A Clinician's Guide to Compassion Focused Group Therapy for the Severely Mentally Ill

This manual provides clinicians with guidance to conduct compassion focused group therapy with patients suffering from severe forms of mental illness.

Historically, those suffering from severe forms of mental illness face a myriad of biological, psychological, and social challenges, particularly shame and self-criticism. Compassion focused therapy is known to combat and address this suffering. This manual connects rich biological, psychological, and social theory with empirical findings and lived clinical experience. Comprising 12 modules, this clinician’s guide presents psychoeducation in conjunction with intrapersonal/interpersonal exercises and process-oriented instructions to aid treatment and guide group therapy sessions.

This book, created by clinicians for clinicians, is a vital resource for psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, or substance use disorder counselors, offering compassion focused group therapy in an inpatient setting.

Aileen Rands, MS, is a doctoral candidate with over five years of working with SMI individuals. She is currently completing her pre-doctoral internship at Veteran Affairs Administration. She is an emerging psychologist with an interest in severe psychopathology and group psychotherapy.

Doug Benson, PsyD, DBT-LBC, is a psychologist with 20 years of experience working with SMI. He is board-certified in DBT, is a clinical supervisor for Utah State Hospitals psychology internship/postdoc, develops treatment programing, participates in clinical research in conjunction with Brigham Young University, and provides clinical services.

Amanda L. Rapacz, PsyD, has worked for the State of Utah in the Department of Health and Human Services at Utah State Hospital since 2009 and is currently the assistant superintendent. She is the licensed psychologist serving on the State of Utah’s Division of Professional Licensing Behavioral Health Board. Her passion for the field of psychology and working with individuals who have severe and persistent mental illness has led to presidential positions on the Utah Psychological Association and NAMI-Utah boards.

Gary Burlingame, PhD, has 40+ years of training, teaching, and research experience on effective group therapies, recognized by US and international professional associations. He began focusing on outpatient SMI treatment in the 1990s, with 25 years of service developing inpatient group programming. He was the president of the American Group Psychotherapy Association and the Society of Group Psychology and Group Psychotherapy.