Compassion-focused therapy (CFT) offers a practical and transformative approach for therapists working with clients facing shame, self-criticism, and emotional dysregulation. Challenges that everyone struggles with at some point in their lives. These feelings are deeply human, and CFT provides the tools to address them in a meaningful way. But how do you take CFT from theory to practice?
This workshop provides a hands-on introduction to CFT, designed for therapists and psychologists wanting to integrate its essential techniques into their work. You’ll learn foundational, evidence-based tools to help clients reduce self-criticism, build self-compassion, and approach difficult emotions with greater resilience.
This is a practical skills-building session designed to make CFT accessible and actionable. By the end of the workshop, you’ll leave feeling confident in your ability to help clients connect with themselves in a kinder, more compassionate way.
Background to the workshop
The concept of compassion can be challenging for many clients. Often, compassion is misunderstood as weakness or self-indulgence, which can create resistance to this powerful therapeutic approach. This workshop aims to reframe compassion as an active and courageous process that strengthens emotional resilience and promotes well-being.
CFT is grounded in an evolutionary understanding of human emotions, exploring how our “old brain” survival mechanisms interact with the more complex reasoning of the “new brain.” This dynamic often underpins the struggles of shame, self-criticism, and emotional dysregulation.
Participants will also explore the three-systems model of emotions; threat, drive, and soothing, and how imbalances in these systems contribute to emotional challenges. By understanding how social and environmental factors have shaped their clients’ emotional patterns, therapists will gain insight into how to guide them towards self-compassion and away from self-blame.
What you will gain from this workshop
By attending this workshop, you will gain:
- A clear understanding of the CFT definition of compassion and how to address resistance to it in therapy.
- Skills to guide clients through exploring their “old-brain” and “new-brain” dynamics to better understand their emotional struggles.
- Tools to use the three-systems model of emotions to map out your clients’ emotional patterns and identify imbalances.
- Strategies to help clients recognise the impact of social and environmental shaping on their behaviours and move towards self-compassion.
- Practical exercises to help clients respond to challenges with compassion in real-time, bridging understanding into action.
About this workshop
This workshop is led by Russell Kolts, an engaging and experienced practitioner with a wealth of expertise in CFT . Russell’s teaching style is warm, grounded, and highly practical, focusing on techniques that therapists can apply immediately in their practice.
The workshop combines brief teaching segments with experiential learning. Each CFT intervention will be introduced with clear instructions and guidance on implementation. Participants will then practice these techniques in small groups, followed by discussions and Q&A to explore challenges, refine skills, and deepen their understanding. This interactive format ensures you’ll leave the workshop with practical tools you can confidently use in your work.
Who will benefit from this workshop?
This workshop is ideal for mental health professionals, including psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, mental health counsellors, and nurse practitioners.
It is designed for therapists who are new to compassion-focused therapy or have had minimal exposure to its principles but are curious about incorporating it into their practice. While no prior in-depth training in CFT is required, participants should have a basic understanding of therapeutic approaches and a willingness to engage in experiential learning.
Feedback from previous attendees
Highly engaging, informative, challenging, and fun! Russell is dynamic, passionate, and very knowledgeable – a fabulous facilitator.
Sami Karney, CBT Therapist (CYP)
This was one of the best trainings I’ve ever attended. Dr. Kolts did a fantastic job. It was great to learn from a true expert in this area.
Michael McClung, Licensed Mental Health Counselor
Fantastic speaker and brilliant facilitation and organisation.
Petra Gwilliam, Clinical Psychologist