Bringing Compassion to Life with Chairwork | James Hackley

In this episode of 'Compassion in a T-Shirt,' I speak with Dr. James Hackley, a clinical psychologist at the University of Manchester, about compassion focused chair work. We delve into Dr. Hackley's research on using chair work to help people with depression connect with their compassionate selves and navigate self-criticism. Key points include the social mentality theory, CFT's multi-modal approach, and practical steps for implementing chair work in therapy. The conversation highlights the assessment and intervention potential of chair work, alongside client experiences that reveal the deeply transformative impact of this technique.TIME STAMPS:00:00 Introduction to Compassion in a T-Shirt00:17 Guest Introduction: Dr. James Hackley02:41 Understanding Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT)03:39 Exploring Social Mentality Theory06:15 The Three Systems Model of Emotion08:34 The Concept of the Tricky Brain11:24 Introduction to Chair Work13:41 Combining Chair Work with CFT16:31 Practical Applications and Client Experiences21:29 The Power of Chair Work in Therapy29:24 Exploring Caregiving and Care Receiving30:15 Shifts in Mentalities During Therapy32:05 Client Experiences and Emotional Responses33:00 Addressing Fears, Blocks, and Resistances36:16 Introducing and Normalizing Chair Work38:16 Therapist Confidence and Client Engagement41:09 The Power of Embodied Cognition45:36 Sympathy, Sadness, and Grief in Therapy52:23 Concluding Thoughts and Future DirectionsLINKS:“Seeing Myself Through Someone Else’s Eyes”: Embodying the Perfect Nurturer in Compassion Focused Therapy (Hackley et al., 2024).https://www.lidsen.com/journals/icm/icm-09-01-021If you would like to learn more about compassion focused therapy, you can find Dr Stan Steindl's book The Gifts of Compassion here: https://www.amazon.com.au/Gifts-Compassion-understand-overcome-suffering/dp/1925644480Say hi on social:Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drstansteindlTwitter/X: https://twitter.com/StanSteindlInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr_stan_steindl/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stan-steindl-150a5264/Website: https://www.stansteindl.com/YouTube Video URL: https://youtu.be/oP1f5t63TOQ*Affiliate Disclaimer:Note this description contains affiliate links that allow you to find the items mentioned in this video and support the channel at no cost to you. While this channel may earn minimal sums when the viewer uses the links, the viewer is in no way obligated to use these links. Thank you for your support!Video hashtags:Chairwork, compassion focused therapy, paul gilbert, tobyn bell, depression, compassion, self-compassion, self-criticism