The Compassion Initiative: Just Two Guys in Brisbane talking Compassion. www.thecompassioninitiative.com.au

Great work being done by people all over the world | James Kirby

02 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Stan says farewell to The Compassion Initiative Podcast, launching the Compassion in a T-Shirt podcast to complement his YouTube channel. Please follo...

Unlocking wisdom and strength in older age, with Dr Rebecca Poz

06 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Dr Rebecca Poz is a clinical psychologist and neuropsychologist working for the NHS and in private practice in the UK. She works across assessment, re...

Eight skills to improve therapist effectiveness, with Prof Terri Moyers

29 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Theresa B. Moyers, PhD, is Professor of Psychology at the University of New Mexico, where she conducts research on treatments for addictive behaviors,...

Examining the effectiveness of compassion focused therapy, with Niki Petrocchi

22 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Dr Nicola Petrocchi, psychologist and psychotherapist trained at APC-SPC, holds a doctorate in Psychology and Social Neurosciences at La Sapienza Univ...

Motivational Interviewing as a pathway to compassion and self-compassion, with Dr Michelle Drapkin

15 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Michelle L. Drapkin, PhD, ABPP, is a clinical psychologist who owns and operates the Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Center, and has worked in behavioral...

Find your spark through safeness and connection, with Graham Music

08 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

London-based psychotherapist Graham Music works in private practice and with the NHS, and has worked at the Tavistock and Portman Clinics for over 15 ...

The simple yet profound question of self-compassion, with Dr Steve Hickman

01 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Dr Steve Hickman is the former Executive Director of the non-profit Center for Mindful Self-Compassion, a Certified Mindful Self-Compassion teacher an...

Attachment and relational trauma and tragedy, with Dr Kate Lucre

26 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Dr Kate Lucre is a Birmingham-based Compassion Focused Therapist and Supervisor specialising in the use of CFT for complex trauma, personality and rel...

What's behind shame? An innocent wish to be loved, with Chris Germer

19 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

“A moment of self-compassion can change your entire day. A string of such moments can change the course of your life.” Chris Germer, PhD is a cli...

Compassion-based approaches to working with grief, with Darcy Harris

12 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Professor Darcy L Harris currently works at Kings University College/Western University in the Department of Thanatology. Darcy does research in Grief...

Can compassion help narcissism? With Ruth Ann Harpur

03 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Dr Ruth Ann Harpur is a Clinical Psychologist specialising in relationships and issues of narcissism, and helping people and couples to develop compas...

Can we have too much compassion?

23 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Lately I have been receiving some comments on my videos and shorts from people concerned that there is, in fact, too much compassion in the world. Tod...

Response to Chris Williamson's "toxic compassion" and the role of emotions in compassionate action.

16 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

I have been trying out other podcasts lately, just to get a range of inputs into my thinking, and recently listened to Chris Williamson’s Modern Wis...

Humans Suck: And That's Why We Need to Practice Compassion and Self-Compassion!

09 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Today's video is going to be a bit provocative, with a title that might catch you off guard: "Humans Suck!" But don't worry, it's not all doom and glo...

The Aristotelian actual and potential realities of compassion

02 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Compassion is a reality, but at different levels. If we apply some of Aristotle's theory of reality to compassion, then we start to understand actual ...

Flourishing Through Compassion

28 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The way we think about the definition of "compassion" is evolving! It's still about alleviating and preventing suffering, but the definition has widen...

Compassionate Leadership with Colleen Marshall

19 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Colleen Marshall, LMFT, is Vice President of Clinical Care at Two Chairs, an organisation "building a world where everyone has access to exceptional ...

Who meditatates? With Dr Jonathan Davies

04 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Dr Jonathan Davies is a postdoctoral research fellow at the Contemplative Studies Centre in the School of Psychology, University of Melbourne. He is a...

Helping people and performance with Dr Courtney Walton

27 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Dr Courtney Walton is an Academic Fellow within the Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences. He is also a registered psychologist. Courtney's resea...

