Compassion Focussed Therapy

(CFT)

Evidence-based therapy to help you understand and change unhelpful thoughts and behaviours

What CFT Is

Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT) helps people who struggle with shame, self-criticism, or feelings of not being good enough to develop greater warmth, understanding, and kindness toward themselves.

Grounded in psychology and neuroscience, CFT teaches you how to work with your “emotion regulation systems” — balancing threat, drive, and soothing — so that you can respond to life’s challenges with courage and compassion rather than fear or self-judgment.

Through guided exercises and reflection, you learn how to build an inner voice that supports rather than criticises you, strengthening emotional resilience and self-acceptance.

What CFT Can Help With

  • Low self-esteem and self-criticism

  • Shame and guilt

  • Depression and low mood

  • Anxiety and perfectionism

  • Trauma-related difficulties

  • Relationship and communication challenges

At Shire Therapies, our therapists integrate CFT with other evidence-based approaches to help you build self-confidence, manage emotions more effectively, and live in line with your values.

“When we suffer, we need to care for ourselves, not condemn ourselves.”

— Paul Gilbert