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  • FREE STRESS RELIEF TRAINING

Cultivating The Strength For Compassion

with Professor Paul Gilbert
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Welcome to the seventh episode of Season Five of Wisdom for Wellbeing Podcast. On this episode I interview Professor Paul Gilbert, FBPsS, PhD, OBE and Professor of Clinical Psychology.

Want to keep in touch? Head to @drkaitlin on Instagram or @wisdomforwellbeingpod on Facebook to connect.

What is covered in this episode:

>>An introduction to Professor Paul Gilbert and how he came to develop CFT

>>Consideration of compassion as an active, courageous and wise practice

>>What does it mean that we have a ‘tricky brain’?

>>Why learning to fail is important

Tune in next week to hear about the 3 flows of compassion (receiving for others, for yourself), about the need for compassion to have a political focus, and to learn a practices to cultivate compassion in mind and body

You’ll find a copy of the Episode Transcript below.

Professor Paul Gilbert

Paul Gilbert, FBPsS, PhD, OBE is Professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Derby and honorary visiting Prof at the University of Queensland. Until his retirement from the NHS in 2016 he was Consultant Clinical Psychologist for over 40 years. He has researched evolutionary approaches to psychopathology with a special focus on mood, shame and self-criticism in various mental health difficulties for which Compassion Focused Therapy was developed. He was made a Fellow of the British Psychological Society in 1993, president of the BABCP 2002-2004, and was a member of the first British Governments’ NICE guidelines for depression. He has written/edited 23 books and over 300 papers and book chapters. In 2006 he established the Compassionate Mind Foundation as an international charity with the mission statement: To promote wellbeing through the scientific understanding and application of compassion (www.compassionatemind.co.uk). There are now a number of sister foundations in other countries. He was awarded an OBE by the Queen in March 2011 for services to mental health. He established and is the Director of the Centre for Compassion Research and Training at Derby University UK. His latest book is a major edited book with Prof G Simos (2022) Compassion: Clinical practice and Applications (Routledge).

Transcript

[Will appear here when completed.]

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Ever wondered why sometimes you shut down, other t Ever wondered why sometimes you shut down, other times you explode? 🤯 Then, sometimes you feel calm and connected. It’s all about what floor your nervous system is on.

🩶 Freeze / Fawn (Hypoarousal)
When things feel too much, the body powers down. You might go numb, shut down, or appease to stay safe. It’s the system’s ancient way of saying, “Let’s survive this.”

❤️ Fight or Flight (Hyperarousal)
Energy surges here, your heart races, breath quickens, you’re ready to run or push back. The body’s mobilising for protection, not punishment.

💛 Social Engagement (Window of Tolerance)
Here, the nervous system feels safe enough to connect, reflect, and play. You can think clearly, feel your emotions, and respond, rather than react.

Polyvagal Theory helps us understand how our body moves between these floors, moment to moment. Regulation isn’t about staying on one level, it’s learning to notice where you are and gently find your way back to safety. 

For practical tools to widen your window and work with each state, explore The Somatic Workbook for Nervous System Regulation and Anxiety Management 🩵📘
Travel tools for staying grounded (and hydrated) o Travel tools for staying grounded (and hydrated) on the go ✈️

Between flights, conferences and full days of learning, these are the things that help me feel human:
💆‍♀️ A gua sha + crystal roller with jojoba oil: hydration + nervous system settling in one ritual
👟 Sneakers: because I walked an hour to the conference each day instead of swapping shoes (movement and grounding before presenting = essential)
⌚️ A watch so I could stay present without holding my phone
🧣 Cosy sweater + trackies for evenings to actually rest
🎧 Earbuds (currently living their best life somewhere in Glen Waverley… one of the few Melbourne suburbs I know 🍄😂), but honestly, the walks without them were lovely too
🧘‍♀️ Yoga gear to drop into class when I could
😴 Eye mask + Loop earplugs for sleep in new places

And this little video, me catching the sun through the trees, was one of those grounding pauses that reminded me how much simply getting outside matters.

Next time: bringing bathers. I’ve found a bathhouse I’m very ready to visit 🌿🧼

#traveltools #groundedtravel #somaticpsychology #selfregulation #nervoussystemhealth #mindbodywellbeing #yogateacher #psychologistontheroad
If you’ve ever wondered how to find your purpose If you’ve ever wondered how to find your purpose in life, think of it like flying an airplane. ✈️

Even planes spend almost no time perfectly on course - yet they still reach their destination.
Because they keep correcting. Tiny adjustments, again and again.

Your values are your destination, the place that feels like heart home.
Your life is the airplane - full of turbulence, detours, and mid-flight recalibrations.

When you live by your values, your purpose naturally unfolds… not all at once, but through steady course corrections.

Because purpose isn’t something you find all at once - it’s something you fly toward, every single day.

#howtofindyourpurposeinlife #values #purpose #psychologist #mindfulness #selfgrowth #ACTtherapy #somaticpsychology #nervoussystemregulation #healingjourney #therapytools
A little photo dump of the enriching days I’ve j A little photo dump of the enriching days I’ve just had at the ANZ ACBS Conference in Melbourne ✨

From the pre-conference workshop with the brilliant Dr. Emily Sandoz to the open-hearted spirit of this community, I’m so grateful for the chance to learn, share, and connect.

So many brilliant minds with such generosity, both in the formal sessions and the spontaneous conversations over coffee. I’m walking away with new skills and even more learning that I can’t wait to lean into.

Huge thanks to the amazing team that brought this all together -I appreciate the warm and inspiring space you created for us @anz_acbs 💙🧡💚
What a week… what a decade!? A week ago we cele What a week… what a decade!?

A week ago we celebrated The Somatic Workbook launch, and my dear friend @mariahgates_ hosted so beautifully that she missed the premiere of a film she worked on as Location Manager (check out Penny Lane is Dead!). Such a generous gift of friendship 💛

Earlier this week we did get to go see Penny Lane is Dead and it was wildly funny, creative, and powerful (just like her🥰 and what an amazing script, production and team behind this movie 🤩 I’m so impressed 🎥 ). And this means a lot, as hilarious has got to be the last way I would normally describe a horror movie! Fab locations too- of course!

Then today a memory popped up: me handing in my PhD dissertation on October 14th, the same date The Somatic Workbook was published a decade later.

Life unfolds in ways we can’t always plan, often more beautifully than we imagine. Grateful for the people, projects, and moments that make it all worthwhile.

#TheSomaticWorkbook #FullCircleMoment #AuthorLife #PhDJourney #CreativeFriends #PennyLaneIsDead #BookLaunch #SomaticPsychology #Gratitude #GrowthJourney
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Dr. Kaitlin pays her respects to the Kaurna peoples as the Traditional Owner’s of the land on which she works and lives. Dr Kaitlin acknowledges that the Kaurna people have social, spiritual and historical connections to this land and their connections are as strong today as they have always been. She would like to extend this acknowledgment out to the Traditional Owners of the land on which you are based, and to acknowledge the Ktunaxa and Kinbasket Peoples of what is now called Canada, as she was born and gratefully raised on their traditional unceded territory.

Mandala Artwork by Scarlet Barnett
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