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Compassionate Mind Training (CMT)

Using the science that underpins Compassionate Focused Therapy (CFT), this training aims to teach you how to identify and understand your ways of thinking, feeling, and acting so that you can respond to your self in a supportive and constructive way.

As humans, we all have tricky brains! Sometimes this means that we get into unhelpful loops in the brain, going over and over scenarios (past or future) in a way that isn’t helpful and causes us to suffer. It’s not your fault that this happens, it’s just the way the human brain has evolved. In this course, you can learn about how and why this happens, and start to learn how to manage this.

Format of the training

·       Each session will have an education and practical component. You will be learning theory and also learning by doing practices using breathing, mindfulness, and imagery

·       There will be time for small and large group discussions.

·       The emphasis will be on developing new skills within a supportive and safe environment.

·       While this course is not therapy, we aim to provide a welcoming environment to learn about our tricky brains, and learn new techniques to deal with them.

What is involved in the training?

·       The course consists of 8 weekly classes.

·       Each class lasts 2.5 hours and is delivered using Zoom.

·       Katherine Venier (see below) is your course facilitator.

·       Home exercises will be provided at the end of every session. While they are not compulsory to do, you are strongly encouraged to do them.

What the research tells us about CMT
Research conducted by Chris Irons & Charlie Heriot-Maitland (2020) into this 8 week course demonstrated that participants increased their levels of compassion, ability to reassure themselves, had a greater sense of well being, experienced more positive emotions, and engaged in less social comparison. They also experienced decreases in self-criticism, had less anxiety about relationships (and in general), lower levels of distress, and used avoidance less frequently to cope with challenges. These outcomes were confirmed again at a 3 month follow up. In fact there were further improvements in scores 3 months later!


An earlier study in 2017 by Matos et al demonstrated that a combination of Compassionate Mind Training practices reduced depression, self-criticism and anxiety.

Materials

Prior to starting we will send you a work book in PDF format that you can print and use to work through the exercises as we progress through the material over the 8 weeks. Using your workbook is not essential to the work, but it’s a nice thing to have and will help you remember what you learned after the course is completed.

At the end of each week’s training Katherine will send you notes of the content of the discussion and the powerpoint slide handouts. She’ll also send you audio recordings of any breathing or imagery work done in the class so you can practice during the week, should you wish to do so.

 Where and When?
The course meets on Tuesday evenings from 6.00 to 8.30. This is an online course that takes place over Zoom. We have courses running throughout the year. Get in touch with us to find out when the next one starts. Course dates are usually: Jan-Feb, Mar-Apr, May-Jun, oct - Nov.


Registration

The course fee is €400, payable in advance. You will receive an invoice once you have confirmed your wish to participate in the course. We will ask you to complete a brief survey before and after the course.

If you’d like to participate please let us know as soon as possible by contacting Katherine at katherine@iccft.com.




Meet Katherine Venier
Preferred pronouns: she / her

Katherine has a Masters in Psychotherapy and Counselling from City University (London) and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Wits University (Johannesburg). She also holds an MBA from the Gordon Institute of Business Science (Pretoria).  She has lived, worked, and studied in London, Johannesburg and Dublin, where she has lived for 14 years with her husband and 2 dogs.  

Katherine has completed training in Compassionate Mind Training with Dr. Chris Irons and Dr. Charlie Heriot-Maitland.  Katherine has chosen to specialise in Compassionate Mind Training in order to use this approach to help clients navigate their way through the complexities of modern life with understanding and confidence.

To learn more about Compassionate Mind Training, contact Katherine at 087 737-5912 or email her at katherine@iccft.com.

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