Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT) in Manchester
If you often feel “not good enough”, find yourself stuck in people-pleasing patterns, or live with a loud inner critic, you’re not alone. Many of the people I work with have spent years trying to achieve more, be better, or fix themselves—only to feel more disconnected, anxious, or overwhelmed.
Compassion is more than just learning to "Be Kinder to Yourself". It’s developing the courage to do the things that will help you in the long run. Even if it feels hard.
Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT) helps you understand where those patterns come from and teaches you how to relate to yourself with more courage, warmth, and support. It’s not about pretending everything is fine or forcing “positivity”—it’s about learning how to understand yourself, building skills to help you tolerate the tough stuff and find the courage do what’s helpful.
What Problems Can CFT Help with?
CFT is especially helpful if you struggle with shame, self-criticism, or a harsh internal voice. It can also help if you find yourself stuck yo-yoing between striving and trying to make sure everything is safe or ‘just right’ and lacking motivation and shutting down avoiding and procrastinating.
CFT can be particularly helpful if you:
- Feel constantly anxious, guilty or overwhelmed
- Criticise yourself harshly with negative self-talk
- Struggle with self-worth; including low confidence or perfectionism
- Find it hard to say no and people pleasing
- Finding it hard to ask for help or being emotionally vulnerable with others
- Feel disconnected from others or emotionally numb
- Struggle to=understand and manage your emotions or find certain emotions too overwhelming or scary.
- Experienced childhood neglect, criticism, or emotional abuse
- Experienced parents who provided you with a stable home but were not very emotionally warm, leaving you finding it hard to connect with these sorts of emotions.