What are the disadvantages of Compassion Focused Therapy?
Written by the clinical team at The Lyceum Clinic. Clinically reviewed by Sanah Younis, Clinical Director, BABCP-accredited (no. 1000792). Published 28 October 2026. Last reviewed 28 October 2026.
The first disadvantage is that compassion can feel threatening. The second is pace: building a felt sense of self-compassion is slower than a behavioural experiment. The third is misuse, when CFT is offered instead of exposure or practical change. It is well evidenced for shame and self-criticism and is not a first-line treatment for panic, phobias or OCD.
The backlash
When a highly self-critical client tries compassionate imagery for the first time, the common reaction is not relief. It is backlash. They cry, or feel intense anger. The warmth of the exercise highlights the freezing cold they usually live in, and it feels alien and threatening. This is expected, it is worked with, and it is the reason CFT cannot be rushed.
How we work with someone who finds it fake
We start microscopic. If someone cannot have compassion for themselves, we ask what they would say to a friend in exactly their position. We bridge the gap using external compassion first, and only later turn it inward.
For more detail, read about self-esteem therapy.
Pace
A behavioural experiment can change a belief in a week. A felt sense of self-compassion takes longer to build, which is why CFT suits the longer-term arm of therapy rather than a brief course, and why we are honest about that at the start.
When it is the wrong choice
If the formulation calls for exposure, exposure is the treatment. CFT offered as a gentler alternative to the hard thing is a disservice. We use it where shame and self-attack are maintaining the problem, not as a way round the work.
Who it is right for despite the disadvantages
The person who can see the self-criticism is unfair and cannot feel otherwise. For them the slowness is the point; the nervous system has to learn a new state, and that is not a one-week experiment. For everyone else, we use the faster tool first and bring CFT in only if the six-session review shows self-attack is what keeps the problem alive.