Skip to main content
Headway

Clinical support

Compassion-focused therapy (CFT) techniques to try

Need fresh CFT therapy techniques? Get practical ideas and tips — plus implementation help from Headway.

July 10, 2026

By Ashley Abramson • Clinically reviewed by Matthew Robinson, PhD, ABPP

6 min read

By Ashley Abramson • Clinically reviewed by Matthew Robinson, PhD, ABPP

Compassion is an essential pillar of psychotherapy. As a therapist, you have the unique opportunity to help clients feel seen, heard, and valued in their mental health journeys. If you practice compassion-focused therapy (CFT), you may also work with clients on how to be compassionate with themselves and others — an important part of mental health and well-being in relationships.

CFT is a therapeutic modality primarily used to address shame and self-criticism, which can help meet many different therapeutic goals. Giving clients strategies to view themselves with more kindness and self-acceptance can improve their mood, reduce unwanted behaviors, and strengthen their relationships. 

If you’re interested in practicing CFT but aren’t sure where to start, or you’ve actively been using it in your practice and are looking for new ways to incorporate it in your treatment plans, you’re in the right place. Keep reading to learn more about compassion-focused therapy and how you can use it to support clients. 

Key insights

1

Compassion-focused therapy is a therapeutic modality that can be helpful for improving mood, relationships, and overall well-being in clients who struggle with shame and self-acceptance.

2

By teaching clients to extend compassion to themselves and others, CFT can support many different therapeutic goals while addressing diagnoses including trauma, anxiety, depression, and more.

What is compassion-focused therapy?

Compassion-focused therapy is a therapeutic approach developed by British psychologist Paul Gilbert in the early 20th century. The modality focuses on helping clients experiencing difficulty with shame or self-criticism develop increased compassion for themselves and others. By emphasizing a compassionate perspective, CFT can address childhood trauma, anxiety, depression, anger issues, relationship issues, and more. 

CFT involves a blend of psychoeducation, compassionate mind training, and emotional processing within the frame of a safe, strong therapeutic relationship. Therapists typically start by educating clients about how the brain processes stress and emotions, helping clients understand why they may get stuck in patterns of self-criticism, worry, or threat detection. The goal is to teach clients to respond to themselves and others with kindness and care during difficult moments rather than being harmful to themself and others.

Therapists who use CFT help clients develop skills in giving and receiving compassion, often through a series of guided exercises, such as visualization, role-playing, writing, or meditation. Through CFT, clients can learn how to respond more helpfully when self-criticism or shame arise, so they can shift themselves toward a compassionate mindset. 

Practice in-network with confidence

Simplify insurance and save time on your entire workflow — from compliance and billing to credentialing and admin.

Talk to a practice consultant

Compassion-focused therapy technique ideas

CFT is built on the principle of improving one's ability to give and receive compassion to and from others and practice self-compassion. There are many different ways to integrate techniques and tools of CFT into clinical practice. 

1. Compassionate letter-writing

This practice encourages clients to write a letter to themselves from the perspective of a caring, supportive friend (perhaps someone who knows and loves the client in their daily life). This technique can help reduce self-criticism, shame, and perfectionism by helping the client see themselves through the eyes of a compassionate person. 

Tip: Encourage clients to imagine what they would say to a loved one facing the same struggle, then direct those words toward themselves. Encourage clients to pay attention to their body posture, facial expression, and voice tone when writing and reading their letters out loud.

2. Compassionate imagery 

Compassionate imagery involves guiding clients to picture a compassionate figure, place, or version of themselves that embodies warmth and non-judgment. This practice can help clients access feelings of safety and support during difficult moments. 

Tip: Work with clients to develop rich sensory details so the images feel more vivid and emotionally accessible. Encourage clients to notice emotions and feelings that arise and to accompany these feelings with openness and non-judgment.

3. Compassionate self-talk 

Self-talk plays a significant role in a person’s thoughts and feelings. This technique helps clients identify harsh inner dialogue so they can replace it with a more balanced, understanding voice. It’s especially useful for those who struggle with self-criticism or perfectionism. 

Tip: Ask clients to pause when they notice self-critical thoughts and consider how a compassionate mentor or friend might respond instead.

