What Is Compassionate Inquiry Therapy And Am I Ready For It?
Uncover Your True Self Through Compassionate Inquiry Therapy
Do you ever feel as if there are hidden currents in your life that impact your choices, behaviors, and feelings? Compassionate Inquiry Therapy is based on this belief that past unresolved experiences lead to harmful present-day issues.
Instead of analyzing your ongoing choices and decisions, the goal of Compassionate Inquiry Therapy is to get to the heart of the matter. You are asked to think about and reflect on what led you to specific choices in the first place.
Only from that place of truth and reflection, can you begin to overcome any difficulties or trauma you may hold and begin a new, more intuitive, and fulfilling path forward.
Curious about Compassionate Inquiry Therapy and how it can empower you? Then read on.
What Is Compassionate Inquiry Therapy?
Compassionate Inquiry is a therapeutic approach developed by renowned physician and addictions expert Dr. Gabor Maté.
By using Compassionate Inquiry, trained therapists work with patients to unveil the hidden assumptions, implicit beliefs, and subconscious dynamics that led to their current behaviors.
Together, patients and therapists discover the root causes, stories, or beliefs that drive not only their life choices but also the way they talk and think about themselves and the world around them.
Once uncovered, patients begin breaking down these negative or harmful beliefs and start recognizing their inner truths, needs, and desires to build a more fulfilling life.
Compassionate Inquiry Therapy does not require you to reveal deeply traumatic events, instead, you focus on the outcome of those experiences and how they impact your life now.
How Does Compassionate Inquiry Help?
Compassionate Inquiry encourages patients to ask why on a deeper level than they have before. It asks you to shift your questioning from the problem to the pain.
In Dr. Gabor Maté’s words, you ask ‘not why the addiction, but why the pain.’
Compassionate Inquiry encourages you to transform harsh self-judgment into compassionate interest and to treat yourself as you would a friend, with curiosity and gentleness rather than negativity and judgment.
As a therapeutic technique, Compassionate Inquiry helps patients by:
Improving self-awareness by exploring thoughts and feelings in a nonjudgemental way.
Encouraging self-healing by addressing and resolving traumatic experiences or emotions.
Increasing self-compassion through acceptance of their true self, choices, and beliefs.
Enhancing relationships by teaching how to communicate needs and emotions more clearly.
Reducing distress, anxiety, or depression by improving coping skills and getting to the root cause of emotional issues.
Comparing Internal Family Systems and Compassionate Inquiry Therapy
Compassionate Inquiry and Internal Family Systems are two therapeutic techniques that, while different, work harmoniously to uncover your true self.
Internal Family Systems
Born with qualities and capabilities
More intuitive
Spontaneous internal discoveries
Grounded in systems thinking
Believe illnesses are a sign of emotional struggles
Believe unresolved trauma can lead to addiction
The Self is central
Compassionate Inquiry
Born with role-specific parts
More methodical
Purposeful unburdening process
Grounded in systems thinking
Believe illnesses are a sign of emotional struggles
Believe unresolved trauma can lead to addiction
The Self is central
In my one-to-one therapy sessions, we’ll incorporate both Internal Family Systems and Compassionate Inquiry to unveil the buried emotions that dictate your everyday lives and work to create healthier and more fulfilling paths forward.
How Did Compassionate Inquiry Change My Work As A Therapist?
As children, we always look for safety from others in our lives - for nurturing, for love, for survival. Then when we age, we naturally build the ability to self-regulate and self-care.
In my own childhood, however, this safety wasn’t available to me. As I grew older, my ability to self-regulate halted and I stayed rooted in relying on others for care and safety.
This state of dependence was not my fault, nor is it the fault of any child. It was the consequence of missed attunement in my childhood development.
Yet through Compassionate Inquiry Therapy, I learned how to confidently hold space for my own needs.
I became the co-regulator, the parent, and the friend I didn’t have as a child. I built security and compassion within myself which melted away deep-seated fears and created space for brightness and contentment.
In exploring Compassionate Inquiry, both during my training as a therapist and in my personal life, I found that it helped me to gain a deeper understanding of triggers, pain, and shame by:
Recognizing the nuances of emotional pain or triggers
Accepting anger, pain, or negative emotions
Understanding how to handle emotions
Learning the difference between feelings and perceptions
Creating new relationships to feelings
Now, I bring these skills to patients who also seek a better, deeper, and more complete understanding of themselves.
Working With a Compassionate Inquiry Therapist
Compassionate Inquiry is a powerful therapeutic tool that sheds light on difficult or painful experiences a client has sought to protect themselves from.
As a therapeutic approach, Compassionate Inquiry works best once the patient has an attuned understanding of their own history and recognizes their capacity to handle the emotions or experiences that arise during therapy.
For true healing and growth to occur, the client must feel safe both physically and emotionally with their therapist.
For this reason, I offer Compassionate Inquiry sessions as an ongoing, 6-week process to ensure we have a deep level of understanding and trust before delving into any difficult emotions.
If you’re ready to delve into the experiences and emotions that drive your choices, and create a more fulfilling sense of self, then inquire now for Compassionate Inquiry sessions.