Mindful Self-Compassion
Self-compassion is the recognition of one’s own suffering. It involves caring about this suffering so you respond with understanding, warmth, kindness, and the desire to help as opposed to self-criticism and self-judgment. Practicing self-compassion also involves the realization that suffering, failure, and imperfection are part of the shared human experience.
Research shows that self-compassionate people tend to have better overall physical and psychological health, life satisfaction and motivation. They report feeling less anxious and depressed, spending less time ruminating on how bad things are, having a broader perspective and more generous forgiveness of and willingness to learn from their errors. They tend to make deliberate effort to take care of themselves in times of disappointment or embarrassment.
Relationship between Mindfulness and Self-Compassion
While Mindfulness focuses on acceptance of the experience itself, Self-Compassion focuses on caring for the ‘experiencer’, asking “What do I need right now?” In other words, when practicing Mindfulness, we bring awareness to our suffering, and with Self-Compassion we bring understanding and kindness to ourselves in moments of suffering. Therefore, Mindfulness is an essential component of Self-Compassion.
Curriculum
* Week 1 ~ Definition, Research, Meditation Practice
* Weeks 2 & 3 ~ Three elements of self-compassion: Self-kindness vs. Self-judgment, Common humanity vs. Isolation, Mindfulness vs. Over-identification
* Week 4 ~ Self-compassion and interconnectedness, common humanity
* Weeks 5 & 6 ~ Working with difficult emotions (Anger, Forgiveness), RAIN practice (Recognize, Allow, Investigate, Nurture)
* Week 7 ~ Working with pain
* Week 8 ~ Embracing your life: Appreciating your strengths, Positive emotions, Silver lining
Each class will include a learning component, reflection exercises, meditation practice, and discussion. This course fuses concepts and practices borrowed from Mindfulness, Self-Compassion, Internal Family Systems, and Solution Focused Brief Therapy.
When: Tuesdays @ 7:30-8:45pm | Starting October 5th, 2021
Where: Zoom
Fee: $250 ($221.24 + HST)
References:
- Brach, T. (2020). Radical Compassion: Learning to Love Yourself and Your World with the Practice of RAIN. Penguin Life
- Hanh, T.N. (2013). Body and Mind Are One: A Training in Mindfulness. Sounds True
- Neff, K. (2011). Self-Compassion: Stop Beating Yourself Up and Leave Insecurity Behind. HarperCollins Publishers
- Ratner, H., George, E., Iveson, C. (2012). Solution Focused Brief Therapy: 100 Key Points and Techniques. Routledge
- Schwartz, R., Sweezy, M. (2019). Internal Family Systems Therapy (2nd Edition). The Guilford Press