4. Soothing rhythm breathing 

This is a mindfulness breathing exercise that uses slow, deep, paced breathing (typically five counts in and five counts out) to activate the parasympathetic nervous system, the body’s calm response. It can help clients regulate emotions, reduce anxiety, slow racing negative thoughts, and teach clients the experience of being safely embodied. 

Tip: Practice the exercise together during sessions so clients can use it when they feel overwhelmed between appointments. 

5. Compassionate colors 

The compassionate color exercise uses visualization to help clients cultivate feelings of safety and warmth. Have your client imagine a color they associate with kindness, and picture it surrounding them before gradually spreading throughout their body if that feels welcome. This can be useful for clients who struggle with accessing compassion through words alone. 

Tip: Pair the practice with soothing rhythm breathing to deepen the calming effects of the compassionate color visualization.

Tips for implementing CFT techniques in your practice

Whether you’ve been using CFT for years or you’re just now learning about it, a thoughtful, intentional approach can help you make sure it helps your clients meet therapeutic goals.

Session structure and planning

Planning out CFT sessions in advance — including which exercises to include and potential homework you’ll give clients between sessions — can keep you on track toward meeting your client’s therapeutic goals. When you use CFT, keep these session structure and planning tips in mind:

  • Establish a strong foundation of safety and trust before introducing more emotionally vulnerable compassion-focused exercises.
  • Sequence sessions to give time for relationship building, compassion-focused psychoeducation, and skill-building (i.e., compassionate mind training), to gradually lead into more advanced and person-centered compassion-focused practices.
  • Identify specific situations where self-criticism, shame, or threat responses tend to emerge, and select exercises that target those challenges.
  • Set aside time to review homework and discuss barriers to practicing self-compassion between sessions.
  • Plan opportunities to revisit and reinforce core CFT concepts throughout treatment rather than introducing them only once.

Documentation and compliance considerations

Detailed documentation and compliance are essential for timely payment, no matter which therapy modality you’re using. If you use CFT, be sure to include: 

  • The client's presenting symptoms and diagnosis and how they relate to the treatment plan
  • The specific CFT interventions used during the session, such as compassionate imagery, soothing rhythm breathing, or self-compassion exercises
  • The client's response to treatment, including insights gained, emotional reactions, or progress toward therapy goals
  • A clear plan for ongoing treatment, including homework assignments, skills practice, and next steps for future sessions

Feeling overwhelmed by notes and admin? Headway is built with compliance in mind and simplifies the documentation process for providers, making it easier to submit claims that meet insurance standards and get paid on a regular schedule (without worrying about clawbacks or denials).

What are criticisms of compassion-focused therapy?

Many therapists find CFT to be a useful, effective way to improve clients’ mood and reduce self-criticism, but as with any modality, there are limitations and questions about its effectiveness. For example, CFT is a relatively new practice, so research about its efficacy and best practices is still limited, especially compared to other evidence-based practices (such as cognitive behavioral therapy and dialectical behavioral therapy). 

Existing studies have been critiqued as imbalanced, with a greater number of female participants compared to male. While some studies show CFT can be effective in improving certain mental health symptoms, other researchers also note that more research is needed to understand the long-term effects of CFT.

Explore other therapy approaches with guides from Headway

Want to learn more about other therapeutic modalities or get ideas for effectively applying them in your practice? Headway has a growing library of resources that can help you develop treatment plans to support your clients:

Focus more on CFT implementation and less on admin with Headway

No matter which compassion-focused therapy exercises you use in your therapy practice, having the right administrative support can free up more time and energy for meaningful clinical work that helps your clients grow. Headway helps therapists streamline insurance billing, claims management, and documentation workflows, along with ensuring consistent, biweekly payment. The result? Less stress thanks to reduced administrative burdens, and more space to focus on delivering high-quality care.

Talk to a practice consultant

This content is for general informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute clinical, legal, financial, or professional advice. All decisions should be made at the discretion of the individual or organization, in consultation with qualified clinical, legal, or other appropriate professionals.

© 2026 Therapymatch, Inc. dba Headway. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without permission.

Clinical support