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Nicola Petrocchi, James Kirby, Beatrice Baldi 
This book presents a comprehensive, 12-module transdiagnostic program to deliver Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT) in group and individual settings.
Offering an accessible step-by-step guide to the essentials of CFT and its application to a range of contexts, this book provides clinicians with clear guidelines to deliver the modules and adapt them to the specific needs of target groups/individuals. Each module focuses on a theme, which is explained through an introductory basic science for the clinician and then developed and explored through psychoeducation for the client, followed by a variety of experiential exercises. Also included are examples of CFT case formulations, therapist scripts, and client handouts. As an additional resource, clinicians are provided access to www.cftmanual.com, an online platform with downloadable support material such as guided audio meditations, videos of brief Yoga sessions, educational videos, and supplementary handouts.
This practice guide will be the authoritative resource in CFT for clinicians, trainers, supervisors, researchers, and clients with previous CFT experience who wish to deepen their practice.
Foreword by Prof. Paul Gilbert
A. Introduction
B. CFT formulations
APPENDIX (Client handout A and Client handout B)
"Research showed compelling data, the clinicians intuitively knew that enhancing compassion could be an essential part of any kind of psychotherapy, but there was one missing piece of the puzzle: a structured, step-by-step guide to CFT. It has been years in the making - and now we have it. It is wonderful. Thank you so much! This book will certainly become a vital resource for any therapist, and any researcher not only in the field of mindfulness-based psychotherapy."
- Martin Bohus, MD, Professor of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Heidelberg University, Germany. Former Chair of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Central Institute of Mental Health, Mannheim, Germany. Editor BPDED President European DBT Association.
"Compassion Focused Therapy is a unique, evidence-based model of therapy that systematically cultivates the healing resource of compassion. The authors have themselves contributed significantly to the evolution of CFT. In this long-awaited volume, they integrate the key elements of CFT into a well-organized, comprehensive treatment manual. Innovative, practical and inspiring, I hope it lands on the desks of all clinicians!"
- Christopher Germer, PhD, Lecturer on Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Author, The Mindful Path to Self-Compassion, co-author of The Mindful Self-compassion Workbook.
"Cultivating Compassion for the self is a crucial change process. This book will help you help clients cultivate this essential ingredient of healing."
- Leslie Greenberg, PhD, is professor emeritus of psychology at York University in Toronto, and also director of the Emotion-Focused Therapy Clinic in Toronto.
"The Essentials of Compassion Focused Therapy" is an exceptional and invaluable resource for therapists looking to deeply engage with the transformative power of compassion in therapeutic settings. Grounded in an evolutionary and biopsychosocial framework, this manual offers a systematic approach to harnessing compassion's three flows—other-to-self, self-to-other, and self-to-self—as a means to confront and alleviate suffering. Not merely a didactic manual, this guide, with its flexible 12-module structure, offers clinicians both structure and adaptability. Filled with practical tools, scripts, and exercises, this book is designed with both the therapist and client in mind. CFT can be used alone and in combination with other methods; individually or in groups. This book spans all such used and transcends being just another therapy guide—it's pathway for genuine healing and growth."
- Steven C. Hayes, PhD, Foundation Professor of Psychology Emeritus, University of Nevada, Reno and originator of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy.
"Written by some of the foremost CFT clinician experts, Niki Petrocchi, James Kirby, and Beatrice Baldi present a hands-on modular therapist manual in a beautifully simple, concise, and clear format. The Essentials of Compassion Focused Therapy: A Practice Manual for Clinicians is destined to become a classic clinician guide on CFT. It is an important therapeutic tool every competent clinician should know."
- Stefan G. Hofmann, PhD, Alexander von Humboldt Professor and LOEWE Spitzenprofessor, Philipps-University Marburg, Germany.
"Mental health problems affect some 300 million people in the world today and some one billion people will experience an episode of psychiatric illness in their lifetime. Many will have experienced some degree of trauma and its aftermath. One of the great strengths of Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT) is that it is not only rooted in psychological science, biology, and evolutionary theory, but offers not only recovery from mental health ill health, but also healing and transformation. There is a lot to like about this book. It is a wonderful resource that makes the depth and complexity of CFT engaging and accessible. It is eminently practical, well organised, and can be used flexibly by CFT clinicians from novice to advanced therapists. I can also easily see it being used to train CFT therapists. The authors’ have an extensive and embodied understanding of the breadth and complexity of CFT, deep clinical experience and are highly skilled communicators. This enables them to powerfully convey the art, science and heart of CFT. It is a book every CFT therapist should have in the section of their bookshelf of books that they go back to again and again for ideas, troubleshooting, structure, and inspiration."
- Willem Kuyken, PhD, Ritblat Professor of Mindfulness and Psychological Science, University of Oxford.
"This manual is an amazing resource for therapists. The book integrates a deep clinical acumen with an encyclopedic understanding of compassion to offer literally one-stop shopping on how to use compassion in clinical work."
- Fred Luskin, PhD, is the director of the Stanford University Forgiveness Projects and professor at the Institute for Transpersonal Psychology. He is the author of Forgive for Good: A Proven Prescription for Health and Happiness (HarperSanFrancisco, 2001).
"This manual represents a tremendously valuable resource for therapists, researchers, and all of us drawn to the flourishing field of compassion-focused therapy. Included among its many strengths are its rich array of therapist scripts, client handouts, vivid in-session examples and prompts, and other print and online resources; its modular format, allowing for customization; its flexibility to function as a stand-alone therapy or to be integrated into other therapies; and its transdiagnostic applicability (who among our clients wouldn’t benefit from developing a more compassionate self?) It is certainly a landmark in the development of compassion-focused therapy, and I am confident that it will enhance the skills of many therapists and improve the lives of countless clients."
- Andrew M. Pomerantz, PhD, Professor of Psychology at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and author of Clinical Psychology: Science, Practice, and Diversity.
"This manual provides clinicians from all backgrounds with the stepping stones critical to instilling a compassionate motivation in their therapeutic work with their clients and themselves. The manual has new and innovative approaches and exercises to help clients embody this compassion to help with self-criticism and shame, and to help foster increased wellbeing. This is a must-read for anyone wanting to know and use CFT."
- Shauna Shapiro, PhD, Professor, Author of Rewire Your Mind and Good Morning, I Love You.
"The Essentials of Compassion Focused Therapy provides a much-needed, user-friendly, and beautifully constructed “operator’s manual” which will strengthen therapists in bringing the theory, insights, and practices of CFT to individual and group therapy with a wide range of suffering client populations. Going forward, this manual will be considered essential for the delivery of CFT."
- Charles Swenson, MD, Associate Professor of Psychiatry, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Author of DBT Principles in Action: Acceptance, Change, and Dialectics.
"This is the book that CFT clinicians have been waiting for! One of the most frequent questions that CFT therapists ask in supervision is how to navigate and plan a course of CFT treatment. This manual offers a structured but flexible guide through CFT therapy and will be invaluable for clinicians offering group or individual formats. The manual is remarkable for honouring CFT’s process driven principles whilst also providing clear and practical suggestions for everyday treatment planning and evaluation. A real achievement."
- Tobyn Bell, PhD, International CFT Training. Author of Experiencing Compassion Focused Therapy from the Inside Out.
"This is it! A step-by-step practical guide to compassion focused therapy, delightfully illustrated, with clear, simple instructions and scripts for therapists."
- James Bennett-Levy, PhD, Professor of Clinical Psychology, The University of Sydney. Author of Experiencing Compassion Focused Therapy from the Inside Out.
