What does compassion-focused therapy treat?
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.
CFT is used for difficulties where shame and self-criticism sit at the centre: low self-esteem, depression driven by a harsh inner voice, perfectionism, burnout in people who hold themselves to impossible standards, and the aftermath of trauma where the person blames themselves. It also helps anxiety maintained by fear of judgement.
The pattern it is built for
The person CFT helps uses self-criticism as a motivational tool. They bully themselves into functioning, and it works until it does not, at which point the nervous system is burnt out and the criticism has nothing left to drive. The head may already know the self-attack is unfair; CFT works on the part that does not.
What are some techniques used in compassion-based therapy?
Compassionate imagery, building a picture of a compassionate other or a compassionate self. Soothing-rhythm breathing, which shifts the body out of threat. Compassionate-self practice, where you respond to your own setback the way you would to a friend. Letter-writing exercises in that voice. And, early on, simply noticing when the Critic takes the microphone and writing down what it says, without trying to be positive about it.
For more detail, read about self-esteem therapy.
Where it sits in a course
At The Lyceum, CFT lives inside the longer-term arm of The Lyceum Protocol, for the patterns underneath a problem rather than the surface cycle. A course might start with short-term CBT for the presenting problem and move into CFT when the six-session review shows that self-criticism is what keeps it coming back.
What it is not for
Panic, phobias and OCD have faster, better-evidenced treatments and CFT is not used in place of them.
How you would know it is the right fit
If you have done CBT before, understood it, and still speak to yourself in a voice you would never use on a friend, CFT is the next step. If the problem is a specific fear or a ritual, it is not, and we would start elsewhere.