Over the past 20 years, self-compassion has emerged as one of the fastest growing and most promising areas in therapy. In psychological terms, self-compassion is most commonly defined in three parts as follows:
“Self-compassion entails being kind and understanding toward oneself in instances of pain or failure rather than being harshly self-critical; perceiving one’s experiences as part of the larger human experience rather than seeing them as isolating; holding painful thoughts and feelings in mindful awareness rather than over-identifying with them.”
- Kirstin Neff, PhD, pioneering researcher on self-compassion.
