Concept · Library
Concept · Psychology (self-compassion research) · From 2003; the Mindful Self-Compassion programme from 2010, and the research literature growing since.
Self-compassion
Also known as Being kinder to yourself · Treating myself kindly · Self-kindness · Neff's self-compassion · The self-compassion scale
A model, framework or clinical approach that has been studied. Presented as a model, with what the research behind it actually found.
Self-compassion is a psychological construct describing how a person treats themselves in difficulty: with kindness rather than criticism, as part of a shared human experience rather than in isolation, and with a balanced awareness of the pain rather than being swallowed by it. Kristin Neff proposed the construct and the Self-Compassion Scale in 2003, and it has been studied extensively since. It is a studied model rather than an established fact, and it is not the same thing as the Buddhist compassion it draws on.
Entries in this library keep the tradition label and the editorial state the source gave them. A record marked as awaiting scholarly review is offered as a lead to study, not as settled teaching.