Awakening to compassion with Dr Nadine Levy

18 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Dr Nadine Levy is Head of the Health and Social Wellbeing Program at the Nan Tien Institute, a private, not for profit, government accredited higher e...

The MAGIC of delivering compassion focused therapy in groups, with Peter Gillogley

09 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Peter Gillogley is a Brisbane-based psychologist. He is a Counselling Psychologist, using evidence-based approaches to work collaboratively with peopl...

The compassion (r)evolution: From easing suffering to awakening flourishing - Dr Marcela Matos

01 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Dr Marcela Matos presented the Keynote Address at the 2023 UQ Compassion Symposium. Her title was "The compassion (r)evolution: From easing suffering ...

In Conversation With James Kirby About "Choose Compassion"

30 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

On 28 July 2023, James Kirby was in conversation with Stan Steindl at Harry Hartog Bookseller, Carindale Shopping Centre, to discuss James's book Choo...

Recovering from burnout with Shannon Swales

23 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Shannon Swales is Clinical Psychologist/Telehealth Psychologist in Brisbane, Australia. Her business is called Burnout Psychology Support. Following h...

Rehearsing Compassionate Action

04 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This practice is aimed to help rehearse the compassionate actions we can take to increase their likelihood in everyday life

Compassion Focused Therapy and Chairwork with Dr Tobyn Bell

14 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Dr Tobyn Bell is a psychotherapist, trainer, supervisor and researcher specialising in compassion focused therapy (CFT) and especially the application...

Compassionate Mind Training (CMT) Session by Session Outline

27 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

If you are interested in participating in a compassionate mind training course but you would like to know more about what that entails, this video sho...

5 Stories of Compassion in The Lord of the Rings

19 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Last week I did my top five acts of compassion in Star Wars. And I received the suggestion several times that the perfect follow-up was to look for co...

Top 5 Acts of Compassion in Star Wars

13 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

I have loved Star Wars since Episode 4 was first released in 1977! I still recall the terror I felt at the thought of Darth Vader, his deadly red ligh...

Taylor Swift, shame, and “sucking out the venom”

06 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Let’s take a close look at Taylor Swift's recent song Anti Hero. I think it might teach us something about shame and self-loathing, and we might eve...

Choose Compassion: In Session with James Kirby

29 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Dr James Kirby is the co-director of the Compassionate Mind Research Group at the University of Queensland. He studies the effectiveness of Compassion...

Discovering unconscious blocks to self-compassion

22 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

I recently had a revelation! Our blocks to self-compassion are often outside of our awareness. This might sound obvious to you, but it gave me food fo...

I appreciate you! Expressing appreciation as part of compassionate assertiveness.

15 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

A few weeks ago I made a video about affirming strengths as part of compassion. You can see the video here. To be more accurate, that video was emphas...

How to practice compassionate assertiveness

08 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Hello Compassionistas! I’m diving deep at the moment into all sorts of ways to practice self-compassion. And one of the best? Compassionate assertiv...

What is compassion if it doesn't include all sentient beings?

01 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Here, I interview Jamie Woodhouse from Sentientism.info and the Sentientism Podcast. From his website: "Sentientism is a philosophy or worldview – ...

Try sending yourself self-compassionate texts!

25 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

I'm, always looking or new ways to practice self-compassion. And here's another! I've just discovered you can actually text yourself, so why not send ...

Self-compassion in the mirror: A daily practice

18 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Today we will be exploring a daily self-compassion practice known as self-compassion in the mirror! It’s an interesting one, and a powerful one. I...

The Gifts of Compassion...and Making Them Count

11 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The Gifts of Compassion...and Making Them Count. This is my Keynote Address at this year's UQ Compassion Symposium, 16 September 2022. We had a wonde...

How to develop your compassionate voice tones

04 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Tone is so important in conveying both feeling and meaning. Often, the tone of our self-talk can be harsh, hostile, critical or condemning. We can att...

