Compassion-focused coaching

Domain VI · Brief, integrative, trauma, hypnosis & coaching · Paul Gilbert, Anstiss · 2014

What it is

CFC is a framework, not a single fixed protocol. It is a coaching application of a psychotherapy model. It is aimed at well-functioning coachees whose progress is blocked by self-criticism, perfectionism, shame, fear of failure or burnout. The AC programme targets mainly people in high-pressure and…

Format

• No primary source drawn on here gives a formal phase model, session count or transition criteria for CFC coaching engagements. Gilbert describes CFT's processes as circular rather than linear. The phases below sequence the AC module order (1 to 8) and a published six-session CMT curriculum into a…
• Format. Individual coaching, typically 60 to 90 minutes, fortnightly, with short daily practice between sessions. Published comparators:

Who practises it, and how they are trained or regulated

• The AC coach-training programme has 8 webinars.
• The Global Code of Ethics (EMCC, AC and co-signatories) says coaching is not counselling, psychotherapy or medical intervention. It requires members to work within competence, to explain the limits of confidentiality, including danger to self or others, and to encourage clients toward other help when that would serve them better.
• EMCC/AC Global Code: members respect the boundary that coaching, mentoring and supervision are not counselling, psychotherapy or medical intervention.

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Is there physical contact? Was it explained beforehand, and do you feel free to say no or stop at any point?
• Does it involve any substance, plant preparation, remedy or supplement? Has your doctor or prescriber been told, especially about any medication you take?
• Does it involve intense or unusual breathing? Have you been told about the medical conditions for which that is not advised?
• Is it a group, retreat or community? How do they respond if someone wants to leave or raises a concern?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• Cringing. Normalise it, and repeat.
• Experiments chosen to prove failure. Make them small and clearly defined.
• Receiving compassion is often the most threatening flow for high achievers.
• Grief over the road not taken. Acknowledge it rather than rushing the decision.
• Embarrassment, which is common. Normalise it as practice, like an actor in rehearsal.

Problems the guide addresses

• Signs that a coachee needs referral to clinical care
• "Compassion will make me soft and lose my edge"
• Fear, grief or distress triggered by compassion practices ("backdraft")
• Breathing or calm-inducing practices increase anxiety
• Cannot form images
• Stuck: insight without change
• Non-adherence to between-session practice
• Over-active drive, perfectionism and burnout
• Ruptures in the coaching relationship
• Sponsored or organisational coaching

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.