=gaggle_cft_group&utm_medium=email_gaggle_organic&utm_campaign=cultivating_compassion_jul_26

11/05/2026

🔍Discover CFT - one of the fastest growing psychotherapies

Whether you’re newly qualified or your clinical work is informed by a range of therapeutic models, Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT) can be integrated to complement and enhance your existing practice.

Our Introduction to the Theory & Practice of CFT workshops provide a comprehensive grounding to get you started on your compassion journey.

Across 3 days, you will learn:

• The origins and development of Compassion Focused Therapy
• An understanding of Compassionate Mind Training (CMT)
• Practices that stimulate compassion focused brain states and build a sense of a compassionate self-identity
• How to use CFT and CMT when working with shame and hostile self-criticism

Upcoming workshops:

📆 Mon 6, 13 & 20 July, 09.30 – 17.00 (BST)
🗣️Dr Tobyn Bell & Dr Ashleigh McLellan
Register 👉 https://www.compassionatemind.co.uk/workshops/introduction-to-cft-july-2026?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social_fb_organic&utm_campaign=intro_jul_26

📆 Mon 14 – Wed 16 September, 09.30 – 17.00 (BST)
🗣️Dr Ashleigh McLellan & Dr Shelley Kerr
Register 👉 https://www.compassionatemind.co.uk/workshops/introduction-to-cft-november-2025?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social_fb_organic&utm_campaign=intro_sept_26

📆 Fri 6, 13, 20 & 27 November & 4 December, 13.00 – 17.00 (BST)
🗣️Dr Tobyn Bell & Dr Ashleigh McLellan
Register 👉 https://www.compassionatemind.co.uk/workshops/introduction-to-cft-november2026?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social_fb_organic&utm_campaign=intro_nov_26

All workshops are delivered online and provide 21 hours CPD. Cost £350 per workshop.

Address

Derby

Telephone

01332 742722

Website

http://www.compassionatemind.co.uk/

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