How to write a compassionate letter to yourself

27 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Life isn't easy. There can be difficulties and demands that can keep us up at night! So what to do? You can try writing a compassionate letter. But so...

Affirming strengths as part of compassion

20 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

I was facilitating session 3 of the compassionate mind training course last week, and we were talking about the compassionate self taking compassionat...

Five enemies of compassion, near and far!

13 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Last week I spoke about how enemies can be our best teachers of compassion…they give us the most trouble, and so if we truly wish to practice compas...

To learn compassion, enemies are our best teachers

06 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In today’s video, I’ll explore how compassion might help with the day to day battles we find ourselves in with people who give us trouble, our so ...

Compassion is not boundless

30 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Compassion is a good thing! But our compassion is not boundless. And it’s useful to be aware of this, reflect on it a little, and work out what migh...

Introducing therapeutic humour (and how it relates to compassion)

23 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this video, I experience the practice of therapeutic humour under the kind and wise guidance of Mallori DeSalle and Dr Lodge McCammon. They demonst...

Assessing compassionate action

16 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Going Mainstream (or trying to): Assessing compassionate action in clinical practice as part of routine outcome measurement. UQ CMRG One Day Symposiu...

10 guiding principles for living a compassionate life

09 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

I’ve read, thought, talked, and written a lot about compassion, and so in this episode I wanted to give you 10 guiding principles for living a compa...

Greek tragedy, shame and compassion: What can that tell us?

02 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Something you'd never guess about me is that I love the Greek tragedies! Agamemnon and his family, Hippolytus, Phaedra and Theseus, and, of course, Oe...

Podcast 22: James and Stan compassion jam - research, therapy, conferences

01 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Over a year has past since the last TCI podcast, but James and Stan are back with a new episode, jamming about all things compassion: compassion resea...

Self-criticism! Forms, functions and an alternative.

26 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

What is self-criticism? Well, it comes in different forms and has different functions. And perhaps there is an alternative approach. Find out more her...

Is compassion focused therapy a third wave cognitive-behavioural therapy?

19 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Compassion focused therapy, or CFT, is often considered one of the "third wave CBT" therapies. This video will ask, "Is CFT a third wave CBT?" And the...

Compassion leaves a trail: The compassionate wisdom of Star Wars

12 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 8 of Compassion 180: Three Minute Gifts of Compassion. I am a lover of Star Wars! And every time I watch something new from the Star Wars un...

The power and goodness of compassion in three directions

05 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 6 of Compassion 180: Three Minute Gifts of Compassion. I was brought up to believe in the power and goodness of being compassionate towards ...

Healing after childhood sexual abuse with compassion focused therapy

28 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Compassion focused therapy (CFT) was developed to help people who experience high levels of shame and self-criticism, and has been found to be effecti...

Using memories of compassion to activate the compassionate self

21 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 4 of Compassion 180: Three Minute Gifts of Compassion. We can often get all caught up in threat system activation. Usually, this means an inte...

What abseiling taught me about safety versus safeness

14 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 4 of Compassion 180: Three Minute Gifts of Compassion. "Safety" and "safeness" are defined very differently in compassion focused therapy. Not...

Mindfulness as a pathway to compassion

07 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 4 of Compassion 180: Three Minute Gifts of Compassion. What is mindfulness and how does it relate to compassion? TARGETED PLAYLIST LINK: Com...

Key compassionate insight…don’t miss this step

31 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 3 of Compassion 180: Three Minute Gifts of Compassion. In Episode 3 we discuss a fundamental compassionate insight, key to cultivating compas...

Discovering the Soothing-Affiliative System of the Brain!

24 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 2 of Compassion 180: Three Minute Gifts of Compassion. In episode 2 we discuss compassion focused therapy's Three Circle Model of Emotion Re...

We Have Tricky Brains - Compassion 180

17 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 1 of Compassion 180: Three Minute Gifts of Compassion. In this episode we discuss the topic of our "tricky brains"; brains that were designe...

