What is Compassionate Connection Therapy?

As the name suggests, CCT is a type of therapy which focuses on healing through creating a compassionate connection between therapist and client and between the client's own 'selves'.

At the core of CCT is the assumption that a lot of suffering and unwanted behaviour stems from the experience of unmet needs caused by triggered self-judgement and self-rejection. A phenomenon which is often underrated in the world of therapy with regards to its devastating impact on people, their self-esteem and quality of life.

The foundation for CCT is based on the theories of Non-violent Communication™, Hypnotherapy, NLP and Gestalt Therapy.

The therapy aims to help an individual:

Who is CCT for?

CCT is for anyone who experiences unwanted behaviour or unhappy feelings such as:

Sessions

The kind of work that is covered in the sessions will range from cognitive hypnotherapy visualisation & NLP exercises to experiencing the 'beauty of needs' and practising the NVC Dance Steps as designed by Gina Lawrie and Brigitte Belgrave.

There will be a variety of steps and exercises specifically tailored to the needs of the individual who attends the sessions.

A continuous dialogue between therapist and client will facilitate the optimal circumstances to create growth, transformation and compassionate connection healing.

The relationship between therapist and client

At MLCT we feel that a lot of the suffering in the world comes from and is perpetuated by the hierarchical 'domination system' currently present in the world. We don't think that this system necessarily serves life in that it causes for power imbalances which can contribute to low self-esteem and an 'I'm not good enough' self judgement.

Therefore, the CCT therapist (and we use this word reluctantly) aims to establish an equal relationship with the client. In our experience, by taking away the hierarchy and structure of more conventional therapy sessions, a deeper, more powerful and compassionate relationship can occur which has often turned out to be a catalyst for profound healing.

Nonviolent Communication

CCT's main influence is Nonviolent Communication, a process developed by Marshall Rosenberg in the 60s which people use to communicate with greater compassion and clarity. It focuses on two things: empathy — listening with deep compassion, and honest self-expression — exposing what matters to oneself in a way that's likely to inspire compassion in others. Formal NVC self-expression includes four elements: observations (distinguished from interpretations/evaluations), feelings (emotions separate from thoughts), needs (deep motives) and requests (clear, present, doable and without demand). [source: Wikipedia]

Whilst NVC transforms conflict between two or more people, it is also a powerful tool which can be used to facilitate the transformation of conflict within oneself. Indeed, Marshall Rosenberg himself, has assisted many people in connecting to their needs and creating understanding around their pain in such a way that it has caused significant personal shifts.

For more information on NVC, please visit the website of the Center for Nonviolent Communication.

Hypnotherapy

While the main focus of CCT is on the understanding and experiencing of feelings, needs, empathy and compassionate connection (as defined in NVC), hypnotherapy has been found to be highly useful as a supportive healing method.

Hypnotherapy is the use of hypnosis to promote health and well-being. Hypnosis as a technique has been used for many centuries and in many different cultures.

Hypnotherapy is a safe, effective and enjoyable technique which involves the therapist inducing a trance state, which is a comfortable, drowsy state- between wakefulness and sleep - where the conscious mind is relaxed and your powerful subconscious mind becomes more receptive to suggestion and more able to access solutions to problems.

Trance is a natural phenomenon which we all experience spontaneously many times a day, for example when we become absorbed in a TV programme, listening to music or just daydreaming. It is generally experienced as highly relaxing and enjoyable. No matter how relaxed you feel you will always be in control, and you will always be aware of what is happening.

NLP

Neuro Linguistic Programming is the study of how each individual makes sense of his/her world uniquely through different personality patterns and sensory filters. Each person's memories, beliefs, values, decisions, favoured sense (Visual, Auditory, Audio Digital or Kinaesthetic), and what are called Metaprograms, develop over time into a unique 'model of the world'. Each of us uses this internal map to make sense of the world around us. This map has a profound effect on our thoughts and behaviour, and our relationships with others because we tend to think that our map is the same as everybody else's.

By understanding the structure of our map we can identify negative thought patterns that inhibit us (and change them); by understanding the structure of someone else's map we can assist them in doing the same thing, or use it to improve our relationship with them, whether in a business or personal context. [source: Quest Institute]

While NLP is often marketed as a 'get what you want'* method of change, its basic principles, thinking and exercises can be, like hypnotherapy, a useful healing support method. (*There is nothing wrong with 'trying to get what you want', but that approach often seems to miss the point of what is truly going on for a person, eg: wanting to be 'famous' might be an interesting goal in life, but what motivates someone to want that? And will being 'famous' in actual fact meet the needs of the person in question?).

CCT's main focus is to help people meet their needs through creating sustainable, realistic and peaceful strategies. NLP has several exercises that can support that.

Gestalt Therapy

Gestalt Therapy is an existential and experiential psychotherapy that focuses on the individual's experience in the present moment, the therapist-client relationship, the environmental and social contexts in which these things take place, and the self-regulating adjustments people make as a result of the overall situation. It emphasizes personal responsibility. Gestalt Therapy was co-founded by Fritz Perls, Laura Perls and Paul Goodman in the 1940s–1950s. [source: Wikipedia]

CCT uses Gestalt Therapy role play exercises to help clients heal from pain involving others.