Compassion focused therapy for eating disorders: A qualitative review and recommendations for further applications

Abstract

Background: People suffering from an eating disorder (ED), or more gener-

Experiences of compassion focused therapy in eating disorder recovery: A qualitative model

“…Postintervention, the development of the new theme ‘Recovery’ and its subthemes highlights that postintervention, participants reported their eating disorder had improved, and they were living life more with a newly developed compassionate perspective/mind. This adds to the new emerging CFT‐E2 literature supporting the hypothesis that CFT‐E2 not only helps participants make sense of their ED experiences, but also offers a new approach in how they relate to themselves and others which aids recovery and influences how they live and want to live their life (Steindl et al, ). This compassionate mind development maps onto a more evolved Soothing system and a more compassionate motivation that influences the Drive system and is illustrated in Figure .…”

“…The Drive system is an achievement‐ and pleasure‐orientated system and can be maintained by other aspects of the system such as ‘hedonic adaptation’ (Steindl et al, ). Three themes/subthemes at pre‐intervention are mapped onto the Drive system, as illustrated in Figure .…”

“…In response to Gale et al's () clinical audit, CFT‐E has developed into a more focused CFT‐E programme named CFT‐E2. In CFT‐E2, CFT‐specific skills training was increased and CBT‐specific skills were reduced (Steindl, Buchanan, Goss, & Allan, ). Changes were also made to increase the intensity of the psychoeducation and the capacity building phases of the programme to reduce the overall time in treatment before changes in eating behaviour were introduced.…”

Imagery rescripting and cognitive dissonance: A randomized controlled trial of two brief online interventions for women at risk of developing an eating disorder

“…A growing body of research suggests self-compassion may also act as a protective factor against poor body image and eating pathology (Braun, Park, & Gorin, 2016;Steindl, Buchanan, Goss, & Allan, 2017). In a cross-sectional study of adult women, Tylka, Russell, and Neal (2015) found that self-compassion was protective for disordered eating.…”

Compassion in Clinical Practice: Current Applications and New Directions

“…Compassion‐focused therapy (CFT)—which frames compassion and suffering within an evolutionary understanding of social, motivational, and affective systems—has been trialled in the treatment of a range of psychopathologies, including eating disorders, psychosis, personality disorders, and mood disorders. Steindl, Buchanan, Goss, and Allan's qualitative review () presents a rich discussion of application of CFT for individuals with eating and weight concerns (CFT‐E). Also in this issue, Kirby and Kirby () use an evolutionary framework to examine the role of social and cultural environmental contexts in influencing the construction and expression of masculinity and compassion.…”