Therapy and Compassionate Mind Training

31 © The British Psychological Society – ISSN 0269-6975 THIS STUDY aims to explore differences in treatment outcome measures, following a traumatic incident, of either Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) or CBT coupled with using Compassionate Mind Training (CMT) techniques. CBT is a treatment which challenges the way individuals think and behave, which has been found to be highly effective in treating individuals who have suffered from a traumatic event. It is the recommended therapy for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (NICE, 2005). It is important to note that, in some cases, individuals that have been involved in a traumatic experience feel significant levels of shame and/or guilt (Jonsson & Segesten, 2004; Lee, 2009). Whilst CBT may be effective in reducing other symptoms of PTSD, these individuals may also benefit from using self-soothing techniques, such as developing empathy, loving kindness and compassion for themselves, in a non-judgemental way (Gilbert & Irons, 2005; Harman & Lee, 2010; Neff, Kirkpatrick & Rude 2007). This might be described in everyday, non-technical Research Paper