How to work with fears, blocks and resistances to compassion in compassion focused therapy.

10 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

On the 17 November 2019, I published my first Compassion in a T-Shirt video titled “Understanding fears, blocks and resistances to compassion, and h...

Directing Compassion Towards Yourself: A Guided Imagery Exercise

03 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

No matter what might be going on around you, or in the world at large, even when the suffering of others seems so much greater, it is always important...

Compassion is not our default motivation?

18 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Compassion as an evolved human motivation is not the same as compassion being our default motivation. Compassion, a sensitivity to suffering in self a...

Compassion is more important now than ever.

11 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

It feels like suffering is everywhere at the moment. The COVID pandemic continues to engulf the world, Russia has invaded Ukraine, causing untold suff...

Pre-eminent Psychologist Carl Rogers' thoughts on war from 1982 - applied now

04 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

"We have very little time. This is a life and death issue for all of us. Can we stop the drift toward destruction? We all have a responsibility in ans...

War? How to create a more compassionate world.

28 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

People everywhere are lovely, so why do we have wars? And why does it feel like we might be on the brink of one right now? Goodness knows I don’t kn...

Is compassion a MORAL OBLIGATION?

22 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We have moral obligations. But what are they? And is compassion one of them? In this video I am going to extend myself a little into the realm of eth...

5 MORE evidence-based benefits of CFT...in our community!

15 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Last week I spoke about 5 evidence-based benefits to mental health of compassion focused therapy. But compassion focused therapy and compassionate min...

5 Evidence-Based Benefits to Mental Health of Compassion Focused Therapy

08 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Learning how to cultivate compassion through an approach like compassion focused therapy (CFT) can have profoundly positive effects on mental health. ...

Compassion as an evolved human motivation: The archeological evidence!

01 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Compassion focused therapy is an evolutionary model of psychotherapy. We have these evolved brains and bodies, and both can be very tricky and cause u...

Pathways to higher social rank: Dominance, prestige...compassion?

22 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Social rank theory relates to the human evolved motives around social competitiveness, hierarchies, influence and power. In this video we will explore...

Is pride a good or bad thing? (Hint! It's a bit of both.)

15 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The notion of pride often comes along with negative connotations. Pride is one of the seven deadly sins! But recent research has differentiated two ty...

10 Things Compassion is Not! (And the list may surprise you!)

08 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

What is compassion? Well, one way to answer that is to highlight what compassion is not. Compassion is not a feeling. It is not the same as love. And ...

The difference between shame and humiliation, and how compassion and self-compassion can help.

01 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Humiliation is a painful emotion, and it can be hard to get over! It's similar to shame, but there are important differences. In this video, we discus...

Are embarrassment and shame different?

25 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Yes they are! Embarrassment and shame are both self-conscious emotions, but like guilt and shame, embarrassment and shame have important differences. ...

Why and how to forgive with compassion (and self-compassion!).

18 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Forgiveness can be very difficult. We can't help but feel angry and resentful when someone hurts us! But the pain of resentment often just makes matte...

How to let go of resentment in 8 compassion focused steps

11 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Resentment is a rather complex and painful human emotion. It can cause us a lot of suffering! But self-compassion can help. In this video we take a lo...

Activating the compassionate self

04 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Activating the compassionate self: slowing down the mind and body, and connecting with wisdom, strength and courage, and a caring-commitment, and deci...

How to bring self-compassion to ageing (a life lesson from turning 50!)

07 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Ageing is difficult. Time flies by and we get older. And we can suffer. Self-compassion can help! I turned 50 today, and while in some ways this is st...

What is Compassionate Mind training (CMT)?

30 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We have compassion focused therapy (CFT) and we have compassionate mind training (CMT), but what is CMT exactly? CFT is a psychotherapy, and CMT is a ...

Coping with COVID-19: Findings from Compassion Research

23 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The COVID-19 pandemic has been really dragging on. And everyone is feeling it. There is an ever-present sense of threat and foreboding. in this video,...

