Can We Change Our Mind About Caring for Others? The Neuroscience of Systematic Compassion Training

Compassion practice as an antidote for compassion fatigue in the era of COVID‐19

“…Inherent in compassion is a shift from heartfelt empathy to mentalizing about how to alleviate suffering, which naturally creates a self‐other differentiation (Calderon et al., 2018 ). Specific self‐other practices also exist that help ensure clear and consistent boundaries and reduce likelihood of overidentification (Harrison & Westwood, 2009 ).…”

“…This is perhaps due to its association with adaptive qualities such as optimism, curiosity, and life satisfaction (Jazaieri et al., 2014 ; Kirby, 2017 ). Emerging research from neuroscience and social science suggests that individual compassion practices as well as formal training can have positive neurobiological and psychological outcomes (Calderon et al., 2018 ; Jazaieri et al., 2014 , 2018 ; Kirby, 2017 ; Klimecki et al., 2014 ). These outcomes suggest that compassion practices and more extensive training have may counter the potential negative impact of empathic attunement for counselors through both neurobiological and psychological changes.…”

“…Interest is growing in compassion‐based programs such as Emory's Cognitively Based Compassion Training (Pace et al., 2013) and Stanford's Compassion Cultivation Training (Goldin & Jazaieri, 2017). This may be due to research from the field of applied contemplative science demonstrating associations between compassion practice and shifts in brain activity toward positive emotions, sustained altruistic motivation in the practitioner, and greater well‐being (Calderon et al., 2018; Jazaieri et al., 2014; Kirby, 2017; Klimecki et al., 2014; Luberto et al., 2018).…”