Mindfulness & Compassion

Mindfulness & Compassion

Volume 1, Issue 2, July–December 2016, Pages 68-74
Mindfulness & Compassion

Review
Attachment-based compassion therapyTerapia de compasión

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mincom.2016.10.004Get rights and content

Abstract

Compassion therapy is a third-generation psychotherapy that has been used in association with mindfulness in recent years. Similar to mindfulness protocols, a number of compassion protocols have been developed in the United States and Britain. As these countries have cultural characteristics and health systems that differ greatly from those of Spain, it was necessary to develop compassion protocols which were more suited to the Spanish situation and which could be administered to both general population and to medical and psychiatric patients. This model is based on attachment styles, a psychoanalytical concept which describes the relationship children develop with their parents, and which will influence the interpersonal relationships and self-image they will eventually develop. This paper describes the scientific basis for this model, the structure of the protocol, the scientific evidence and the training programme for this model, which is the first such programme specifically developed for Spanish-speaking countries.

Resumen

La terapia de compasión es una psicoterapia de tercera generación que se está utilizando en los últimos años de forma asociada al mindfulness. Existen varios protocolos de entrenamiento en compasión que, al igual que los protocolos de mindfulness, han surgido en países anglosajones con entornos culturales y sistemas sanitarios muy diferentes al nuestro. En este contexto consideramos que era necesario desarrollar un modelo de terapia de compasión más cercano a nuestra cultura, más adaptado a nuestro entorno sanitario y que pudiese ser aplicable no solo a la población general, sino también a pacientes con enfermedades psicológicas y somáticas. Este modelo está centrado en los estilos de apego, un concepto psicoanalítico que describe el tipo de relación que el niño desarrolla con sus padres y que influirá de forma decisiva en el tipo de relación interpersonal que mantendrá de adulto con otras personas, así como en la imagen que desarrollará sobre sí mismo. En el artículo se describen las bases científicas del modelo, la estructura del programa, los datos de evidencia y el proceso de formación en este protocolo, el primero autóctono desarrollado en países de habla hispana.

Section snippets

Attachment theory

From an evolutionary perspective, it is accepted that compassion (Goetz, Keltner, & Simon-Thomas, 2010) is key to the care of offspring in species such as ours (and in mammals in general) in which young are very vulnerable at birth and require the intensive care of adults for a long time in order to survive. The concept of attachment, the capacity for affection and trust we feel for ourselves and other people, arises in those first years of life.

The term attachment is a classic psychoanalytical

The multiple facets of attachment and care

Care and attachment, both in primates and human beings, has become more complex throughout the course of evolution. In our experience, care and the attachment style include the four following aspects that may or may not appear independently.

  • Protection and safety: This involves keeping children protected from danger in order that they will feel safe and out of danger (which is the basis for survival of the species). It includes an aspect as important as comfort, i.e. calming the anguish of the

Attachment styles

Bartholomew and Horowitz (1991) developed a classification system for attachment styles in adulthood divided into four main categories. It is thought that these styles, based on our biographical experiences, define the way in which we relate to other people. There is one secure attachment style and three insecure attachment styles with different characteristics.

  • Secure attachment style: These are individuals who experienced adequate, consistent and continuous care in their childhood. For this

Importance of attachment styles

It is thought that 65 per cent of children present a secure attachment style; the other 35 per cent present one of the insecure styles we have described (Prior & Glaser, 2006). The attachment style of parents predicts 75 per cent of their children's attachment style (Steele, Steele, & Fonagy, 1996). Although there are other influences apart from attachment, children with a secure attachment style are more likely to be socially competent that their insecure counterparts. They also have greater

Protocol for attachment-based compassion therapy

As with other compassion protocols, our model is structured into eight weekly sessions with a duration of approximately two hours. We have described our programme in greater detail in the book Mindfulness y Compasión: La Nueva Revolución [Mindfulness and Compassion: The New Revolution] (García Campayo & Demarzo, 2015b). It describes the theoretical foundations for the model, the structure in sessions, and practices used in each session. Appendix I summarizes the structure of the programme in

Conclusions

Attachment-based compassion therapy is a compassion protocol that can also be used in both the general population and with medical and psychiatric conditions, and is adapted to the cultural setting and health systems of Latin countries (Iberia and Latin America). It is based on one of the fundamental psychological constructs that explains the interpersonal relationships of individuals: attachment styles. The preliminary results of this intervention are very promising and levels of acceptance

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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