Ted Lasso afraid of compassion??

16 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Wait, what? Ted Lasso is afraid of compassion? We all can have certain fears of compassion, across one or other, or all, of the three flows: being co...

Professor Paul Gilbert: Short Shares, Episode 6

08 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Compassion focused therapy in a nutshell, and bringing compassion to the world! _____ Professor Paul Gilbert, OBE, is Professor of Clinical Psychology...

Professor Paul Gilbert: Short Shares, Episode 5

01 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In Episode 5, Paul talks about the inhibitors to compassion, the fears, blocks and resistances. As Paul says, in compassion focused therapy working wi...

Professor Paul Gilbert: Short Shares, Episode 4

25 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We are basically a species designed for caring and sharing, but socio-cultural factors push us towards competitiveness, selfishness and callousness wi...

Professor Paul Gilbert: Short Shares, Episode 3

18 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

What is compassion? On the one hand, it is a simple algorithm: detecting suffering and taking action to alleviate or prevent it. And on the other, it ...

Professor Paul Gilbert: Short Shares, Episode 2

11 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In Episode 2 of Compassion in a T-Shirt: Short Shares with Professor Paul Gilbert Paul speaks about some remarkable observations he and colleagues mad...

Professor Paul Gilbert: Short Shares, Episode 1

04 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Compassion in a T-Shirt: Short Shares with Professor Paul Gilbert will explore the life and work therapist, the researcher, and the founder of compass...

Group CFT: The 12 Modules with Alicia Carter

17 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In this video, Alicia Carter, PhD candidate at University of Queensland School of Psychology, describes the 12 modules included in the group-based com...

Compassion in a T-Shirt: In Session with Alicia Carter

16 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"We think that the end result of our PhD is a thesis, but really, it's you." Alicia Carter is an Australian provisional psychologist and candidate fo...

Compassion in a T-Shirt: In Session with Tony Fernando (Part 2)

29 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"Teams know what are the blocks to compassion, what prevents them from being compassionate, and what are the things that they do that can actually enh...

Compassion in a T-Shirt: In session with Tony Fernando (Part 1)

26 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"As long as the sky exists, as long as there are sentient beings, may I remain to help and relieve them of their suffering." Dr Tony Fernando is a ps...

Compassion in a T-Shirt: In Session With Johannes Graser

12 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Transforming shame with people who have intellectual disabilities: "I'm not all bad with stuff like this. I'm quite good!" Dr Johannes Graser is a Cl...

Compassion in a T-Shirt: In Session With Deirdre Fay (Part 2)

05 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"Reaching...opening...gathering..."" Deirdre Fay, MSW, LICSW, integrates trauma and attachment theory with yoga and meditation in embodiment. The fou...

Compassion in a T-Shirt: In Session With Deirdre Fay (Part 1)

04 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"What happened to me and how can I put myself back together again?" Deirdre Fay, MSW, LICSW, integrates trauma and attachment theory with yoga and me...

Compassion in a T-Shirt: In Session with Michaela Thomas

21 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

“I’m not going to take your ambition away, I’m just going to help you not drown in it.” Michaela Thomas is a UK-based Clinical Psychologist a...

Compassion in a T-Shirt: In Session with Kristy Arbon

14 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Somatic Self-Compassion: checking in with the interoceptive experience, buckets of choice to create safeness, and individualised approaches to soothin...

Compassion in a T-Shirt: In Session with Dr Hayley Quinn

07 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"CFT is something we learn and embody and it becomes a part of the process of all the things that we do." Dr Hayley D Quinn is a Clinical Psychologis...

Compassion in a T-Shirt: In Session with Alison Dixon

31 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"It was about the connection with other people, not feeling alone, other people understanding how I feel...the humanness." Alison Dixon is a senior P...

Compassion in a T-Shirt: In Session with Dr Kate Watson

25 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

“I believe that advocacy is lending your power or your voice to someone or something who needs it.” Dr. Watson is a public speaker, author, and p...